Madhyapur Thimi

Thimi sits on a ridge between Kathmandu and Bhaktapur and has made pottery for centuries: wheels turn in courtyards, unfired pots dry in rows in the open squares, and the kilns are fired in the streets, which makes walking here a matter of stepping between drying stock. Papier-mâché masks are the other local craft. Its great day is Bisket Jatra in April, when Sindoor Jatra fills the streets: dozens of palanquins carrying deities are carried at a run through the town while participants throw handfuls of sindoor, red vermilion powder, over everything and everyone, to the sound of drums, and the whole town turns red. It is one of the more vivid festivals in the valley and it happens at the Nepali new year.

History

Thimi lies on the old trade route from Bhaktapur to Kathmandu, and there are signs the town may be very old: a study by Mohan Pant and Shuji Funo found its regular grid of plots, 9.6 by 19.2 metres, close in dimension to the street blocks of Mohenjo-daro, Sirkap and Patan (Wikipedia, Madhyapur Thimi).

What to look for

• Pottery yards - wheels turning and pots drying in the open squares.
• Street kilns - firings in the lanes between houses.
• Sindoor Jatra - the April procession under clouds of red powder.
• Mask making - the papier-mâché workshops of the town.

When to go

Mid-April for Bisket and Sindoor Jatra, which is the reason to time a visit; the dates fall at the Nepali new year. October to April otherwise for the pottery yards and clear weather.

What to expect

During Sindoor Jatra clothes and cameras get covered in red powder that does not wash out; take nothing you value. The town is otherwise workaday and the pottery yards are working premises. Earthquake damage is still visible.

Nearby

Bhaktapur lies east; Kathmandu is west.

Key facts