Nepal | A Guide to the World Heritage Sites of the Kathmandu Valley

| A guide to the World Heritage Sites of the Kathmandu Valley. As a history buff, visiting local World Heritage sites 🛕 is an essential part of my travel itinerary. I spent a few days in Kathmandu and visited all seven groups of historical buildings in the Kathmandu Valley. I highly recommend spending 2–3 days exploring them! - 1️⃣ Changu Narayan Temple (Figures 1–3) Located on a small hill about 11 km east of Kathmandu, this single temple is the most ornate of all the ancient sites in Kathmandu. - 2️⃣ Bhaktapur Durbar Square (Figures 4–5) Located about 12 km east of Kathmandu, a 30–40 min drive away. The main attraction is the five-story Nyatapola Temple on the southeast side of the square, the tallest Hindu temple in Nepal. There is also the famous Peacock Window 🦚. - 3️⃣ Patan Durbar Square (Figures 6–8) My favorite of the three Durbar Squares, as there is a great vantage point from the museum overlooking the square (Figure 6). - 4️⃣ Kathmandu Durbar Square (Figures 9–11) Probably the most famous of the seven sites. The Kumari, the living goddess of Kathmandu, still resides in a temple in the southwest corner of the complex. She appears at the window twice a day, at 11 am and 4 pm, for visitors to admire. - 5️⃣ Swayambhunath Stupa (also known as the Monkey Temple) (Figures 12–14) Located on a hill west of Kathmandu, it is also an excellent location for overlooking the city. Figure 12 captures the Dharahara Tower and a plane taking off in the distance. - 6️⃣ Pashupatinath Temple (also known as the Burning Corpse Temple) (Figures 15–17) Located on the banks of the Bagmati River, this temple is Nepal's largest cremation site. I recommend visiting in the evening to see the evening ceremonies. There are some ascetics by the river. You need to tip them if you want to take their picture (Figure 16). - 7️⃣ Boudhanath Stupa (Figure 18) The largest spherical stupa in the world. You need to take off your shoes to enter the stupa platform. I recommend wearing dark socks. - Due to limited space, I can't introduce each site in detail, but these seven World Heritage sites each have their own highlights. If you go to Kathmandu, you really shouldn't miss any of them! -