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Introduction: The Best Temples & Shrines
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Swayambunath: Atop a hill on the west side of the Kathmandu Valley stands a hemispherical Buddhist shrine, which is topped by a gilded box. The eyes of the Buddha gaze out from the top of the stupa. It is these eyes that have become the quintessential symbol of Nepal.
Boudhanath: Located on the east side of Kathmandu and similar in design to Swayambunath, this large Buddhist stupa is particularly sacred to Tibetans, who circumambulate the shrine, sometimes prostrating themselves as they go. Shops full of Tibetan antiques surround the shrine, and beyond these shops are numerous Tibetan Buddhist monasteries.
Pashupatinath: Dedicated to Shiva in his incarnation as lord of the animals, Pashupatinath is Nepal's holiest and most important Hindu temple and is located on the east side of Kathmandu. The site of open-air cremations and a temporary home to dreadlocked, ganga-smoking Shaivite sadhus (holy men), this temple complex is always bustling with activity.
Patan's Golden Temple: Shiny with gilded metalwork, this Buddhist temple, not far from Patan's Durbar Square, displays some of the finest religious art in the Kathmandu Valley. Just don't be alarmed by the rats that have free range of the temple compound.
Patan's Krishna Temple: Though well known in the West (thanks to The Beatles and the hippies of the 1960s), the Hindu god Krishna is not worshiped by many in Nepal. However, on Patan's Durbar Square stands an elaborate stone Krishna temple unlike any other in the Kathmandu Valley.
Patan's Mahaboudha Temple: Packed into a tiny courtyard, this towering temple is covered with thousands of terra-cotta tiles, every one of which bears an image of the Buddha.
Bhaktapur's Nyatapola Temple: Set atop a five-tiered platform and topped by five roofs, this pagoda-style temple is the most perfectly symmetrical and balanced of all the Hindu temples in the Kathmandu Valley.
Budhanilkantha: Located on the north side of the Kathmandu Valley, Budhanilkantha enshrines the largest, and one of the most unusual, stone statues in Nepal. The stone carving depicts the Hindu god Vishnu sleeping on a bed of snakes.
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