You might wonder why would someone want to do Nepal photography in black and white? Nepal is a world of color, patterns and a busy, chaotic world all wrapped up in an intense blend of daily life. But it is also an ancient world, of religion and spirituality, beautiful people and amazing street life. You can easily find inspiration in the many striking temples, monasteries, scenic landscapes and incredible wildlife – let’s not just get taken away with those majestic Himalaya range that the country is well known for. I took this journey of discovery to experience, observe and challenge myself to present Nepal’s unique culture, traditions and scenery by presenting Nepal photography captured in black and white.
My favorite Nepal photography images in black and white
Everyday life in Nepal is always a jumble amid a world of exotic culture and tradition, comfort food, impressive architecture and grand temples, while the crumbling infrastructure makes it a challenge for everyone struggling to scrape a living. It’s about living for today mixed in a changing environment that embraces the old world and religion beliefs juxtaposed with cell phones everywhere and selfies taken at every interesting monument. You definitely need patience and warm and friendly smiles to get into the essence of the people and the place around the country.

The monastery of peace in Lumbini – birthplace of the Buddha
Slow down and breath – Nepal unfolds in its own pace and is discovered best when you take in the country in a relaxed and comfortable pace. Observe all the details and nuances, frenetic lifestyle and impressive landscape that you will come across on your journey. I find that presenting black and white photographs capture a different vibe and feel, effectively presenting both New and the old in a timeless way but in a world in transition. It’s exciting and wonderful to discover.

Durbar square royal palace at Katmandu – interior courtyard
Exploring Katmandu in black and white
The historic capital of Nepal in Katmandu is seeped in so much history, traditions and incredible monuments from its illustrious past from ornate places in the three Durbar Squares of the ancient capitals of Katmandu, to mysterious and exotic Hindu and Buddhist temples that are pilgrimage sites that believers come to visit and pay their respect. It is in these incredible places of worship and grand architecture that you will find the everyday situation even gossip immediately brings a sense of place and humanity to these stunning landmarks worth visiting around Katmandu.
Katmandu’s royal palace and grounds

The monkey temple or Swayambhu in Katmandu
A place of worship at Pashupatinath Temple in Katmandu
One of the holiest hindu temples in Nepal, Pashupatinath Temple in Katmandu is a very important pilgrimage site with a complex of temples, monuments and burial activities that occur daily at the temple. In between all these various processions and activities the monkeys casually wander around looking for food scraps and anything they can get their hands on – they are fun to photograph ordinary things that mischievous monkeys will always do.
A saddhu at Pashupatinath Temple in Katmandu
Nepal photography in black and white – Chitwan National Park
In the southern part of the country, the national park of Chitwan is impressive and worth visiting when you come to Nepal and why you may ask? The national park hosts some of the most amazing wildlife and rare animals that you will find anywhere in the world and this includes rare rhinos, Bengal tigers and leopards, sloth bears and spotted deer, it’s all pretty spectacular. Photographing the countryside and wildlife seems pretty natural to do this in color so you can easily get the wildlife in focus and color. Doing this in black and white tends to be more challenging with landscape or animals that can be hidden into the jungle with imagery that can be relatively flat in presentation. But sometimes it does work with a little luck in lighting, sighting spectacular wildlife and getting your camera ready to capture those amazing moments.
I have written a post about this amazing safari experience in Chitwan National Park here, check out more images and inspiration from this discovery tour.
A safari experience at Chitwan National park
Beautiful landscapes at Chitwan National Park
Nepal photography in black and white – Buddha’s birthplace at Lumbini
Lumbini is an inspiring place to visit and photograph because this is where the Buddha was born and is a significant spiritual pilgrimage site and Unesco World Heritage Site. There are so many fascinating temples, monasteries and the holy site at Lumbini to explore – you can check out more images and inspiring attractions of Lumbini here for more about my experience visiting this Unesco site.
Lovely temples and monasteries of Lumbini
Nepal photography in black and white – Durbar Square & temples of Bhaktapur
One of three kingdoms around the Katmandu area, Bhaktapur is one of the most stunning and severely damaged areas of the major earthquake and destruction in Nepal. But what has survived and going through massive reconstruction of this incredible Unesco site is so amazing to witness and capture in photographs whether it is the incredible architecture and cultural treasures to the everyday living and street that occurs in this historic ancient capital. Here are some of my favorite captures visiting Bhaktapur in black and white.
Street life in Bhaktapur’s Durbar Square
Street life and Nepalese portraits
Nepalese people are really approachable and friendly – most don’t mind you taking a picture of them when you either ask or gesture with your camera and look them in the eye. I love to walk around busy streets with the possibility of capturing something spontaneous, unique and tells its own story. Here are some of my favorite street scenes and portraits from around Nepal and the urban environment.

Market stand in the Thamel district of Katmandu
Market stalls in Thamel, Katmandu
Passing a small shrine in the Thamel district
Watching the funeral pyres at Pashupatinath Temple
Life and death is celebrated at Pashupatinath Temple
Nepal photography in black and white – Pokhara at the base of the Annapurnas
Pokhara is the main base where treks and tour companies can be found and this bustling city is very tourist driven with a tacky tourist area right on the lakeshore of the scenic Fewa lake. But if you can look beyond the hordes of souvenir shops and hotels and walk, bike or even paddle around the lake, you will find a delightful place that definitely is worth exploring even if your not the type of person to go out on a trek up to the Annapurnas. Here are a few of my favorite scenes and images while exploring Pohkara.

Fewa lake and boatmen for hire around Fewa lake at Pokhara

Enjoying the flowers views of Pokhara from above at the World Peace Pagoda

Enjoying tea while waiting for sunrise at the World Peace Pagoda above Pokhara

Beautiful gardens and views at the World Peace Pagoda above Pokhara
As you can see Nepal is a very chaotic but exciting place to visit and filled with photo opportunities and you get a different perspective presenting Nepal in Black and White. When you try to focus and eliminate the vivid colors of Nepal and pare it down to the basic elements of black and white, what you end up with is the rich taspestry of incredible patterns, smiling faces, exotic temples and the truly gorgeous landscape of the country. I hope this post has inspired you to visit Nepal some day or to even try creating or experimenting with black and white imagery and composition for your travel photography.
Check out these other posts on visiting Nepal
Buddha’s birthplace at Lumbini
A visit to Chitwan National Park
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Your photos turned out amazing- I love black and white photography. It was so cool reading through this knowing I had been at several of these when you were taking them!
Yes I agree, it is fun traveling with someone else to see what spin, imagery or writing they did and how they were inspired personally on this experience.
Katmandu architectural design looks amazing and witht he bkack and white photography brings up the every detail design. And what a great way to stop and take in the scenic views with a cup of tea.
Fantastic and inspiring photos, Noel! I usually like B&W photography, especially for street life and some architectural ruins. But in Nepal I am missing its colorful flags for example or the green of its landscapes. I think that in the end I would choose a mix of color and B&W
You have such beautiful photos from Nepal – black and white definitely takes a lot of the chaos out of the scene, and allows you to appreciate the sights from a different perspective.
Thanks so much Meg, appreciate it!
I love these – the B/W makes the viewer really stop and look the image in a way that doesn’t happen with color. Really lovely.
Wow, really beautiful photography. I’m sure the colours around you were amazing, but I agree with the others that black and whites just give a different dimension to the photos. Fantastic work. I’m quite impressed!
Amazing pictures! Born and raised in Nepal, I have always seen it in color but this adds a whole new perpective to it. Simply amazing.
I like the way B&W brings out the textures that might otherwise be softened by all the colour. The temples in Nepal are a good candidate for this technique.
Love all these captures! I truly loved the black and white, I focused in on the people and culture
Seeing these images has only attracted me more and more to wanting to go to Nepal. Fantastic photos of a beautiful country.
You captured all these really well. I struggle with working on black and white yet yours turned out so alive despite being black and white. You are really good.
thanks, it just takes practice, check out my post on black and white basics for a primer
Wow! These are truly wonderful and sublime photos of Nepal! You really got an eye for details, Noel!! Thank you so much for sharing this post!
I love black and white photography. There is always some parts of a photo when done in colour the eye misses out but can easily be pointed out in a B&W. I also love the photos of Nepal here, a great insight in the locals captured.
Black and white images give another perspective of Nepal. Awesome photos, Noel!
Thanks so much for commenting Kathleen, I appreciate it.