Danta Kali Temple

This temple is situated in the heart of Bijapur hill about 1,572 ft. above sea level. According to the myth, a tooth of the deceased wife of Lord Shiva fell off on this spot while Shiva was outrageously traveling on the earth carrying his dead wife. So, this temple was established here in commemoration of the Lord Shiva's wife. The fallen tooth is said to be very much look alike of a human being itself., today the historical tooth is still believed to be preserved.

Dolakha Bhimsen

The famous temple Bhimeshwor temple is located in Dolakha Bazar of Dolakha district. The main statue of this temple is god Bhim. Bhimsen or Bhimeshwor or Bhim of Dolakha is noted as one of the most populer throughout the country Nepal. He is the second prince of panch pandav and notably worshiped by the traders or merchandizers as their will god. In Dolakha under the roofless temple, the idol of Bhim Sen is like a triangular in shape and rough stone. People regards this idol as Bhim Sen but it has three reincarnation as Bhim Sen himself, Goddess Bhagawati, who wants always sacrifice of animals as demon/devil and last one: God Shiva who never sacrifice the blood.
The legend relates that long, long years ago there were 12 porters coming from elsewhere stoped at this spot and they tried themselves to make three stone stove to cook rice. After for a few minutes the other part of rice had already cooked but the other one part still the same texture of rice. Not only that but when the porter shifted around the cooked rice became uncooked again when it came in contact with the triangular shape black-stone. One of the porter became so much angry and the stub the stone with "Paneu"(laddle) and then out of the cut stone came about the blood coated with milk. Later they made realized that the stone is God Bhim, and after then worshipers started. There are so many faith incidents about the Bhim sen of Dolakha. The miraculous things of Bhim sen statue of Dolakha is sweating fluid like drops of warm water. People belief that if there are any incident happened either in future or present in the while country or in Ex-Royal family, Bhim sen himself tries to protect his people from the sweat like or signs to work hard all ove the country.
From the point of view of shree Bhimeshwor Shivapuran, there was a kingdom of Bhima that was blessed by god Brahma at the side of mountain peak. The people, who lived in the Bhima's kingdom, they had to live with sarrowful life from the Bhima and they pray to god Shiva to save their life, then god Shive was came there from Gaurishanker and killed the king Bhima. According to these histry after the Bhima's death statue of god at that spot was named by Bhimeshwor.

Janaki Mandir

Janaki Mandir is a Hindu temple which is at the heart of Janakpur, Nepal. It is dedicated to goddess Sita.
It is an example of 'Hindu-Rajput' architecture. This is considered as the most important model of the Rajput architecture in Nepal.

The Janaki Mandir was built by Queen Brisabhanu Kunwar of Tikamgarh from central India in AD 1911, at a cost of Rupees 900,000. In local parlance, the temple is also called Nau Lakha Mandir or Temple of Nine Lac Rupees.
In 1657, a golden statue of the Goddess Sita was found at the very spot, and Sita is also said to have lived there. The legend had it that it was built on the holy site where Sannyasi Shurkishordas had found the images of Goddess Sita. In fact, Shurkishordas was the founder of modern Janakpur and the great saint and poet who preached about the Sita Upasana (also called Sita Upanishad) philosophy. Legend has it that King Janak performed the worship of 'Shiva-Dhanus' on this very site.

Maya Devi Mandir

Lumbini remained neglected for centuries. In 1895, Feuhrer, a famous German archaeologist, discovered the great pillar while wandering about the foothills of the Churia range. Further exploration and excavation of the surrounding area revealed the existence of a brick temple and a sandstone sculpture within the temple itself which depicts the scenes of the Buddha's birth.
It is pointed out by scholars that the temple of Maya Devi was constructed over the foundations of more than one earlier temple or stupa, and that this temple was probably built on an Ashokan stupa itself. On the south of the Maya Devi temple there is the famous sacred bathing pool known as Puskarni. It is believed that Maha Devi took a bath in this pool before the delivery. By the side of the Ashoka pillar there is a river which flows southeast and is locally called the 'Ol' river. In 1996, an archaeological dig unearthed a "flawless stone" placed there by the Indian Emperor Ashoka in 249 BC to mark the precise location of the Buddha's birth more than 2,600 years ago, if authenticated, the find will put Lumbini even more prominently on the map for millions of religious pilgrims.
Recently, several beautiful shrines have been built by devotees from Buddhist countries. A visit to Lumbini, the birthplace of Buddha, is not only for spiritual enlightenment but also for solace and satisfaction that one gets in such a calm and peaceful place.

Location of Lumbini

Lumbini is the place where the Buddha, known as the Tathagata* was born. It is the place which should be visited and seen by a person of devotion and which should cause awareness and apprehension of the nature of impermanence.' * Tathagata - One who has found the Truth.
The birthplace of the Gautama Buddha, Lumbini, is the Mecca of every Buddhist, being one of the four holy places of Buddhism. It is said in the Parinibbana Sutta that Buddha himself identified four places of future pilgrimage: the sites of his birth, enlightenment, first discourse, and death. All of these events happened outside in nature under trees. While there is not any particular significance in this, other than it perhaps explains why Buddhists have always respected the environment and natural law.Lumbini is situated at the foothills of the Himalayas in modern Nepal. In the Buddha's time, Lumbini was a beautiful garden full of green and shady Sal trees (Shorea). The garden and its tranquil environs were owned by both the Shakyas and Kolias clans. King Suddhodana, father of Gautama Buddha was of the Shakya dynasty belonging to the Kshatriya or the warrior caste. Maya Devi, his mother, gave birth to the child on her way to her parent's home in Devadaha while taking rest in Lumbini under a sal tree in the month of May in the year 642 B.C. The beauty of Lumbini is described in Pali and Sanskrit literature. Maya Devi it is said was spellbound to see the natural grandeur of Lumbini. While she was standing, she felt labor pains and catching hold of a drooping branch of a Sal tree, the baby, the future Buddha, was born.
The bas relief above depicts Maya Devi with her right hand holding on to a branch of a sal tree with a newborn child standing upright on a lotus petal, shedding an oval halo, around his head, while two celestial figures pour water and lotuses from vessels of heaven as indicated by the delineation of clouds. This nativity scene was installed by Malla Kings of the Naga dynasty from about the 11th to 15th Century in the Karnali zone of Nepal.
In 249 BC, when the Emperor Ashoka visited Lumbini it was a flourishing village. Ashoka constructed four stupas and a stone pillar with a figure of a horse on top. The stone pillar bears an inscription which, in English translation, runs as follows: "King Piyadasi (Ashoka), beloved of devas, in the 20 year of the coronation, himself made a royal visit, Buddha Sakyamuni having been born here, a stone railing was built and a stone pillar erected to the Bhagavan having been born here, Lumbini village was taxed reduced and entitled to the eight part.

Budhanilkantha

Deep below at the base of the Shivapuri Hill within the Kathmandu Valley on the northern end, lies the mystical Buddhanilkantha Temple, meaning “old blue-throat”, just 9 km away from the main city. It is at this location that you will find one of the three images of the deity Lord Vishnu or in full Vishnu (Narayan) Jalasayana which is regarded by the local people as the principal deity.
It is with the sacredness of this particular god that a deep-seated belief was created by King Pratap Malla through a prophetic dream. It was his strong belief and fear that should the King of Nepal visit the Buddhanilkantha temple, death would be imminent upon his departure. The two other images of the deity which were carved during the same time lie at two particular destinations: the Balaju Gardens where public viewing can take place and the beautiful Royal Palace in Kathmandu. It is here at Budhanilkantha Temple, however, that public viewing is not permitted.
The Deity of Lord Vishnu lies prominently at 5 meters in length inside a tank 13 meters long giving the impression of floating. It is thought that the Deity is approximately 1500 years old and is believed to have been sculpted during the Licchavi period, around about the 7th or 8th century. A fascinating feature of the Lord Vishnu Deity is his large frame carved out of a single block of stone, black in nature and foreign to the valley planes. When described he embodies many fascinating features and all symbolic in their own right. But it is through the four hands that you will find four symbols of Vishnu which are the: chakra or disc, conch-shell, lotus flower and the club. His legs are crossed with his sleeping body resting on the coils of Ananta: the cosmic serpent and his 11 hooded heads.
It is alleged in times past that a farmer and his wife occupied a farm in this area and while cultivating the land they struck the Deity and immediately afterwards blood began to filter from the ground and thus the lost deity of Budhanilkantha was recovered and placed in its rightful position. It is a common practice for the Hindus to walk down to Vishnu’s feet to touch them but it is forbidden for foreign visitors to do the same. Budhanilkantha has become the site on which Haribondhini Ekadashi takes place during late October or the beginning of November. It is the principle festival for the year in celebration of the awakening of Lord Vishnu from his long sleep; a notable time for thousands of people. Today the formidable temple of Budhanilkantha, interestingly enough, even provides a guest house, unthought-of till now.

Swsrgadwari

Swargadwari is a hilltop temple complex and pilgrimage site in Pyuthan District, Nepal commemorating the special role of cows in Hinduism. It is said to have been founded by one Guru Maharaj who spent most of his life in the vicinity herding and milking thousands of cows. According to traditional stories, some of his devotees followed him to see where he took the cows, but they never could find him.
Before he left physical body the Guru gave some of his powers to a few disciples. On the day he departed his physical body by his own wish, a number of people gathered around him at the place where he habitually meditated. The Guru left his body after bidding goodbye to his disciples and other followers. His favourite cow also died at the same instant, then the rest of the cows miraculously disappeared within a few days. There are also accounts of cows emptying their milk by themselves every day at the same time, at the place where the Guru died.

Krishna mandir

The Krishna temple on the west side of Patan's Darbar square was built in 1637. Legend says that it was built because of a dream. One night, King Siddhi Narasigh Malla dreamt that the gods Krishna and Radha were standing in front of the palace. The King ordered a temple built on the same spot. During a war with a neighboring kingdom a decade lator, the King emerged victorious after calling on Krishna to vanquish his enemies. In gratitude, the King built a replica of the temple inside the Sundari Chauk courtyard. The Krishna temple is built in the Shikhara style, imported from India. Beneath its 21 golden pinnacles are three floors. The first floor enshrines Krishna, the second Shiva, and the third Lokeshwor. Scenes from the Ramayana narrated in Newari script decorate the interior of the temple.
The temple is managed by local Brahmins and is still used.

Palanchowk Bhagawati

Palanchowk Bhagawati is one of the most beautiful and most important Goddess images in Nepal, a three feet tall finely carved on black stone and decked with Jewelry. Many pilgrims visit the temple especially on Tuesday and Saturday and animal sacrificing are also offered to the Goddess. During great Dasain festival season, people from all over make a pilgrimage to Palanchowk Bhagawati.

Muktinath Temple

Muktinath is a sacred place both for Hindus and Buddhists located in Muktinath Valley at an altitude of 3,710 meters at the foot of the Thorong La mountain pass (part of the Himalayas), Mustang district, Nepal. The site is close to the village Ranipauwa, which sometimes mistakenly is called Muktinath as well.
The Hindus call the sacred place Mukti Kshetra, which literally means the "place of salvation". It is also one of the 51 Sakthi peetams. The Buddhists call it Chumig Gyatsa, which in Tibetan means 'Hundred Waters'. For Tibetan Buddhists Muktinath-Chumig Gyatsa is a very important place of Dakinis, goddesses known as Sky Dancers and one of the 24 Tantric places. They understand the murti to be a manifestation of Avalokitesvara.

Swoyambhu

Located in a lovely little hill rock Swoyambhu Nath Stupa middle of city is one of the most fascinating architectural jewels of the world. This great Stoup is said to have been built around 250 B.C.
Generally a holy memorial site Stoup represents a typical Buddhist architecture. Its main feature the white dome is identified with a spotless pure jewel of Nirvana and a thirteen tiered golden spire in conical shape surmounted on the dome. Underneath this towering structure are a pair of all seeing eyes of Buddha painted on all four sides of the Stupa.The Stupa of Swoyambhunath stands on a typically stylized lotus mandala base-a long time ago believed to have originated from a legendary lake of Kathmandu Valley.
As the ancient legend goes Kathmandu Valley was a lake a long time ago. Right in the centre of this lake was a full blown lotus with the divine light a top. When Maha Manjushri a saint from China heard about this he came rushing all the way from China to the Valley. He cut through the southern wall hill of the valley with his divine sword. The cleft made by the sword immediately drained the entire lake water making the valley floor open for a close up view of the divine lotus light.

Gorkha Dubar

We left the office premises at about 6:45 for Gorkha. The start of the journey was solemn with very few of the hikers talking to each other until we reached Kalanki and there was this joke about the “chwank” conductor which evoked a string of joke sessions thereafter. Rajiv was the recipient of some of the funniest comments of the entire trip. We stopped for “masu chiura” at Naubise before heading further.
We reached Gorkha earlier than expected. The hike started with the tour of the “Tallo Darbar” which was recently converted to a museum. The site was absolutely breathtaking. To our surprise, the museum was clean and well managed. The museum boasted a wide array of artifacts dating back to the days of Prithvi Narayan Shah and his descendants. There were cannons, rifles, arrows, spears, the traditional “panas”, “panche baja”, chaityas and other ancient relics. There were several paintings depicting the Shah Kings and their courtiers. Some of us posed in front of the throne of Prithvi Narayan Shah for photograph just to get the feel of the era and giggled all the way about it-only to find out later that actually all of us had posed in front of the throne. There was even a torso of Ram Shah at the museum- the King famous for being just to the public and we couldn’t help but say “hami nyaya pauna Gorkha ako”. On the rear of the palace some few meters below was a garden lush with greenery. The view of the garden from above was awesome. It was like standing on top of an outdoor amphitheatre and savoring the succulence around.

Manakamana temple

Manakamana is the name of a Hindu Goddess. It is believed that the Goddess fulfils the wishes of the people. The term ‘mana’ means the ‘heart’ or ‘soul’ and ‘kamana’ means the ‘wish’.
The most popular temple of Manakamana is in Gorkha. The others are in various places like Tumlingtar. It is said that a King of Gorkha was blessed by the goddess to get victory over small kingdoms and make a big Gorkha. Manakamana of Tumlingtar is a popular place for a specific fair called Ekadashi. The temple was initially inaccessible and one had to ride on horseback for 2–3 days. Now it is easily accessible by Cable Car.

Pashupati temple

Pashupatinath temple is the biggest Hindu temple of Lord Shiva in the world located on the banks of the Bagmati river in the eastern part of Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal. The temple served as the seat of national deity, Lord Pashupatinath, until Nepal was secularized. The temple is listed in UNESCO World Heritage Sites list. Believers in Pashupatinath (mainly Hindus) are allowed to enter the temple premises. Non-Hindu visitors are allowed to have a look at the temple from the other bank of Bagmati river.