A Hindu holy man, or sadhu, sits beside a fire after smearing his body with ashes at the premises of Pashupatinath Temple, ahead of the Shivaratri festival in Kathmandu, Nepal February 21, 2017. Hindus mark the Maha Shivratri festival by offering special prayers and fasting, with sadhus arriving at Pashupatinath to take part in the event, which takes place on February 24. (Photo by Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)

Nepalese Mahuts with their elephant participate in elephant picnic as a part of the12th Chitawan Elephant Festival at Sauhara, Chitawan, some 154 kilometer from the capital of Kathmandu, Nepal, 28 December 2015. More than 80 elephant with their Mahuts joined the elephant picnic. The five-day festival began on 26 December to spread awareness about wildlife and promote tourism. (Photo by Hemanta Shrestha/EPA)

A Hindu holy man with his face smears with ash and vermilion powder adjusts his head gear sitting at the courtyard of the Pashupatinath Temple during Shivaratri festival in Kathmandu, Nepal, Monday, March 4, 2019. Shivaratri, or the night of Shiva, is dedicated to the worship of Lord Shiva, the Hindu god of death and destruction. (Photo by Niranjan Shrestha/AP Photo)

A woman struggles to drink homemade alcohol poured from the mouth of an idol of “Swet Bhairab” during the annual Indra Jatra festival to worship Indra, Kumari and other deities and to mark the end of monsoon season in Kathmandu, Nepal on September 15, 2019. (Photo by Monika Deupala/Reuters)

A masked dancer performs as part of “Devi Pyankha” (Devi Dance) to mark the beginning of the Indra Jatra Festival in Kathmandu, Nepal on September 15, 2021. Nepali celebrate the Indra Jatra festival to worship “Indra”, the god of rain and to mark the end of monsoon season. (Photo by Sunil Sharma/ZUMA Press Wire/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

People wait at a bus stop during heavy rain in Kathmandu, Nepal on September 21, 2020. The government eased the coronavirus lockdown for economic activities despite the number of COVID-19 cases is on the rise in Nepal. (Photo by Narendra Shrestha/EPA/EFE/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

A girl from the Tharu community takes part in a ritual during the Shama Chakewa festival to honor the relationship between brothers and sisters in Kathmandu on November 8, 2022. (Photo by Skanda Gautam/ZUMA Press Wire/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

The legendary US photographer’s favourite shots of creatures and how they interact with humans feature in “Animals”, his latest book. Here: A boy rests against a cow, Kathmandu, Nepal, 2013. “Cows have been designated the national animal in Nepal. They roam freely, and are considered sacred by the 80% of Nepalis who are Hindu”. (Photo by Steve McCurry/The Guardian)