How heritage walks invite people to experience culture beyond monuments and museums

Heritage interpreter Rishi Amatya begins his cultural walks in Patan not by showing, but by asking students to close their eyes and listen. He guides them to focus on sounds often overlooked, the echoes of windchimes or temple bells, making them consciously aware of the city's auditory landscape. For Amatya, heritage experiences are meant to be heard and felt, engaging a full spectrum of senses.

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Visions generally guide our senses. We tend to assume what a sound is, or what an experience means, based on what we see. With this, there are many things that people miss, be it the laughter of Mangalbazar’s children or the sound of water trickling from hitis.

"Visions generally guide our senses," Amatya explains. "We tend to assume what a sound is, or what an experience means, based on what we see. With this, there are many things that people miss, be it the laughter of Mangalbazar’s children or the sound of water trickling from hitis." He has organized these walks for over a decade, with post-2015 earthquake tours focusing on reconstruction. Today, his explorations cover Patan’s history, traditions like the Bunga Dya (Rato Macchindranath Jatra), and educational tours for government school students.

Amatya emphasizes the richness of both tangible and intangible heritage. "Beyond monumental squares, the individual and community practices equally shape this heritage, which is often skimmed over in educational practices," he notes. His walks, particularly those centered on the Bunga Dya festival, aim to illuminate how communal cultures are intrinsically linked to the deity, fostering an understanding of cultural heritage and collective identity among youth.

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The abundance of history and intangible heritage concentrated in these places is remarkable. Beyond monumental squares, the individual and community practices equally shape this heritage, which is often skimmed over in educational practices.

Similar initiatives are revitalizing heritage experiences across the Kathmandu Valley. Srichchha Pradhan, Miss Nepal World 2023, organizes walks through her initiative ‘Deego Pranali,’ often attended by youth and foreigners, prompting multilingual sessions. "I do this to connect ecology and culture," she states. "It is also an effort to understand our cultural identity. These walks motivate people to know who they are, reconnect with their grandparents and find themselves in their own cultures." Her walks integrate food, agriculture, and history, starting with questions that ground participants in place and memory.

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The whole idea of my walks, especially those centred on Bunga Dya, is to understand how these communal cultures are tied to this deity.

For some, like Rushel Shilpakar, a Bhaktapur native, these encounters deepen their connection to their hometown. His year-long campaign to explore Bhaktapur transformed his relationship with the city, revealing its historic neighborhoods, courtyards, and shrines with renewed curiosity. These walks, combining a full spectrum of sensory experiences, highlight how participatory encounters can redefine the experience of heritage.

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I do this to connect ecology and culture. It is also an effort to understand our cultural identity. These walks motivate people to know who they are, reconnect with their grandparents and find themselves in their own cultures.