Religious Site Of Nepal

In Nepal, religion permeates every facet of life with festivals, daily rituals, family celebrations and religious observances. At every step one can see temples and shrines, processions and devotional music. Although Nepal is famous as the world’s only Hindu Nation, Hindusm,Buddhism and other faiths loving together in tolerance and harmony.

Pashupatinath Temple Shiva, the destroyer, is historically
the god most worshipped in the country. He may be worshipped as the holy ascetic, depicted with his consort Parvati and holding a trident and a small drum or more often in the form of the linga, an elongated stone representing his generative powers. The most important linga is situating in the holy shrine of Pashupatinath to west of Kathmandu. In front of Shiva temples one usually sees a statue of Nandi, the divine bull that serves as Shiva’s vehicle. Another popular form of Shiva in Nepal is the terrifying Bhirav. Different aspects of Bhairav plays major roles in many of the Valley’s festivals.


Swayambhunath There is a variety of Buddhist practices
in Nepal, the Buddhism of the endemic Newar people, perhaps related to the ancient Buddhism that passed out of India one thousand year ago; the Buddhism of the Sherpa, Tamang and Tibetan people and the relatively modern incursion of Theravadin or Southern Buddhism.

The central beliefs and practices date back to the time of its founder, Gautam Buddha who was born in Lumbini in the southern Terai in about 534 B.C. Until the age of 29, the young prince led a sheltered life in the palace of his father, completely unaware of the problems and suffering of the world outside his palace wall. One day he convinced his charioteer to take him outside the palace, where he was shocked at the sight of an old man, a sick man, a corpse and an ascetic. For many years, Gautam practiced asceticism without success. One night beneath a pepal tree in the forest of Bodh Gaya he became enlightened. Henceforth known as Lord Buddha, the ‘enlightened one’ he traveled around northern India and southern Nepal preaching the Middle Path to enlightenment. At the age of eighty he passed into the final enlightenment.

Lumbini , the birthplace of Siddhartha Gautam.
The Shakya prince and the ultimate Buddha, the Enlightened One, is the pilgrimage destination of the world’s millions of people faithful to all schools of Buddhism. UNESCO lists this nativity site, identified by Indian Emperor Ashoka’s commemorative pillar as a World Heritage Site.

The main attraction at Lumbini remains the Sacred Garden ,which spread over 8sq km and possessing all the treasures of the historic area. The Mayadevi temple is the main attraction for pilgrims and archaeologists alike. Here we find a bas relief of Mayadevi, Buddha’s mother giving birth to him. Standing west to the Mayadevi shrine is the oldest monument of Nepal, the Ashoka Pillar. Emperor Ashoka erected the pillar in 249BC to commemorate his pilgrimage to the sacred site. To the south of the pillar, we find the sacred pond, Puskarni, where Queen Mayadevi had taken a bath just before giving birth to lord Buddha.

There are other places of interest too nearby. It is accessible by air from Kathmandu to Bhairawa. From Kathmandu it takes about eight hours by bus or car.

Muktinath It is believed that all miseries / sorrows are relieved once you visit this temple (Mukti=Nirvana, Nath=God). The famous temple of Lord Muktinath lies in the district of Mustang and is situated about 18km northeast of Jomsom at an altitude of about 3,749m. The main shrine is a pagoda shaped temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu. Set into the wall around it is 108 waterspouts from which pour holy water. The temple is situated on a high mountain range and is visited during fair weather. There are two ways to get to Muktinath from Kathmandu. Either take a direct flight from Kathmandu via Pokhara to jomsom and hike for a 7-8 hours via Kagbeni or to trek all the way from Pokhara which takes 7-8 days. It is believed that one should visit this temple after competing pilgrimages of four Dhams in India. This temple held sacred by Hindus as well as Buddhists. The Jwala Mai temple nearby contains a spring and an eternal flame fed by natural gas underground. Jomsom is a major center in the Annapurna region.

Gosainkunda One of the most famous pilgrimage destinations of Nepal is Gosainkunda lake which is situated at an altitude of about 4,36m. The best approach to Gosainkunda is through Dhunche, 132km to the northeast of Kathmandu. Dhunche is linked with Kathmandu by a motorable road. Surrounded by high mountains on the north and the south, the lake is grand and picturesque. There are other nice nine famous Lakes such as Saraswati, Bhairav, Sourya, Ganesh Kunda etc.



Devghat Devghat is a popular pilgrimage spot situated at the confluence of the Kali Gandaki and Trisuli rivers. It lies just north of the Chitwan National Park. During the Magay Sakranti festival in January, Hindu devotees gather here to take holy dips in the river. There are a number of scared and history sites around Devghat which provide interesting side trips: the Triveni temple and Balmiki ashram where the great sage Balmiki had his retreat, the Someswar Kalika temple and fort, Pandavanag where the protagonists of the Mahabharat once lived and the Kabilaspur fort built by the old kings of Palpa.

Manakamana This temple place at an altitude of
3900 ft.
offer very good views of the Ganesh, Manaslu and Annapurna group. The surrounding village though is a mixture of 20th century Nepali bar rock and 2nd World War aftermath. Every day hundreds make the journey to worship at Manakamana's Bhagwati Mandir. For Nag Panchami, in late July or early August, celebrants construct an entire shrine out of flowers and foliage. Visiting Manakamana is a very Nepali thing to do, and even if you don't sacrifice a goat you'll feel like you've received an initiation into the society.