When it comes to UNESCO World Heritage Sites, Nepal has more than its fair share of them!
The Kathmandu Valley, Sagarmatha National Park (Everest region), Chitwan National Park, and Lumbini (birthplace of Buddha) are 4 Nepalese regions, dense in UNESCO sites, featured in our World Heritage Nepal tour.
The Kathmandu Valley
The entire Kathmandu Valley is arguably a living museum and a testimony to Nepal’s rich, cultural heritage. In respect of UNESCO World Heritage sites, the focus is on seven groups of monuments and buildings:
These include the Durbar Squares of Kathmandu, Patan, and Bhaktapur
Changu Narayan Temple near Bhaktapur
The Hindu Temple of Pashupatinath on the banks of the Bagmati River that forms the boundary between Kathmandu and Patan.
Swayambunath Temple, more commonly referred to as the Monkey Temple, which lies astride a hill top on the outskirts of Kathmandu and where both Buddhist and Hindu religious structures can be seen together on one site.
Last, but not least the great Stupa of Buddha, which used to be a site surrounded by open fields, but has now been swallowed up by the ever increasing growth of Kathmandu.
Sagarmatha National Park (The Everest region)
Containing the world’s highest mountain, Everest, and some of the most dramatic mountain landscapes, Sagarmatha National Park became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the late 1970s. A host to the unique culture of the Sherpa people, it contains rare wildlife such as the Snow Leopard and Red Panda.
Chitwan National Park
Chitwan is Nepal’s best-known wildlife National Park. And surprising to some, it is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is home to around 120 Bengal tigers, one-horned rhino, a myriad of colorful birds, plus more. Chitwan remains the last surviving natural ecosystem of the Terai and is an area of outstanding natural beauty. A jungle lowland with the Himalayas as a backdrop and the indigenous culture of the Tharu people, Chitwan is much more than a “jungle safari.”
Lumbini
Lumbini is famous for being the birth place of Buddha, and devotees have long pilgrimaged these. Since becoming a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it is now a Buddhist pilgrimage center with both conservation and visitor needs in mind. The main attractions at Lumbini are the Bodhi Tree, a descendant of a fig tree where Buddha attained enlightenment, the Ashokan Pillar and the Mayadevi Temple which is said to be Buddha’s birthplace.
Our WORLD HERITAGE NEPAL TOUR takes you to all of these UNESCO World Heritage Sites, bound to leave you in awe.