Manakamana Temple

Getting there

• By road

  The cable car starts at Kurintar, 5 km east of Mugling, and covers 2.8 km to the temple in about 10 minutes.

Rules to know

• Tradition requires the temple's priest to be a Magar.

Why devotees come here

Manakamana Temple stands on Kafakdada Hill, 1,300 metres above sea level, in Manakamana village, Gorkha district, Gandaki Province, Nepal. Devotees believe Devi Bhagawati grants the wishes of those who come to her. The cable car from Kurintar covers the 2.8 km to the temple in about 10 minutes.

The temple is the holy site of Devi Bhagawati, an incarnation of Lakshmi, with Garud as her protector. The name is built from two words: mana, meaning heart, and kamana, meaning wish. Nepali legend says the temple was built in the 17th century under the Gorkha kings Ram Shah or Prithvipati Shah. In that legend, six months later a farmer split a stone while working in his field. Blood and milk seemed to flow out of it.

Arman Rayamajhi founded the temple in 1678. In 1764-65, Prithvi Narayan Shah set up a trust to worship Manakamana and Bareyshwar Mahadev, and to feed the pigeons every day. The temple follows the traditional Nepali pagoda style, with a walkway around the outside. The earthquake of April 25, 2015 damaged it, and authorities have since completed the rebuilding. The renovation committee said it used 18 kilograms of gold to gold-plate the roof.

Before the cable car, the only way up was a long trek of about three hours. The cable car now starts at Kurintar, just 5 km east of Mugling.

Tips for your visit

• The cable car usually runs from 9 AM to 5 PM, and it stops for lunch from noon to half past one.
• Plan the ride around the lunch stop, since the cable car does not run from noon to half past one.

Questions people ask