Building sights in Kathmandu
- Sort by:
- Popular
-
Seto Machhendranath Temple
Southwest of Asan Tole, this important temple attracts both Buddhists and Hindus - Buddhists consider Seto (White) Machhendranath to be a form of Avalokiteshvara, while to Hindus he is a rain-bringing incarnation of Shiva. The temple's age is not known but it was restored during the 17th century. The arched entrance to the temple is marked by a small Buddha figure on a high stone pillar in front of two metal lions.
In the courtyard there are numerous small shrines, chaityas and statues, including a mysteriously European-looking female figure surrounded by candles who faces the temple. It may well have been an import from Europe that has simply been accepted into the panth…
reviewed
-
A
Pachali Bhairab & the Southern Ghats
Between Tripureshwar Marg and the Bagmati River at Pachali Bhairab a huge, ancient pipal tree forms a natural sanctuary for an image of Bhairab Pachali, surrounded by tridents (Pachali is a form of Shiva). To the side lies the brass body of Baital, one of Shiva's manifestations. Worshippers gather here on Tuesday and Saturday. It is particularly busy here during the festival of Pachali Bhairab Jatra.
From the temple you could explore the temples and ghats that line the holy, polluted, Bagmati River. Head south of Pachali Bhairab to the ghats on the riverbank to find a collection of lovely statuary. To the west is the Newari-style pagoda of the Lakshmi Mishwar Mahadev; to …
reviewed
-
B
Kasthamandap
Kathmandu owes its very name to the Kasthamandap, in the southwestern corner of the square. Although its history is uncertain, local tradition says the three-roofed building was constructed around the 12th century from the wood of a single sal tree. At first it served as a community centre where visitors gathered before major ceremonies - a mandap is a 16-pillared pilgrim shelter.
Later it was converted to a temple dedicated to Gorakhnath, a 13th-century ascetic who was subsequently linked to the royal family.
The last disciples were kicked out in the 1960s.
A central wooden enclosure houses the image of the god, which is noteworthy since Gorakhnath is generally represente…
reviewed
-
C
Taleju Temple
The square's most magnificent temple stands at to the northeast but is not open to the public. Even Hindus can only visit the temple briefly during the annual Dasain festival. The Taleju Temple was built in 1564 by Mahendra Malla. Taleju Bhawani was originally a goddess from the south of India, but she became the titular deity, or royal goddess, of the Malla kings in the 14th century. Taleju temples were erected in her honour in Patan and Bhaktapur, as well as in Kathmandu.
The temple stands on a 12-stage plinth and reaches more than 35m high, dominating the Durbar Sq area. The eighth stage of the plinth forms a wall around the temple, in front of which are 12 miniature t…
reviewed
-
D
Jaisi Deval Temple
The south of Kathmandu's old city was the heart of the ancient city in the Licchavi period (4th to 9th centuries) and its major temple is the tall, triple-roofed Jaisi Deval Temple, built just two years before Durbar Sq's famous Maju Deval (which is one platform higher). It's a Shiva temple, as indicated by the bull on the first few steps and the mildly erotic carvings on some of the temple struts.
Right across the road from the temple is a stone lingam rising a good 2m from a yoni (female equivalent of a phallic symbol). This is definitely a god-sized phallic symbol and a prayer here is said to aid fertility.
In its procession around the town during the Indra Jatra festiv…
reviewed
-
E
Kathesimbhu Stupa
The most popular Tibetan pilgrimage site in the old town is this lovely stupa, a small copy dating from around 1650 of the great Swayambhunath complex. Just as at Swayambhunath, there is a two-storey pagoda to Harti, the goddess of smallpox, right behind the main stupa. The entrance is flanked by metal lions atop red ochre concrete pillars, just a couple of minutes' walk south of Thamel.
Various statues and smaller chaityas (small stupas) stand around the temple, including a fine standing Avalokiteshvara statue enclosed in a glass case and protective metal cage in the northeast corner. Avalokiteshvara carries a lotus flower in his left hand, and the Dhyani Buddha Amitabha…
reviewed
-
F
Bhagwati Temple
Next to the Gaddhi Baithak, this triple-storey, triple-roofed Bhagwati Temple is easily missed since it surmounts the building below it, which currently has thangka (religious Tibetan paintings) shops along its front. The best view of the temple and its golden roofs is probably from the Maju Deval, across the square.
The temple was built by Jagat Jaya Malla and originally had an image of Narayan. This image was stolen in 1766, so when Prithvi Narayan Shah conquered the valley two years later he simply substituted it with an image of the goddess Bhagwati. In April each year the image of the goddess is conveyed to the village of Nuwakot, 65km to the north, then returned a f…
reviewed
-
G
Kala (Black) Bhairab
Behind the Jagannath Temple is the large figure of Kala (Black) Bhairab. Bhairab is Shiva in his most fearsome aspect, and this huge stone image of the terrifying Kala Bhairab has six arms, wears a garland of skulls and tramples a corpse, which is symbolic of human ignorance. The figure is said to have been brought here by Pratap Malla, having been found in a field to the north of the city. The image was originally cut from a single stone, but the upper left-hand corner has since been repaired.
It is said that telling a lie while standing before Kala Bhairab will bring instant death and it was once used as a form of trial by ordeal.
reviewed
-
H
Trailokya Mohan Narayan
Standing in the open area of the square is the smaller five-roofed Trailokya Mohan Narayan. It is easily identified as a temple to Narayan/Vishnu by the fine Garuda kneeling before it. This huge Garuda figure was a later addition, erected by King Prithvibendra Malla's widow soon after his death. Look for the Vaishnavite images on the carved roof struts and the window screens with their decoratively carved side medallions.
Dances depicting the 10 incarnations of Vishnu are performed on the platform to the east of the temple during the Indra Jatra festival.
reviewed
-
I
Indrapur Temple
This puzzling temple may be of great antiquity but has been renovated recently and little is known of its history. Even the god to which it is dedicated is controversial - the lingam inside indicates that it is a Shiva temple but the Garuda image half-buried on the southern side indicates that it is dedicated to Vishnu. However, the temple's name clearly indicates it is dedicated to Indra!
The temple's unadorned design and plain roof struts together with the lack of an identifying torana (pediment above the temple doors) offer no further clues.
reviewed
Advertisement
-
J
Shiva-Parvati Temple
From the steps of the Maju Deval you can look across the square to the Shiva-Parvati Temple, where the much-photographed images of Shiva and his consort look out from the upstairs window on the comings and goings below them. The temple was built in the late 1700s by Bahadur Shah, the son of Prithvi Narayan Shah. Although the temple is not very old by Kathmandu standards, it stands on a two-stage platform, which may have been an open dancing stage hundreds of years earlier.
reviewed
-
K
Kakeshwar Temple
Kakeshwar Temple was originally built in 1681 but, like so many other structures, was rebuilt after it was badly damaged in the 1934 earthquake. It may have been considerably altered at that time as the temple is a strange combination of styles. It starts with a Newari style floor, above which is an Indian shikhara-style upper storey, topped by a spire shaped like a kalasa (water vase), indicative of a female deity.
reviewed
-
L
Jagannath Temple
Jagannath Temple, noted for the erotic carvings on its roof struts, is the oldest structure in this part of the square. Pratap Malla claimed to have constructed the temple during his reign, but it may actually date back to 1563, during the rule of Mahendra Malla. The temple has a three-tiered platform and two storeys. There are three doors on each side of the temple, but only the centre door opens.
reviewed
-
M
Three Goddesses Temples
Next to the modern Sanchaya Kosh Bhawan Shopping Centre in Thamel are the generally ignored Three Goddesses Temples. The street on which the temples are located is named Tridevi Marg - tri means 'three' and devi means 'goddesses'. The goddesses are Dakshinkali, Manakamana and Jawalamai, and the roof struts have some creative erotic carvings.
reviewed
-
N
Kotilingeshwar Mahadev Temple
This early Malla temple dates from the reign of Mahendra Malla in the 16th century. The three-stage plinth is topped by a temple in the gumbhaj style, which basically means a square structure topped by a bell-shaped dome. The bull facing the temple on the west side indicates that it is a Shiva temple. Next door is the Mahavishnu Temple.
reviewed
-
O
Tana Deval Temple
Across from the Taleju Temple, in a walled courtyard, just past the long row of stalls, is the Tana Deval Temple, with three carved doorways and multiple struts, the latter of which show the multi-armed Ashta Matrikas (Mother Goddesses). It's possible to enter the temple. Nearby shops sell brightly-coloured Tibetan thangkas.
reviewed
-
P
Degutaleju Temple
This triple-roofed temple is actually part of the Hanuman Dhoka, surmounting the buildings below it, but is most easily seen from outside the palace walls. Degutaleju is another manifestation of the Malla's personal goddess Taleju. This temple was built by Shiva Singh Malla.
reviewed
-
Kabindrapur Temple
Kabindrapur Temple, or Dhansa Dega, is an ornate 17th-century performance pavilion which houses the god of music.
reviewed
