Pashupatinath Temple
Kathmandu, Nepal
Nepal's most revered Shiva temple, a two-tiered pagoda on the Bagmati River whose ghats host cremations day and night, whose Shivaratri vigil draws pilgrims from across South Asia, and whose inner sanctum is reserved for Hindu worshippers.
Pashupatinath is the most revered Hindu temple in Nepal, dedicated to Shiva as Pashupati, lord of animals (Nepal Tourism Board). The main temple is a two-tiered pagoda with a gilded roof and silver-clad doors standing on the Bagmati's banks, and the surrounding Pashupati Area Development Trust precinct holds hundreds of smaller shrines, the Guhyeshwari Shakti Peetha nearby, and the Aryaghat cremation grounds where funeral pyres burn on the river steps through the day. The temple is part of the Kathmandu Valley World Heritage property inscribed in 1979. Access is structured by religion: non-Hindus are not admitted to the main temple interior and view the temple from the terraces across the Bagmati; leather items and cameras are barred from the temple complex (NTB).
The calendar gives the site its living rhythm. Shivaratri, the great night of Shiva, fills the precinct with sadhus and pilgrims from Nepal and India; Teej in September brings thousands of women in red; Ekadashi days draw steady crowds, with the Harishayani (June/July) and Haribodhini (October/November) Ekadashis the most prominent; and the evening Bagmati aarti on the riverfront ghats is a nightly ritual (NTB). The Pashupati Area Development Trust administers the site. Following the September 2025 political upheaval in Nepal, the temple's operations continued: the trust's public pages remained active, and the September 2026 Teej season proceeded with the temple doors opened from 3 a.m. and tightened security. The ghats are a working funeral ground, and respectful observation is a rule, not a photo opportunity.
Visiting
The site is administered by the Pashupati Area Development Trust, which publishes daily visitor counts. Foreign nationals pay NPR 1,000 per day per entry (official NTB table); Indian and Nepali nationals enter free. Non-Hindus view the main temple from the terraces across the Bagmati River; leather items and photography are forbidden in the temple complex, and Guhyeshwari likewise admits Hindus only. Festival peaks: Shivaratri (February/March), Teej (September), Haribodhini Ekadashi (October/November).
Photo: Gaurav Dhwaj Khadka, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons ([source](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pashupatinath_Temple_4.jpg))
Associated traditions & practices
Visitor stories