Immediately after the scientific event in the main city of Kathmandu, Dr Wolfgang Schachinger and his wife Gerda undertook an adventurous trip to the Himalayas. See here some pictures of the breathtaking views of the highest mountains in the world.

Here is her report:

After the congress ended, we started to explore some of Nepal in the few days we had. During a sightseeing tour on Sunday, 5 March afternoon, we were able to see two particularly impressive sights:

The "Maharishi Vedic Institute" on the outskirts of Kathmandu. This newly constructed building complex in Vedic architecture is enthroned on a hill above the smog bell of Kathmandu. It houses classrooms for training courses in Ayurveda and Transcendental Meditation and is currently home to 75 Maharishi Vedic Pundits. This group is the largest of a total of 90 Pundit groups in Nepal who perform Vedic rituals daily for world peace and for the health and success of individuals. A truly important task in times like these! The atmosphere in these special buildings was infectiously harmonious!

The Bodnath Stupa in the centre of Kathmandu. This Buddhist shrine, a mandala turned to stone, is 40 m high and more than 100 m in diameter at its base. It is the largest stupa in Nepal and one of the largest in the world and is visited daily by thousands of devotees Buddhists, Hindus and tourists from all over the world. Throughout the vast circumference of the stupa are prayer wheels, which are tapped and turned as the devout walk around (parigraha). Surrounding the stupa are shops, hotels, restaurants and other interesting buildings.

After sightseeing, we took a plane to Pokhara: a pure, tranquil lake in a rural setting, framed by virgin forests to the south, and by the majestic Himalayan mountains in all other directions.

After staying in a quiet hotel by the lake, we began to explore the area.

The first day we stayed near the lake to just enjoy the peace and fresh air. The next day we went to the valley of the river Kali Gandaki. We crossed the main range of the Himalayas and reached a dry highland. There is the famous pilgrimage site of Muktinath, from where several 8000m peaks can be seen: Annapurna, Dhaulagiri and Nigiri.

Travelling by jeep through the long valley was a real adventure!

Now we are looking forward to being home again!