Changu Narayan Temple

The entire Kathmandu Valley is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site, encompassing seven groups of monuments and buildings. These include the Durbar Squares of Hanuman Dhoka (Kathmandu), Patan and Bhaktapur; the Buddhist stupas of Swayambhu and Boudhanath; and the Hindu temples of Pashupati and Changu Narayan. Built on top of a high hill about seven miles directly east of Kathmandu, the temple is dedicated to Vishnu, although shrines to Lord Shiva, Ashta Matrika, Chhinnamasta, Kileshwor, and Krishna are also found within the wider temple complex. The diagonal beams that support the temple’s two pagoda roofs are decorated with intricate carvings of the 10 incarnations of Vishnu and various multi-armed Tantric goddesses. The temple’s four entrances, meanwhile, are guarded by stone lions, griffins, elephants, and sarabhas (part-lion, part-bird creatures from Hindu mythology).