Changu Narayan Temple

Changu Narayan Temple sits on a forested hilltop ridge about 22 kilometers east of Kathmandu, and it is widely considered the oldest Hindu temple in the Kathmandu Valley. Dedicated to Vishnu — here worshipped as Narayan — the temple's origins stretch back to at least the 4th century CE, and a stone inscription on the site dated 464 CE is among the oldest written records ever found in Nepal. It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979, part of the broader Kathmandu Valley listing, and its significance is hard to overstate: this is a place where religious practice has continued, uninterrupted, for over 1,500 years.

The compound itself is dense with extraordinary things. The main pagoda-style temple is two-tiered and elaborately carved, its doors and struts covered in erotic carvings, celestial beings, and Vishnu's ten avatars rendered in stone and gilded metal. Scattered around the courtyard are some of the finest examples of Licchavi-period sculpture anywhere — including a stunning image of Vishnu Vikrantha showing the god in a cosmic stride, and a fierce Narasimha (the man-lion avatar) tearing apart a demon. Non-Hindus cannot enter the inner sanctum, but the courtyard and its sculptures are accessible and extraordinary in their own right. The surrounding village of Changu is quiet and traditional, with a small museum nearby showcasing coins and artifacts found at the site.

Getting here is part of the experience. Most visitors take a taxi or hire a car from Kathmandu, though adventurous types do the uphill hike from Bhaktapur, which takes about 45 minutes to an hour through terraced farmland and forest. Morning is best — the light is good and crowds are thin before tour groups arrive from Bhaktapur. There is a small entrance fee for foreign visitors. The hilltop also has sweeping views over the valley on clear days, which are most reliable between October and December.