The #1 Hindu temple to visit in Kathmandu is Pashupatinath. I say this even though it’s a Shiva temple and I’m a Krishna devotee. It doesn’t matter; go to Pashupatinath, it is a true place of power, the most sacred temple in all of Nepal, and in my experience it lived up to its reputation.
I spent a whole day there from morning to night and still didn’t see everything; it’s a huge complex, the largest temple complex in the world, containing over 518 temples (the Gorakshanath temple is one of the nicer ones, beside an amazing banyan tree) and a beautiful sacred forest full of birds, with more little temples hidden in it.
Indeed one could spend multiple days basking in the atmosphere. There are beautiful hidden shrines all over, from up in the rocky hills to down by the river in the forest.
The best day to visit is Monday, its main holy day. And the best time by far to be there is evening, for evening Arati and Kirtan at the Bagmati River, peaking with Shiva Tandava Stotram. Although that said, a traveler’s tip: You will be charged 1000 Nepali rupees to enter if you don’t look ethnically South Asian (if you do look ethnically South Asian then it’s free), but if you come before 6am then it’s free for everyone, and you can stay as long as you wish. Also note that if you don’t look ethnically South Asian then you will not be allowed to enter the primary two of the 518 temples, but all the rest of the compound is open.
The whole complex is dedicated to Pashupatinath, Shiva as Lord of Animals. Fittingly, the place is bustling with animal life – thousands of monkeys, many cows, a big bull, pigeons, mice, many lizards, I even saw this snake:
The complex has a feeding station for wandering animals.
Friendly cows wander among the temples, living on Shiva’s Prasad. There are more than thirty sacred temple deer in the temple Mrigasthali (deer park), the most beautiful deer I have ever seen, and you can hand-feed them and pet them.
The complex also contains a small Gaushala. The sacred story of Pashupatinath Temple is that in ancient times, Shiva and Parvati took the forms of a stag and deer and lived here peacefully for some time. The Devas eventually came seeking Shiva for some purpose, but He didn’t want to leave so they chased Him. A Deva grabbed Shiva’s antler, but He broke it off and fled. The fallen antler transformed into the Pashupatinath Linga. Over the years it became buried in the earth. Kamadhenu the Divine Cow came each day and poured milk over that spot of the ground. Finally a farmer saw this, dug up the spot and discovered the Linga, and the temple was founded. The whole place feels like Heaven to me. Hundreds of Shiva Lingas are everywhere; some are reserved for priestly officiation, but you can pick one of hundreds and worship it yourself however you like. For me it was truly a place of deep spiritual fulfillment.
Do be prepared to see death face-to-face. The central river area is constantly lined with burning human corpses all along the ghats. You will see the faces of the dead, and hear the wails of raw grief. The whole atmosphere of Pashupatinath is full of crematory smoke, day and night, with a haze in the sky; it creates an otherworldly atmosphere and definitely fosters a sense of detachment and awareness of death and impermanence. I did bathe before bed to wash it off.
It is said that Shiva Himself promised that one who dies in the Pashupatinatth premises is guaranteed a human body in their next birth, regardless of karma. Of course, if one has treated others with horrible cruelty then it may be a miserable and severely disadvantaged human birth, but still human.
My #2 favorite temple in Kathmandu (taking Kathmandu to refer to the Kathmandu valley; all of these sites are within a couple hours’ taxi ride of each other at the most, though some of them are outside the old city of Kathmandu proper) was Changu Narayan Temple, the most ancient temple in Nepal (at least whose date is recorded). Again there are lots of satellite shrines, but the main temple is the primary attraction. My experience of Darshan there was wonderful – the best I had in Nepal. I got to stand and hold direct eye contact with the main Changu Narayan Murti for as long as I wanted, and sit and chant and meditate right in front of the open doors. I chanted the whole Vishnu Sahasranama and meditated over an hour. The temple guard, a woman, armed and tough-looking, got curious and asked where I was from; she was quite friendly. I would advise most visitors to leave alone the powerful Chhinnamasta temple which is also in the courtyard.
Another great one is Budhanilkantha Temple up in the Shivapuri foothills north of town, a famous temple of the fifteen-foot-long Dreaming Narayana lying in the water of a pond, reclining on the coils of the Shesha Naga. It reminds me of Balaji; I felt the same massive power, very real and palpable, emanating from that Murti. My mother has been captivated by that particular Narayan for decades, though she has never been to Nepal. I made some special offerings to Him for her; it’s easy to bring some marigold garlands or other offerings. When I was there, I found them in the midst of chanting the entire Shrimad Bhagavata Mahapurana in Sanskrit, with Nepali translation after each chapter, with shaded seating for a crowd of local listeners. I spent a long time at this temple. The air was nice and clear up there.
I was in Kathmandu during Diwali, which in Nepal is also called Tihar. Wanting to say hello to Lakshmi on Her big night, I went to the Maha Lakshmi Temple in Patan – not one I’d ever heard of or been recommended, I just asked people on the street where the nearest Lakshmi temple was, and went straight there. It was very nice, but of course it was the temple’s biggest night of the year; I’m not sure what it’s like on a normal day.
Hundreds of diyas were burning in the open courtyard in Lakshmi’s honor. There was no priest; devotees were just worshipping the Lakshmi Murti directly. We all touched Her with our hands and everything, lovingly rubbing turmeric pastes onto Her body and such. Everyone worshipped Her with an intense, palpable devotion, and this format lent a sense of intimacy rare in temples (more usual in home Puja), that it was just the devotees offering directly to Lakshmi with no intermediary priest. Everyone was just doing Puja in their own preferred way – some people were lighting diyas and incense, some were ringing bells, some were offering fruits, some were anointing the Murti with turmeric and kumkum, some were doing Parikrama, whatever each person felt like doing, and it all came together beautifully even without organization. This was not familiar to me from other temples but it made me very happy, I really got into it. There was no vocal chanting; just the ringing of bells, and lots of people whispering and murmuring Mantras quietly. It was a heavenly atmosphere. Some people also brought a cow into the temple courtyard, and worshipped and fed the cow.
A couple days after Tihar Lakshmi Puja is Bhai Dhuj, when sisters give loving blessings to their brothers. But what about men without sisters? Kathmandu has a rather novel solution: “Public sisters”, priestesses who are ritually consecrated as the sister of every sisterless man, and who are available in a certain temple to give their sisterly blessings to every man who comes that day. The temple is open only on this one day each year; otherwise it is inaccessible to the public. Since I was in Kathmandu that day, and I do not have any sisters, I went for the blessing. The temple is in the heart of the great Rani Pokhari, the Queen’s Pool. There was a long line of sisterless men. When I reached the front, the public sister was clearly surprised to see a white man but then she gave her blessings with noticeable tenderness and kindness.
If you are interested in the energies of Kali, you may surely experience them at Dakshinkali Temple in the forest outside Pharping, in the hills to the south of Kathmandu. This is the principal Kali temple in Nepal. But a word of warning: animal sacrifices are regularly done at this temple. At least one chicken every Tuesday, and a few chickens and usually a goat every Saturday, far more on big festivals like Dashain (so the sacrificial priest himself told me; I chatted with him after he finished hosing blood off the floor). So, you can decide if and when to visit based on if you wish to see such things. I did, and there was a lot of blood. This is no gentle, peaceful Kali; this is Kali the blood-smeared predator, Her Shakti emanating from Her grisly idol almost radioactive; the quality of Her Darshan feels very violent and intense.
For slightly less intense (and also more centrally located) Kali Darshan, you can go to the Temple of the White Kali (Shvetakali), called Naradevi Temple, and the Temple of the Red Kali (Raktakali), both in the old city of Kathmandu, in the winding ancient lanes. At the former (at least) they used to perform Narabali (human sacrifices). They still kill a buffalo with a sword in there once per year, at Dashain. These are both temples that I simply came across while wandering the old city.
There is a nice Shiva temple just outside the Kathmandu Durbar Square, facing the main entrance.
I had nice Darshan at the royal Krishna temple of Patan, in the ancient palace courtyard.
Akasha Bhairava Temple is very centrally located and has an intensely potent Murti.
This question asks for Hindu temples, but even as a Hindu there are at least a couple of great Buddhist temples in Kathmandu that I would recommend Hindus to visit if you’re in town for several days: Swayambhunath Temple and Boudhanath Stupa. Both are quite spectacular and I’m glad I saw them. Some Hindu deities are also worshipped at both these temple complexes.
My other recommendation would be, just wander! You will come upon dozens of extraordinary ancient temples not mentioned in any guidebook just walking around the streets of the old cities of Kathmandu, Bhaktapur, and Patan.