World Heritage #0121 – Kathmandu Valley

Last modified 27.03.2022 | Published 02.10.2015Nepal, South and Southeast Asia, World Heritage Sites

Est. reading time:

The magnificent religious monuments in the Kathmandu Valley have withstood centuries of storms, wars and earthquakes. 

The UNESCO World Heritage List includes more than a thousand properties with outstanding universal value. They are all part of the world’s cultural and natural heritage.

Official facts

  • Country: Nepal
  • Date of Inscription: 1979
  • Category: Cultural site

UNESCO’s World Heritage Centre’s short description of site no. 0121:

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 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.

My visit

I arrived here just a few months after the massive earthquake of 2015, and found parts of the temples in ruins. The stones and bricks had been neatly piled and all was set to rebuild what had been destroyed. That is the way they have handled things in Nepal for a long time. Traditions do not change, what is sacred remains sacred. I visited all seven sites but the latter.

Read more about my visit.

About this series of blog entries.

Browse to the PREVIOUS or NEXT post in this series.