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The small mountain kingdom of Nepal is blessed with such astonishing and unique sites that within the area of 140,800 sq km Nepal holds a considerably high number of places recongnised by UNESCO (United Nations Educational Scientific Cultural Organisation) as 'World Heritage Sites'. There are altogether ten World Heritage Sites in Nepal, seven of which are in Kathmandu itself. The list includes both natural as well as cultural sites.

Cultural Sites
The cultural heritage of the Kathmandu Valley is illustrated by seven groups of monuments and buildings which display the full range of historic and artistic achievements for which the Kathmandu Valley is world famous. The seven sites include the Durbar Squares of Hanuman Dhoka (Kathmandu), Patan and Bhaktapur, the Buddhist stupas of Swayambhu and Bauddhanath, and the Hindu temples of Pashupati and Changu Narayan. Click on the following links to get detailed information about the individual sites.

Kathmandu Durbar Square

Kathmandu Durbar SquareListed as one of the eight Cultural World Heritage site by UNESCO, Kathmandu Durbar Square is a cluster of ancient temples, palaces, courtyards and streets that date back to the 12th and 18th centuries. The square is known to be the social, religious and urban focal point of the Capital City. The Palace Complex was the royal Nepalese residence until the 19th century and is the site of important ceremonies, such as the coronation of the Nepalese monarch.

 

Patan Durbar Square

Patan Durbar SquarePatan Durbar Square complex, situated in the center of Patan city, also known as Lalitpur, houses the residence of the former Patan royal family. Patan Square and its surroundings are good specimen of ancient Newari architecture. There are three main courtyards in the palace: Mul Chowk, Sundari Chowk and Keshav Narayan Chowk. Mul Chowk, the oldest one, is at the centre of Patan square.

 

 

Bhaktapur Durbar Square
Bhaktapur Durbar SquareBhaktapur Durbar Square is an assortment of pagoda and shikhara-style temples grouped around a fifty-five-window palace of brick and wood. The square is part of a charming valley as it highlights the idols of ancient kings perched on top of stone monoliths, the guardian deities looking out from their sanctuaries, the wood carvings in very place - struts, lintels, tympanums, gateways and windows - all seem to form a well orchestrated symphony.

 
Changu Narayan Temple
Changu Narayan TempleChangu Narayan Temple, the oldest temple in Kathmandu valley came in existence in 4th century. The temple is adorned by some of the best specimen of stone, wood, and metal craft in the valley. The temple stands as the epitome of culture, religion, history and faith of the Kathmandu valley.Inside the Changunarayan temple is a esteemed figure of Garuda. The statue is offered sweets by the devotees every year on Nag Panchami. This is done in remembrance of the epic struggle with the great snake Taksaka.

 

Swayambhunath
Swayambhunath stupaThe Buddhist temple of Swayambhunath, situated on the top of a hill, west of Kathmandu, is one of the most popular, holy and instantly recognizable symbols of Nepal. The temple is colloquially known as the 'monkey temple' because of the large tribe of roving monkeys who guard the temple. Swayambhunath Stupa is a golden spire crowning a conical wooded hill. It is the most ancient and enigmatic of all the holy shrines in Kathmandu Valley. It has a lofty white dome and a glittering golden spire that are visible from all sides of the valley

 

Pashupatinath Temple
Pashupatinath Temple Pashupatinath Temple, with its astonishing architectural beauty, stands as a symbol of faith, religion, culture and tradition. Regarded as the most sacred temple of Hindu Lord Shiva in the world, Pashupatinath Temple's existence dates back to 400 A.D. The richly-ornamented pagoda houses the sacred linga or phallic symbol of Lord Shiva. Thousands of pilgrims from all over the world come to pay homage to this temple, that is also known as 'The Temple of Living Beings'.

 

Lumbini
Lumbini Nepal Lumbini, birthplace of Lord Buddha, is the centre of holy faith for the millions of Buddhists all over the world. Located in south-western Nepal, Lumbini holds several reminders of Lord Buddha. One of the most important historical sites in Nepal is endowed by nature with rich natural beauty. The garden is foremost attraction in Lumbini tourism. The fact that Lord Buddha had taken birth in Lumbini Garden makes it a plce of reverence.

 
Bouddhanath Stupa
Bouddhanath StupaBouddhanath Stupa, the biggest stupa in Nepal, lies about 7 km east of the capital. The Bouddhanath stupa, also called by many as Khasti Chitya, is one of the oldest stupas in the country. After 1959, many Tibetans arrived and settled in Bouddhanath area. The stupa, a well-known Buddhist pilgrimage site, is included in World Heritage Cultural site list by UNESCO. With diameter of about 100m and 40m height, Buddhanath holds its place among the largest stupas in the world. 



Natural Sites
Nepal's national parks included in the World Heritage Sites List are exceptional areas with dramatic mountains, glaciers, deep valleys and undisturbed vestiges of the 'Terai' region. Several rare species, such as the snow leopard, lesser panda, single-horned Asiatic rhinoceros and the Bengal tiger are found in these park.

Chitwan National Park
Sagarmatha National Park

UNESCO World Heritage Sites
The World Heritage List includes 830 properties forming part of the cultural and natural heritage which the World Heritage Committee considers as having outstanding universal value.These include 644 cultural, 162 natural and 24 mixed properties. Out of these 10 sites are from Nepal itself. Seven out of these are cultural and two natural.

Some Nepal Sites/Properties submitted on the Tentative List of UNESCO
The early medieval architectural complex of Panauti (1996)
Tilaurakot, the archaeological remains of ancient Shakya Kingdom (1996)
Cave architecture of Muktinath Valley of Mustang (1996)
The medieval palace complex of Gorkha (1996)
Ramagrama, the relic stupa of Lord Buddha (1996)

Khokana, the vernacular village and its mustard-oil seed industrial heritage (1996)

 


Comments (10) >> feed
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written by tsering dolkar, January 25, 2008

hello,,,, i like ur website

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written by Heritage Buddy, July 06, 2008

If you are interested in heritage tours in Nepal, it has magnificent heritage site to visit to different places in Nepal. Most of the tour operator of Nepal provides personalized Heritage Tours to explore Nepal’s tribal village, ancient monuments, Hindu and Buddhist temples, wildlife and ancient villages in a different way .

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written by prabesh, October 18, 2008

put some ready made project homeworks on heritage sites in pokhara.


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written by sanju, June 26, 2009

:-i really liked ur website knowing our countrys monuments better


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written by shabdita, September 24, 2009

ur website is superb. it really helped me alot to do my project keep the good work

...
written by Manisha, September 26, 2009

This site is good but not enough.

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written by Bishwo, November 18, 2009


Your website is full of information which is excellent. But, you may not updated your site. There are 19 sites in Nepal which are included in tantative list of UNESCO.
Thanx.

...
written by Bishwo, November 18, 2009

We are publishing the heritage magazines such as HERITAGE NEPAL, quarterly in English language and SAMPADA NEPAL, quarterly in Nepali language. If, you are interested, plz, call us at 977-01-4009019

...
written by buhybkhrfukhl, January 10, 2010

our religion is the best

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written by bidit, January 24, 2010

smilies/smiley.gifi really feel good to know that heritages of our country are renowned in world

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