Things to do in  Gorkha

Perched on a hilltop high above Gorkha town in central Nepal, Gorakhnath Temple offers wonderful views of the Himalayas on a clear day. The red-brick, slate-roofed building is also a fine example of Nepali architecture, and visitors who have spent any time in Kathmandu may recognize the ethnic Newari artisanship in its intricately carved screens, doors, and window frames.

The building is the star attraction at the Gorkha Museum: The old-school collection of Nepali historical and cultural artifacts is housed in the early-19th-century Tallo Durbar, a beautiful red-bricked, tile-roofed Newari building (the Newars being a Nepali ethnic group). History buffs may be interested in the displays about Gorkha’s favorite son, King Prithvi Narayan Shah, and the unification of Nepal.

The Manakamana Temple, in Nepal’s Gorkha district, is a major pilgrimage destination for Nepali and Indian Hindus. Travelers will find the temple itself interesting, but the major attraction is taking the long, scenic cable car ride from Kurintar, across the Trisuli River, and over the forest and farmland of the Himalayan foothills up to the hill-top temple. Plus, on a clear day, the views of snow-capped Himalayan peaks are dramatic.

Nepal’s Mt. Manaslu is the eighth-highest mountain in the world, at 26,781 feet (8,163 meters). You can climb it, but this isn’t the only way to experience the mighty mountain. Trek to it or around it, view it at a distance from lookout points in Gorkha, or glimpse it from the window of a Kathmandu–Pokhara flight.