The Crematoria
The Crematoria
4
Cultural ToursHistorical & Heritage ToursMysterious SitesSightseeing Tours
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Monday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Tuesday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Wednesday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Thursday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Friday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Saturday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Sunday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Full view
About
Hindu’s greatest god Pashupatinath has group of gods and goddesses surrounding him which spreads in an area of about 3 square kilometers. The vibrant ambiance of the area never takes a break which is also the holiest Hindu pilgrimage site with smoky and stirring melee of temples, iconic ancient statues, the pilgrims and decorated half naked holy men called Shadus. On the footstep of temple is Bagmati River separating the Pashupatinath area into to 2. The riverbank also called Aryaghat by Hindu is considered the most sacred site for the dead bodies to be cremated. As per the legends this Ghat should never be left vacant without burning the bodies as Pashupatinath is naturally offered with the smoke from those dead bodies burning on Aryaghat. If in case there are no bodies to burn by any chance the representative form of the dead body must be made of dried Darbha Grass (Desmostachya bipinnata) which is considered holy grass in Hinduism called Kush and has to be continuously burnt there.
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
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4.0
1,491 reviews
Excellent
732
Very good
499
Average
186
Poor
42
Terrible
32
Perlincka
Kew, UK72 contributions
Jan 2020 • Couples
I feel a bit strange giving this place 5 stars, but it’s certainly an extraordinary experience and contrary to what some people might think, the experience isn’t morbid but insightful.
We visited it at about 3 pm, we bought the tickets to access the temple (1k Nepali Rupees entry fee that should go towards the area conservation ) and a guide pretty much attached himself to us. Although we didn’t want to really have a guide, his knowledge came in handy for an extra 500 rupees that were negotiable.
If you get a guide do negotiate the fees in advance, getting tickets is NOT necessary to access the cremation area, as you can get into by an adyacent Street.
The place provides an incredible insight into the rituals, beliefs and culture of the Hindu faith, live and death side by side, death is just part of live, in a continues circle called Samsara: birth, suffering, death and rebirth. No one cries, the ceremony is quiet and relatively quickly.
The experience was totally surreal and to a point for me at least shocking but insightful to witnes other cultures views on death.
We visited it at about 3 pm, we bought the tickets to access the temple (1k Nepali Rupees entry fee that should go towards the area conservation ) and a guide pretty much attached himself to us. Although we didn’t want to really have a guide, his knowledge came in handy for an extra 500 rupees that were negotiable.
If you get a guide do negotiate the fees in advance, getting tickets is NOT necessary to access the cremation area, as you can get into by an adyacent Street.
The place provides an incredible insight into the rituals, beliefs and culture of the Hindu faith, live and death side by side, death is just part of live, in a continues circle called Samsara: birth, suffering, death and rebirth. No one cries, the ceremony is quiet and relatively quickly.
The experience was totally surreal and to a point for me at least shocking but insightful to witnes other cultures views on death.
Written January 25, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
singhasam
Weymouth, UK4,023 contributions
Oct 2023 • Solo
I'M still trying to reconcile my feelings over whether watching the cremation of a human being I have never known is spectacle or religious experience.
Perhaps it offers a little of each but the atmosphere of the event lowers voices and raises hairs on the back of your neck.
I arrived at The Crematoria in a suitably grim frame of mind, a state not improved by my guide revealing that our timing was perfect as a cremation was about to begin.
We watched from a terraced area on the far side of the river as a body wrapped in white cloth was laid on a square platform in the cremation area.
Those in charge of the cremation either laid wood against the body or handed wood to relatives for them do so.
Once the corpse was cloaked in wood it was covered in wet rice straw to concentrate the heat so that every bit of the body was cremated. The process can take anywhere between three and seven hours.
I had to keep pinching my arm and reminding my cynical self that this was a highly sought after holy place which was every bit as relevant to the dead as a modern crematoria in my home town, perhaps more so.
Eventually a member of the family stepped forward and lit the pyre before mourners retired to an open area facing the river and settled down for the long wait while the body was reduced to ashes.
When I left it was definitely with the view that this was not for the faint hearted. I also found it a strangely moving and very intimate experience, not one that I will soon forget.
Perhaps it offers a little of each but the atmosphere of the event lowers voices and raises hairs on the back of your neck.
I arrived at The Crematoria in a suitably grim frame of mind, a state not improved by my guide revealing that our timing was perfect as a cremation was about to begin.
We watched from a terraced area on the far side of the river as a body wrapped in white cloth was laid on a square platform in the cremation area.
Those in charge of the cremation either laid wood against the body or handed wood to relatives for them do so.
Once the corpse was cloaked in wood it was covered in wet rice straw to concentrate the heat so that every bit of the body was cremated. The process can take anywhere between three and seven hours.
I had to keep pinching my arm and reminding my cynical self that this was a highly sought after holy place which was every bit as relevant to the dead as a modern crematoria in my home town, perhaps more so.
Eventually a member of the family stepped forward and lit the pyre before mourners retired to an open area facing the river and settled down for the long wait while the body was reduced to ashes.
When I left it was definitely with the view that this was not for the faint hearted. I also found it a strangely moving and very intimate experience, not one that I will soon forget.
Written November 24, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Bengt W
5 contributions
Apr 2023
We had a tour with an very good english talking guide who took us around the area and gave us information about the Hindu culture. An amazing place to know about culture and traditions. Also a place where visitors should respect and learn about different cultures and religions.
Written May 5, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Rajendra K
Kathmandu, Nepal70 contributions
Sep 2022
This is the place where you can reliase yourself. makes you feel about the prospect of life.. People rush, greed , fear and always different emotions. and finally leave the soil. They remain as memory. This place makes them feel what is the motto of life.
Written September 29, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
BholaBanstola
51 contributions
Jul 2019
Everything can be warded away, but death looms within and without all the time. Only after seeing the open cremation, the sacred of death and the rites of passage gets unfurled. Give thtree hours around here.
Written January 15, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Carolyn W
7 contributions
Oct 2022
It is difficult to describe the experience here because it is so very different from anything I have ever witnessed. On the one hand, it feels as though the onlookers are intruding on one of the most precious and personal life events…the end of life. It is heartbreaking to witness another persons grief so openly. And on the other hand, I found myself curious and engrossed with a ritual so different from anything I have known. The reverence which the family provides to the deceased family member from the ceremonial washing of the body, to the placement of colorful shrouds on the body, the wrapping of the body in the white garment and the ritual of the placement of the body on it’s final resting place. There was a bit of a sense of being honored to bear witness to this life event.
Written November 6, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Sid
Hong Kong, China215 contributions
Feb 2020
This is real life people, or should i say the end of life, this is real.
For those wanting to stay poolside, have a massage and send a postcard, you are missing out.
These places are the reason you are here, death is celebrated and bodies are burned all day, an amazing spectacle to witness.
For those wanting to stay poolside, have a massage and send a postcard, you are missing out.
These places are the reason you are here, death is celebrated and bodies are burned all day, an amazing spectacle to witness.
Written February 24, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Rebecca
Adelaide, Australia2,215 contributions
Jan 2020 • Couples
Go here with a guide so you can learn about the interesting religion and cast system. They don’t plant their dead in the ground with a stone on top like we do in Aus, they burn them. Makes sense really.
Nothing too graphic, the bodies are covered up pretty well
Nothing too graphic, the bodies are covered up pretty well
Written January 29, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Abdel-Hafid B
Temara, Morocco30 contributions
Feb 2020 • Solo
During my visit to this temple, I was able to attend two cremations. One was dedicated to a child and the second to an adult. Note that cremations are of two types: one reserved for the rich and another for the average and poor. I admit that I was not very comfortable seeing a human body being consumed by fire
Written February 27, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
L Pearce
4 contributions
Jul 2022 • Solo
I wasn't sure how close we would be to the bodies burning when I went to visit, but as soon as I walked down by the river I looked over at the wood pile closest to me and about 2 metres away was a dead body of an old lady. It was confronting for a moment, but then as I sat and watched the bodies it felt very natural to have the process of death and burning happening in the open by the rives and the temple. I really recommend visiting and reflecting for a while here.
Written July 17, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Buenas, yo fui con guia, pero porque tenia el viaje organizado, pero realmente no hace falta, lo unico que hace el guia en ese lugar es llevarte a las zonas habilitadas para turistas (hay zonas que solo pueden pasar los locales), te explica un poco lo que ves y te deja que lo observes.
Pero vamos que para lo que explican perfectamente por internet podrás encontrar algo.
Si lo contratas, a lo mejor lo que si agradeces son los translados.
un saludo
Written December 19, 2016
I only have a half day in Kathmandu and would like to visit. Is there time to get from the old city to here and back using public transportation? Also, is Saturday afternoon a good time to visit? Thank you!
Written December 2, 2015
I suggest engage a guide/driver, who will guide you to the best viewing locations, and explain the significance of what you are seeing, and also make you feel more comfortable because you are with a local. Ceremonies are not scheduled, so you will need to allow an hour at least, to be able to witness an event ..no guarantees.
Written December 11, 2015
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