In Nepal, the middle class is a growing social entity with increasing political, economic and symbolic significance. Both domestic tourism and pilgrimages have become important parts of middle-class practices and identity construction. Using the concept of middle-class culture, the aim of my research is to do ethnographic case studies in two specific locations – the Manakāmanā temple in Gorkha District and the Pāthibharā Devī shrine in Taplejung District of Nepal – in order to analyze the connections, synergies and interdependencies between current developments in domestic tourism, pilgrimage activities, and middle-class practices.
