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Pashupatinath Temple

Kathmandu, Nepal

VerifiedDocumented history
Deities
Pashupatinath (Shiva)
Traditions
shaiva
Worship status
active
Coordinates
27.7106, 85.3487
Darshan hours
Varies by temple and season; consult the temple's own trust/management for the current daily schedule before visiting.
Best time to visit
Maha Shivaratri (Feb/Mar) is the temple's largest festival, drawing pilgrims from across Nepal and India; October to March otherwise for cooler weather.
How to reach
Located on the Bagmati river on the eastern edge of Kathmandu, reachable by road/taxi from anywhere in the city.
Festivals
Maha Shivaratri (February/March), Teej (August/September)

Location

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One of the most sacred Shiva temples in the world and a UNESCO World Heritage Site (inscribed 1979), Pashupatinath sits on the Bagmati river amid a large complex of temples, ashrams, and cremation ghats. Nepal’s largest Hindu pilgrimage site, its present pagoda-style structure was renovated in 1692 CE (within the Malla dynasty’s rule of the Kathmandu Valley) after earlier structures were damaged by termites and earthquakes, though the site’s sanctity as a Shiva kshetra is recorded in far older textual tradition.

Sources

  • historical record: UNESCO World Heritage inscription (1979) and 17th-century Malla-era reconstruction are well documented.
  • historical record: Cross-checked against Wikipedia's account of Pashupatinath Temple during verification pass: confirms UNESCO World Heritage inscription in 1979 and that the temple's current form was renovated in 1692 CE after earlier structures were damaged by termites and earthquakes (1692 falls within the Malla-dynasty period, which ruled the Kathmandu Valley until the late 1760s).

For review

  • Non-Hindus are traditionally not permitted to cross into the main temple courtyard, though the complex and cremation ghats can be viewed from across the river; this specific access-policy detail is well attested in general travel/heritage literature but was not explicitly confirmed within the Wikipedia excerpt reviewed in this verification pass.