Southern Stupa

A gem of a temple close to Mahaboudha, but much less visited. One of the oldest temples in the Kathmandu Valley with some strange and interesting statues.

There is a secondary School.

This is a stone temple covered with terracotta tiles, which include 1008 Buddha images. It was modelled on a larger temple in Bodhgaya, India and took one family four generations to complete

This is a good illustration of the problems now faced with theft of artifacts. The temple is now surrounded by a strong fence and each statue has its own individual fence. Statues are missing from two stands, suggesting that the temple has already fallen victim. Machchhendranath also gives his name to an annual festival when a 25 m tall "chariot" is paraded through Patan. If you note all the wires and cables across the streets at levels much lower than 25 m you can appreciate what a complicated exercise this is. The parade takes place between April and June, with the chariot staying the night at different locations. The end of the parade is supposed to coincide with the onset of the monsoon rains. The wheels of the chariot are over 2 m in diameter. For the rest of the year these can be seen in the building next to the Ashok Stupa (see below).

Five storey on the Palace ground

constructed in 1647