Narayanhiti Palace Museum

Narayanhiti comes from Narayana, a form of the Hindu god Lord Vishnu, and Hiti, meaning "water spout" (Vishnu's temple is located opposite the palace, and the water spout is located east of the main entrance to the precinct). Narayanhiti was a new palace, in front of the old palace built in 1915, and was built in 1970 in the form of a contemporary Pagoda. It was built on the occasion of the marriage of King Birenda Bir Bikram Shah, then heir apparent to the throne. The palace area covers (30 hectares) and is fully secured with gates on all sides. This is the former Royal palace which was turned partly into a museum, and partly into the Foreign Ministry in 2009 after the abolition of the monarchy. Now you can visit the splendid Halls of the main building of the palace. Giant fruit bats hanging from the tall trees and 20 foot-tall bamboo around the otherwise modern (and still well secured) former palace are a sight, especially around sunset when the bats depart en masse.

• museum
• history

Getting there

in the north-central part of Kathmandu

Price

Foreigners: Rs500

Website

narayanhitipalacemuseum.gov.np (opens in a new tab)