The Toothache Tree, a Unique Coin-Covered Shrine in Kathmandu
The Nepalese capital city of Kathmandu is home to a peculiar shrine to goddess Vaisha Dev, the patron saint of toothache, where people suffering from dental problems nail rupee coins on an old tree trunk as offerings. Located on a narrow street in Kathmandu, between Thamel and Kathmandu Durbar Square, the Toothache Tree is undoubtedly […]
The World’s Toughest Cheese Is Hard as a Rock, Turns into Chewing Gum
I understand that the title reads a bit strange, but then again this is no ordinary cheese we’re talking about. It’s the hardest cheese in the world, and yes, it can be chewed like gum for up to two hours. Chhurpi or Durkha is a traditional Nepalese cheese that has been a means of survival […]
11-Year-Old Nepalese Girl Claims She Can Recognize Colors by Smell
Deepti Regmi, an 11-year-old girl from Nepal, spontaneously developed a peculiar ability last year. She is, inexplicably, able to smell colors, and can supposedly even identify them while blindfolded. Although she does not have an official diagnosis, her ability appears to be related to the sensory phenomena known as synaesthesia. Synaesthesia causes the person’s senses […]
The Kung Fu Nuns of Nepal
For centuries, Buddhist nuns have been banned from practicing the deadly martial art of kung fu, but a few years ago the Druk Amitabha Mountain nunnery in Nepal became the home of the world’s first first order of kung fu nuns. Traditionally, the inherently patriarchal Buddhist monastic system has nuns performing only the most meanial of domestic tasks, […]
Kidney Valley – The Nepalese Village Where Almost Everyone Has Sold One of Their Kidneys
Believe it or not, the villagers of Hokse, Nepal, are so poor that they’re forced to sell their own organs in order to make ends meet. The practice is so common there that the place has been nicknamed ‘Kidney Village’. Organ brokers regularly visit the village and its surrounding areas and convince cash-strapped locals to […]
Nepalese “God of Sight” Has Restored Sight to 100,000 People Around the World with Simple Five-Minute Procedure
Nepalese eye doctor Sanduk Ruit is being hailed as a miracle worker – he has single-handedly managed to restore the eyesight of over 100,000 people across two continents. All it takes him is a simple, five-minute procedure! According to WHO statistics, 90 percent of the world’s blind population live in low-income areas, and 80 percent […]
Nepal’s Worshiped Child Goddesses Whose Feet Cannot Touch the Ground until Puberty
Nepal is a land of mysticism, where a select few pre-pubescent girls from the Newar clan are worshiped as ‘Kumari Devi’ or ‘Virgin Goddess’. According to tradition, Durga (the Hindu goddess of destruction) herself is incarnate in young girls belonging to the silver and goldsmith community. Until they attain puberty, Kumaris are worshipped as deities […]
The World’s Scariest Airport Is a Real Heart-Stopper
As if being situated at 10,000 feet above sea level, in the Himalayas, didn’t make it hard enough for pilots trying to land on or take off from Tenzing-Hillary Airport, in Lukla, Nepal, the short and narrow runway ends at the edge of a precipice, making it one of the most dangerous airports in the […]