THE HOTEL

KIRTIPUR

Places to see:

Walking through Kirtipur will open to the visitor amazing views to ancient architecture and way of life at any corner and along any lane. The following pages therefore only depict the most important temples known as the main tourist attractions of Kirtipur.

Bagh Bhairav Temple

On the saddle between the two hills is the three-storied Bagh Bhairav Temple, which is holy to both Hindus and Buddhists. Bagh Bhairav Temple is dedicated to God Bhairav in the form of a tiger. This god is regarded as the guardian of Kirtipur and the locals call it Ajudeu, a grandfather god. This temple was constructed between 1099 and 1126 AD by Shiva Deva. The temple lies at the height of 1405 m from sea level, from where a beautiful view of Kathmandu valley can be seen. The temple is rectangular and lies within the area of 1500 sqm. There is a temple torana to the left of the entrance with

Vishnu riding Garuda. Bhairav in the middle of Ganesh and Kumar is below them. To the right of the Bagh Bhairava Mandirstands an interesting sculpture thought to be of Kirtimata, mother of Kirtipur, depicted on her back giving birth to a still unidentified creature. Other sculptures in the vicinity of the temple include the Ashta Matrikas (the eight mother deities) dating from the 3rd or 4th century and a rare iconic portrayal of Shiva from the 6th century. These survivals from the Licchavi period show the site to be among the oldest in the valley. The upper section of the temple is covered with swords and shields that belonged to the troop of Kirtipur, who were defeat by the army of King Prithvi Narayan Shah. Sacrifices are made here on Tuesday and Saturday mornings.
The squat 16th century temple has both wood-carvings and wall paintings, a rare combination in the Kathmandu Valley. The paintings unfortunately are almost unrecognizable.

Narayan Temple opposite of
Bagh Bhairav Temple 

The entrance to
Bagh Bhairav Temple

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