Nepal. Holi

 Holi is the most colorful Hindu festival, symbolizing the arrival of spring. Since 80% of Nepal's population practices Hinduism, the celebrations here can be even more spectacular than in India... The Holi festival coincided with our stay in Pokhara, and this day became a distinct and most vivid story in our eventful journey...

 Even during our preparation for the trip to Nepal, we had heard about this festival, knew that we would be there during the dates of the celebration, and were very eager to participate. But how to find out where the most massive celebration would be? To ensure we didn't miss a minute of the most colorful second day of the festival, we even stayed one day longer in Pokhara, as we found it a more attractive city for the celebration and fell in love with its peaceful atmosphere. In the end, we realized that the celebrations were in full swing all over the city, and on the main avenue near the lake, where we were staying, it turned into an incredibly colorful parade. Therefore, we didn't need to search for a more suitable place to celebrate, as we were already in it. We just had to figure out how to protect our camera from moisture, paint, etc., and find clothes we wouldn't mind throwing away... We completed the preparation phase the day before the festival, buying white T-shirts to make the paint more visible, and crafted a camera cover from plastic bags...

   The next morning, after breakfast, we went for a walk along the avenue. After buying various colored powders, we celebrated by smearing each other, first a little, then a lot more...

  In a conversation with a woman selling jewelry, we learned that the real active celebration would begin around 11 a.m. Well, we started our Holi from the very morning :) ...     

   After walking a bit, we met Richard, someone we had met on the trek. During our first meeting, we shared our plans for conquering heights, and we had crossed paths several times over the 11 days of our journey through the mountain reserve. Now, almost at the end of our 30-day trip to Nepal, we met again. It was nice to share our trekking achievements and find out if Richard had achieved his goals. And of course, we wished each other a symbolic "Happy Holi"...    

  A bit about the colors used during the celebration and why they are thrown at each other. From Wikipedia: the weather in spring in India and Nepal is changeable, so colds and various respiratory infections are common. Therefore, the festive sprinkling with medicinal herb powders (neem, kumkum, haldi, bilva, and others) is recommended by the sacred healers of Ayurveda. This powder was sold in small sealed packets. I don't know if these powders were medicinal, but we didn't experience any side effects, only a lot of positive emotions...      

 The farther we went, the more colors covered our faces, hair, and clothes, and everything happened very culturally, with great positivity and, most importantly, kindness...

  And the further we went, the more colorful it became...

  The climax was the massive colorful parades to the sound of drums and trumpets. We actively participated, marching in the column, throwing colors, and enjoying life...       

  Only in the photos did we notice this "cunning" girl with a bottle of blue liquid :)

  We spent an incredibly positive day. In the evening, on a stage set up in the central part of the avenue, local bands performed cover versions of famous hits. We listened for a while, then went to the lake to enjoy the sunset one last time before our departure. The next day, we were heading to Kathmandu, and our journey was coming to an end...    

To be continued... Kathmandu