Taleju Temple, Kathmandu

The Taleju Temple in Hanuman Dhoka, at the heart of Kathmandu Durbar Square, is among the tallest and most politically significant temples in the Kathmandu Valley: built in 1564 by the Malla king Mahendra Malla, it enshrines Taleju Bhawani, the tantric royal patron goddess whom the Malla dynasty adopted as the protector of their kingship. The temple’s soaring multi-tiered pagoda dominates the historic Durbar Square skyline, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the shrine is closely linked to the tradition of the Kumari, the living child-goddess venerated as Taleju’s human embodiment in Nepali culture.

Unlike most major temples in the valley, Taleju’s inner sanctum is not open to daily worship: it is unlocked to the public just once a year, on Nawami during the autumn festival of Dashain, when devotees of Nepali Hindu descent may enter to pay respects. On every other day, visitors and pilgrims alike can only view the pagoda’s exterior from the square. The temple sustained structural damage in the 2015 Gorkha earthquake, part of a wave of destruction across Kathmandu Durbar Square’s monument zone, and it has separately drawn international attention through Nepal’s efforts to repatriate a historic gold and gemstone necklace once associated with the shrine, now held by Chicago’s Art Institute.