Changu Narayan
Nepal's oldest temple still in use, on a forested ridge, with a 464 CE inscription and superb Licchavi sculpture.
Changu Narayan stands on a ridge above the Manohara river north of Bhaktapur. A stone pillar in front of the temple carries an inscription of King Manadeva I dated 464 CE, the oldest dated inscription in Nepal. The two-roofed temple itself was rebuilt around 1702.
The courtyard is an open-air gallery of Licchavi and Malla sculpture: Vishnu Vikranta striding across the universe, Narasimha, the kneeling Garuda and Vishwarupa. The site is one of the seven monument zones of the Kathmandu Valley World Heritage Site, and a trail leads on to Nagarkot.
