At first I was a little unsure about visiting a cremation ghat. Not only did it seem voyeuristic, but also I really wasn’t sure I could stomach the odour of burning human flesh. However, devoid of cultural sights after a week in Pokhara I decided we would visit on our return to Kathmandu..

Arriving by taxi, amazingly intact after the driver’s increasingly frantically crossing himself (we know he can’t have been crossing himself but this is what it looked like!) as we drew close that the vehicle was swerving violently, we were immediately surrounded by would-be-guides keen to exploit the Nepalese novelty of cremation. They seemed quite taken aback when we pointed out that Europeans cremate people too, although we kept quiet about not doing it on an open funeral pyre.

Escaping the guides’ attentions we quickly scurried away from the riverbank up the opposite terraced bank, for fear of catching sight of a smouldering limb. Thankfully, as we glanced back at a safe distance, there was just one all but spent pyre, although I was rather unsettled as someone appeared to stoke it violently anxious that something recognisable my fall out.

Overall, perched at a respectful distance on the opposite bank to the sub-continent’s most important Hindu temple I felt pleasantly unobtrusive as the colourful devotees came and went, sprinkling vibrant marigold petals and powder at the water’s edge below. And the stench I had feared was instead a pleasant ceremonial sandalwood aroma, lulling me into accepting what had previously been such a distasteful undertaking.

Pashupatinath is one of the most sacred places in the Hindu religion. It is set up much like the Jewish temple of old, with different courtyards for those who are Hindi & those who are not.

To the right of the complex is a white hospice building where the near death await their final hour so that they might have their feet placed in the holy Bahgmati river while they die, so that their spirit may escape on to paradise.

After this the family wraps the body & prepares to place it on the funeral pyre they've built. The height of the pyre is representative of how wealthy the family was since the wood must be bought & transported to the temple.

There is more to Pashupati than just the temple complex. Up on the hill there is a place called the Sadhu grave yard with idols of Ganesh & holy stones & different buildings & is inhabited by the local monkeys.

Pashupati is somewhat paradoxal. On one side of the river are devout Hindus, worshiping their gods & mourning their loved ones & across the river are peddlers, beggars, tourists & those Hindus who are there just to blow some time. It is of some note that Bob Dylan wrote "Knocking on Heavens Door" while watching the cremations at Pashupati. If you go, spend some time in reflection.

On the outskirts of Kathmandu, close to the international airport, Pashupatinath is the main Hindu Temple with its burning gats on the banks of the Bagmati River.

Access is only permitted for Hindus but views of the extensive temple complex are gained from terraces on the opposite side of the river.

Your driver turns off the main road into a sidestreet winding through what appears to be a typical very-low-income Asian urban enclave. You’ve no idea that you’re approaching Nepalese Hinduism’s holiest temple. Leave the car, walk downhill on a narrow cobblestone lane, and the sight explodes in front of you: Directly ahead, a colorful pagoda-like shrine resplendent in crimson and gold trim. On the left, a massive temple complex. Further ahead, across a footbridge, a hillside with terrace after terrace of individual shrines, each honoring a different god or deceased dignitary.

This is the must-see temple complex of Pashupatinath --- Temple of the God Pashupati. There are many legends to recount and many stories to be told here --- it’s far better to visit with a professional guide.

As you gaze at the shrine-covered hill rising beyond the holy Bagmati River, a puff of white smoke drifts in from the right. Walking further, you’ll discover that its the smoke from riverside crematory fires. The cremations --- a Hindu tradition --- are worth their own journal entry.

On a foggy morning I visited Pashupatinath, on the banks of Bagmati river. This is a holy place for Hindus. This is a sanctuary devoted to Shiva. Shiva along with Vishnu and Brahma are the most important gods. A lot of Nandi (Nandi is the messenger of Shiva, it is always represented as a bull) statues decorate a large avenue which lead to the top of a wooden hill. Here you could find a temple inhabited by monkeys.

Near the river stand the gaths where the bodies of dead are burned, ashes follow the flood until the holy Gange. During the funeral ceremony I met a strange Sadhu who proposed to lift a 50 kg stone with his you know what! I declined his proposal so I didn't know if he was able to do so.