UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Nepal

Have you ever wondered what Nepal offers to the World Heritage list? Get to know the UNESCO world heritage sites of Nepal.

List Of UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Nepal

World Heritage Sites Nepal	Listed year (AD)
Pashupatinath Temple	1979
Boudhanath Stupa	1979
Swayambhunath Stupa	1979
Kathmandu Durbar Square	1979
Patan Durbar Square	1979
Bhaktapur Durbar Square	1979
Changu Narayan Temple	Not Known
Lumbini	1997
Chitwan National Park	1973
Sagarmatha National Park	1979

Pashupatinath Temple

Pashupatinath Temple is one of the popular world heritage sites of Nepal. It is one of the first heritages to be enlisted in a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was listed in the year 1979.

People from all around the world especially Indians have a great belief in Pashupatinath. Thus, this place has a main religious belief towards Hinduism and Nepali cultures. The heritage is visited by many of the devotees of Lord Shiva and prayers are mostly on Mondays. Pashupatinath is a famous and sacred temple located on the bank of the Bagmati River. The temple is approximately 5 km North-East of Kathmandu Valley which is the capital city of Nepal.

It is a historic religious place where crowds of devotees reach for practicing their culture and rituals. Festivals such as Shivaratri and Teej are celebrated on Temple premises. On these auspicious days, people usually queue up to pay a visit to the temple.

Boudhanath Stupa

Boudhanath stupa is located about 11 km from the center and northeastern outskirts of Kathmandu. It has a massive mandala which makes it one of the largest spherical stupas as well as in the world. UNESCO listed the Boudhanath stupa as a world heritage site of Nepal in 1979.

The ancient Tibetian Buddhist Temple is located in Kathmandu is has sacred and religious beliefs. The stupa is a dedication to Lord Buddha and carries a lot of significance to Buddhists, and Hindus.

Boudha is one of the biggest stupas in Kathmandu and it has around 40 small monasteries nearby. What makes Boudhanath special is the people having belief in and following the principles of Lord Buddha. In addition, you can see a lot of activities such as people walking around the mandala, the fragrance of foods, and incense sticks. You can even observe monks chanting and different visual representations on walls once you are in the main building.

Swayambhunath Stupa

Swayambhunath is the 2500 years oldest Buddhist pilgrimage/monastery/stupa. The temple is the dedication to Lord Gautam Buddha, popularly known as The Light of Asia.

The temple has a unique structure and UNESCO enlisted it as a world heritage site in 1979. People from all over the world visit Swayambhu to experience peace and harmony. Swayambhunath was formed after the lake dried out and left it forming the Hindu shrines and Buddhist stupas. In addition, the eastern stairway was constructed in the 17th century by Pratap Malla, a powerful Hindu King. Many Hindu people pay homage to the stupa as Buddhists do as they believe the Hindu shrines and Buddhist stupas are in harmony.

One of the attractive things is that the stupa has Buddha’s eyes and eyebrows painted on it. People often call the priest in Swyambhu as Guruju, Gubaju, and Vixu. The temple resembles peace, love, and Patient to the Religion.

Kathmandu Durbar Square

Kathmandu Durbar Square is one of the Durbar Squares listed in the world heritage in 1979. The palace which is also popular by the name, Hanuman Dhoka, symbolizes a place of palaces. Furthermore, there are many palaces but the primary one was built in the 15th century; the other palace was added later.

In addition, the palace was constructed during the regime of Malla and Shah. This Durbar has monuments, temples, and shrines. Some of the palaces that are worth exploring are Hanuman Dhoka, Taleju Mandir, Nine story Basantapur Tower, Tribhuvan Museum, King Mahendra Memorial Museum, and Kal Bhairab Temple.

Patan Durbar Square

As the Kathmandu Durbar Square, UNESCO listed Patan Durbar Square as a Nepal world heritage site in 1979. The Durbar is located at the heart of Lalitpur.

One of its attractions is the ancient royal palace with unique cravings on it; most of the palace’s outer work was on wood. This is where the Malla Kings of Lalitpur resided. Its unique yet marvelous architecture is the reason why you should pay a visit to Patan Durbar Square.

In addition, Durbar Square has a tiled floor with red bricks. There are many temples and idols in the area. The main temples are opposite the western face of the palace. You can visit the Krishna temple nearby durbar square.

Bhaktapur Durbar Square

Bhaktapur Durbar Square is located in Bhaktapur and is a part of the world heritage site of Nepal since 1979. It is the oldest durbar of Bhaktapur where the royal resided.

Talking about its structure the durbar is 1,400 meters above sea level. Here you can pay a visit to its different squares as Durbar Square, Taumadhi Square, Dattatreya Square, and Pottery Square.

Visitors find it interesting and unique in its own way as the people dress up in a typical way that represents who they are. Also, people tend to progressively carry out the occupations which were once chosen by their ancestors.

Changu Narayan Temple

Changu Narayan Temple is a Nepal world heritage site. It is one of the oldest ancient Hindu temples. Changu Narayan is popular as Changu or Dolagiri.

The temple is embraced by champak trees and a small village known as Changu. The temple is located in Changunarayan Municipality of Bhaktapur District, Nepal. Besides that, it is located on a hilltop and is about 7 miles or 12  km east of Kathmandu and a few miles north of Bhaktapur.

Also, the Manohara River flows beside the hill and people worship Lord Visnu. Besides that, Changu Narayan Temple is named after the daughter of the Kashmiri king, Champak, who married the prince of Bhaktapur.

Lumbini

Lumbini is the birthplace of Lord Gautam Buddha and is also listed in the world Heritage of Nepal in 1997. It is located in the Rupandehi District of Lumbini. Lord Buddha was born to Queen Mahamayadevi around 563 BCE. In addition, his birth name was Siddhartha Gautam/ Shakyamuni.

Lumbini symbolizes peace, brotherhood, and being in harmony. Lord Buddha achieved the enlightenment of his life around 528 BCE, which is when he became the Buddha and Light of Asia.

Moreover, he spread the consciousness of the physical and mental well-being of an individual. You can visit many places such as Maya Devi Temple, Ashoka Pillar, Lumbini Crane Sanctuary, Sacred Garden, World Peace Pagoda, China Temple, Thai Monastery, Burmese (Myanmar) Temple, Nepal Buddha Temple, Dharmaswami Buddhist Monastery, Tilaurkot Palace.

Chitwan National Park

Chitwan National Park is the first national park in Nepal. UNESCO listed Chitwan National Park as a Nepal world heritage site in 1984 but its establishment was in 1973.

In addition, Chitwan National Park is popular for elephant rides and safaris. However, it covers an area of 952.63 km² (367.81 sq mi). Chitwan National Park is located in the plains of Terai in the Nawalpur, Parsa, Chitwan, and Makwanpur districts.

Besides that, the national park has some endangered species as the Royal Bengal tiger, one-horned rhino, and gharial crocodile. Would you like some adventure?

Sagarmatha National Park

Sagarmatha National Park is located in the eastern Himalayas of Nepal. The park is a part of the world heritage site of Nepal since 1979. One of the reasons that Sagarmatha national park is a world heritage site is that it represents the tallest mountain, Mt.Everest with its diverse flora and fauna.

Furthermore, this park covers 1,148 km² (443 sq mi) in the Solukhumbu District. Along with it, the park is located at an altitude of 2,845 to 8,848 m (9,334 to 29,029 ft).

Besides that, the park encloses the Qomolangma National Nature Preserve of Tibet in the north followed by Makalu Barun National Park in the south. It represents other chains of the mountain too.

World Heritage Sites in Kathmandu

Four of the ten UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Nepal are located within the Kathmandu Valley, which is a region of central Nepal that includes the cities of Kathmandu, Patan, and Bhaktapur. These four sites are:

1. Kathmandu Durbar Square
2. Patan Durbar Square
3. Bhaktapur Durbar Square
4. Swayambhunath Stupa

All of these sites are located within easy driving distance of each other and can be visited on a day trip from Kathmandu. They showcase the rich cultural heritage of the region and include examples of Hindu and Buddhist art, architecture, and religion.

Which of these world heritages of Nepal attracts you the most?