Even a mild shower has started to send a chill up the spine of the people living in the capital city Kathmandu, particularly those living in the lowlands.

The first ice stupa was created in 2013, in Ladakh, in Kashmir. Villages in Ladakh, a high mountain-desert region bordered by the Himalayas, largely depend on glacial runoff for water.

The site is also home to the 108-foot-tall Great Stupa of Dharmakaya, one of the largest stupa (Buddhist shrine) in North America, which is reminiscent of the hilltop Swayambhunath Mahachaitya monkey ...