I’ve compiled a list of the best quotes about Nepal for anyone thinking about travelling there, reminiscing on past travels in the country or just trying to learn more about Nepal’s culture for any other reasons! Enjoy!
The Best Quotes about Nepal and its Culture
Quotes about Nepal and travelling there
‘Meandering cows, tenacious bicyclers, belching taxis, rickshaws, fearless pedestrians and the occasional mobile ‘cigarette and sweets’ stand all fought our taxi for room on the narrow two-lane road turned local byway.’ – Jennifer S. Alderson, Notes of a Naive Traveler: Nepal and Thailand
‘I like the way Nepalis point by pouting their lips; they reckon pointing with a finger is rude.’
Jane Wilson-Howarth, Himalayan Kidnap
“Tourists who come to Nepal look at terraced fields and see their beauty, but remain blind to the hard labor they extract from tillers.” – Manjushree Thapa, Forget Kathmandu: An Elegy for Democracy
‘A friend of mine working as a psychotherapist in Kathmandu remarked to me one evening that people visiting Nepal behave exactly as if they were having a love affair with a human being. They become giddy and intoxicated, seeing only the exoticism and mystery; as if their critical faculty had somehow been suspended.’ – Jeff Greenwald, Buddhas: An Adventure in Nepal
‘On my first day, the haze stopped me from seeing beyond the rooftops. That night, dogs fighting in the street seemed so louder than in my half-sleep I dreamt they were in the passage outside, crashing against my hotel room door. In the morning, I was surprised to see the hills so close. It was months before the true mountains were revealed behind the filthy air.’ – Thomas Bell, Kathmandu
‘In my early days, absorbed in the rooftops, I imagined a giant photographic collage, requiring at least three or four rolls of film. I would perch on the water tank, seven stories above the street, zooming in and out on different elements to heighten the already jumbled effect, and compose a great wheel of all the roofs around me inside the ring of hills. I called the idea ‘Kathmandu Mandala’ and I only completed one section, I didn’t realize that the city was already seen as a mandala by its residents.’ – Thomas Bell, Kathmandu
‘To me, Nepal is wondrous. It is full of ancient stories and beautiful temples, not to mention the world’s most magnificent mountain range. I have travelled the dangerous narrow winding roads between Kathmandu and Pokhara on the roof of a bus, the driver travelling at breakneck speed and the ground dropping away hundreds of meters below us. I have walked to Annapurna Base Camp and swum in the Pokhara Lake while looking at the Himalayas above.’ – Peter Kuruvita, Lands of the Curry Leaf: A vegetarian food journey from Sri Lanka to Nepal
Quotes about the Nepali language
‘I think of the irony that in our language [Nepali] the word for love can also mean deceit.’
Jane Wilson-Howarth, Snowfed Waters
Quotes about Nepal, its mountains and the highest peak of all – Everest
“The mountains were so wild and so stark and so very beautiful that I wanted to cry. I breathed in another wonderful moment to keep safe in my heart.”
Jane Wilson-Howarth, Snowfed Waters
Everest is another beast altogether.- Rob Hall in the movie Everest
‘The kingdom of Nepal is a landlocked country bordered by Tibet on the north and India to the east, west, and south. It is well-known as the birthplace of Buddha and for the Himalayas. Although it is a small country, it contains the greatest variation in altitude on earth, from the lowlands of the Tarai in the south, to the world’s tallest mountain, Mt. Everest (29,028 feet).’ – Jyoti Pathak, Taste of Nepal
‘Why do you foreigners like trekking so much?’ Rajesh, like most staus-conscious Kahmanduites, couldn’t see the point. Nepalis only trek for a purpose – a pilgrimage, visiting relatives or for work. ‘And who’s looking after the children while you are away?’ – Jane Wilson-Howarth, A Glimpse of Eternal Snows: A Journey of Love and Loss in the Himalayas
‘No one remembers who climbed Mount Everest the second time.’ – Edmund Hillary
Quotes on Nepal and the approach of Nepalis to living in the moment
“a Nepali outlook, pace and philosophy had prevented us being swamped by our problems. In Nepal it was easier to take life day by day.”
Jane Wilson-Howarth, A Glimpse of Eternal Snows: A Journey of Love and Loss in the Himalayas
‘If I were pressed to give one reason, one specific observation of why life in Nepal seems so much more vivid than life anywhere else, I would answer with a single word: time. There is a quality to time spend in Nepal that can only be described as inhalant. Back home in the Wild West, time whips by with the relentless and terrible purpose of a strangling vine filmed in fast motion. A week, two months, ten years snap past like amnesia, a continual barrage of workdays, appointments, dinner dates and laundromats, television shows and video cassettes, parking meters, paydays and phone calls. You can watch it from Asia. You read the newspapers, you think about your friends back home – marching along in the parade of events – and you know it’s still happening. It’s happening there. On the other side. Yesterdays, today’s and tomorrows are tumbling after each other like Sambo and the tiger, blending into an opaque and viscous ooze. There is no such thing as now; only a continual succession of later, whipping their tendrils around the calendar. The clutches of the vine… In Nepal, the phenomenon is reversed. Time is a stick of incense that burns without being consumed. One day can seem like a week; a week, like months. Mornings stretch out and crack their spines with the yogic impassivity of house cats. Afternoons bulge with a succulent ripeness, like fat peaches. There is time enough to do everything – write a letter, eat breakfast, read the paper, visit a shrine or two, listen to the birds, bicycle downtown, change money, buy postcards, shop for Buddhas – and arrive home in time for lunch.’ – Jeff Greenwald, Shopping for Buddhas: An Adventure in Nepal
Quotes about Nepal and its cuisine
‘Given Nepal’s vast geographic and cultural diversity, it is difficult to generalize about what constitutes Nepali cuisine. It is, however, charazterized by its simplicity, lightness and healthfulness. A typical meal uses only the freshest local ingredients, minimal fat, and an artful combination of herbs and spices. This balanced cuisine is just waiting for discovery”‘ – Jyoti Pathak, Taste of Nepal
‘Common and widely loved dishes include spicy potato salad (aaloo ko achar), which is one of th efreshest and cheapest dishes to prepare, vegetable pakoras, which are enjoyed with a typical Nepali-style tomato pickle (golbheda ko achar) and potato with bamboo shoots and black-eyed beans (aaloo tama), in which the sourness of the bamboo is all-important.’ – Peter Kuruvita, Lands of the Curry Leaf: A vegetarian food journey from Sri Lanka to Nepal
‘Although Nepal is one of the poorest countries in the world, it is known for its hospitality. Guests are always looked upon as gods and Nepalese consider it an honor to welcome visitors, including strangers and passersby, and treat them with kindness and courtesy. In Nepal, food is a constant topic of conversation and no meal is complete without an extended discussion about the food, such as how it is cooked, how it is served, and recent meals.’ – Jyoti Pathak, Taste of Nepal
‘Nepal’s cuisine draws on influences from north and south and encompasses a diversity of dishes, from hearty mountain broths to delicate Indian-style desserts. As with everything from architecture to religion in Nepal, the local cuisine draws on influences from either side of the Himalayas, and then creates something distinctly Nepalese from these contrary currents. In wayside tea stalls and elaborate palace restaurants the length of the country you’ll catch a hint of Indian spice, an echo of Chinese technique and an underpinning of Tibetan heartiness. Cuisine is often defined by altitude: the staples change as the continent rises towards The Himalayan heights, from tangy Indian pickles and traces of Mughal influence in the Terai, to pounded barley and butter tea in the trans-Himalaya.’ – Insight Guides, Insight Guides Nepal
‘A blend of Indian and Tibetan influences, Nepalese cuisine is simple, subtle and satisfying. Lentils and rice form the base of most meals, with herbs, vegetables and meats adding a mix of fresh and smoky flavors.’ – Peter Kuruvita, Lands of the Curry Leaf: A vegetarian food journey from Sri Lanka to Nepal
If you enjoyed these quotes then why not check out some more quotes to inspire your travel buds about the Philippines, Malaysia, and South America!
