Nepal located in South Asia has a rich cultural heritage where Hinduism and Buddhism are the primary religions. There’s no conflict between these two religions and blended with perfect harmony. No wonder there are countless Hindu temples and shrines, Buddhist monasteries and stupas all over the country. Most of them are inside the Kathmandu Valley, so Kathmandu city is also popularly known as ‘the city of temples’. UNESCO has declared these temples and Buddhist stupas as UNESCO world heritage sites. You won’t believe there is seven UNESCO world heritage site inside the Kathmandu Valley. Kathmandu valley UNESCO world heritage site includes Kathmandu Durbar Square, Patan Durbar Square, Bhaktapur Durbar Square, Swayambhunath ‘Monkey Temple’, Pashupatinath and Changunarayan Temple. The main objective of kathmandu-sightseeing-private-day-tour is to pay a visit to these kathmandu valley UNESCO world heritage sites. UNESCO world heritage sites in Kathmandu includes the followings sites which are visited during kathmandu sightseeing package.
Swayambhunath ‘Monkey Temple’
Swayambhunath monkey temple is located atop a hill from where a spectacular view of the entire Kathmandu City can be seen including the surrounding mountains. Due to many monkeys residing in it’s frosted areas thus tourists popularly named it ‘Monkey Temple’. Swayambhu monkey temple is a large Buddhist stupa with two eyes of Lord Buddha at it’s each direction facing north, south, east and west. It’s believed that these eyes are watching over the valley and protecting the valley. Swayambhunath entrance fee is Rs. 200 per person.
Pashupatinath
Pashupatinath temple is the most popular Hindu temple located at the banks of Holy Bagmati River. Hindu pilgrims from all over visit the temple to pay their homage especially the Indian pilgrims. Another interesting thing about the temple is one can witness Hindu cremations at the banks of Bagmati River. Pashupatinath aarti is also an amazing event to observe which is performed in the evening. Aarti is performed by priests with lighting a ‘diyo’ chanting mantras and Hindu religious music. It’s a great ceremony to watch and perfect for good photography. Besides, there are many small temples in the Pashupatinath area and small forested hill where you can also find many monkeys. Pashupatinath entry fee is Rs. 1000 per person.
Boudhanath
Boudhanath stupa is the largest Buddhist stupa inside Kathmandu Valley. The stupa is located closer to Pashupatinath and about a 10-30 minutes drive as per the traffic condition. The structure and architecture of Boudhanath and Swayambhunath are quite similar. The only difference is Swayambhunath is located atop hill whereas Boudhanath is on lower ground. There are several Buddhist monasteries in and around the Boudhanath area. Yon can light a butter lamp and pray. There are also considerable restaurants in the Boudhanath area usually you can have a lunch break during the Kathmandu sightseeing tour. You can also observe many Buddhists circulating the stupa chanting mantras and spinning prayer wheels at the stupa wall. Boudhanath’s entrance fee is Rs. 400 per person.
Kathmandu Durbar Square
Kathmandu Durbar Square is located closer to Thamel and about 15 minutes from Thamel. The square has many temples, old king’s palaces, Kumari ‘the living goddess’ temple. At an early age, it’s the seat of power where kings ruled Nepal. Later on, the king’s palace was sifted to Narayanhiti now a Narayanhiti Palace Museum. Kathmandu durbar square after the earthquake was in bad condition with many temples being destroyed. At present time much of the temples are restored and still going on. Though Kathmandu durbar square museum can’t is closed now since restoration is underway. Kathmandu durbar square entrance fee is Rs. 1000 per person.
Patan Durbar Square
Patan durbar square location is closer to Kathmandu city. Kathmandu Valley primarily is made up of three queen cities Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur. It’s about 30 minutes drive from Thamel as per the traffic condition. The square has several age-old king palaces, museums, temples. The king’s palace in Patan has Patan durbar square museum which is an interesting visit. There are also best restaurants Patan durbar square. Patan durbar square architecture is inspired by typical Nepali architectural design with pagoda temples originally made famous by Araniko (1245–1306) was one of the key figures in the arts of Nepal and Yuan dynasty of China. Patan durbar square entrance fee is Rs. 1000 per person.
Bhaktapur Durbar Square
Bhaktapur is a must-visit if you wish to witness age-old Nepal since the city has still retained it’s originality and is untouched by modernity. The old town of Bhaktapur is a little outside from Kathmandu city 16 km approx and takes about 30-45 minutes as per the traffic condition. Bhaktapur is a living museum with ancient royal palaces, temples, shrines etc. You can still see age-old houses that go back to even 100 years back. Bhaktapur durbar square museum has many collections of paintings and other things used by early kings. Bhaktapur durbar square after earthquake was not in a bad shape as compared to Kathmandu Durbar Square where much of the ancient temples and palaces were damaged. Presently most of them have already been restored at Kathmandu Durbar Square though. A visit to Bhaktapur durbar square takes you back to time where the popular sites are the palace of 55 windows, golden gate, Nyatapola temple (a five-stories Pagoda temple), Dattatreya Square etc. There are also many Bhaktapur durbar square hotel where one can stay overnight if you are looking for a more serene environment. Bhaktapur durbar square entrance fee is Rs. 1500 or US$15 per person.
