Taplejung Pathibhara Temple to be proposed for UNESCO World Heritage list
The Pathibhara Area Development Committee has decided to take steps to bring the temple into the international heritage fold.
KATHMANDU: The Pathibhara Temple, a famous pilgrimage site in Taplejung, has been proposed for inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
The Pathibhara Area Development Committee has decided to take steps to bring the temple into the international heritage fold.
The committee’s executive director, Prajin Hangbang, stated that the meeting decided to take significant steps towards including Pathibhara in the World Heritage List and developing it as an international heritage site.
To achieve this, the committee will coordinate with the Department of Archaeology under the Ministry of Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation to formally request the inclusion of Pathibhara in the World Heritage List, Hangbang added.
Pathibhara Temple is one of Nepal’s major Shakti Peeths.
Recognizing its religious, historical, and cultural importance, the committee’s chairman, Rakki Thebe, emphasized the significance of this initiative.
The effort to include Pathibhara in the World Heritage List has already begun.
Every year, thousands of devotees, both domestic and international, visit the temple.
As people believe that visiting Pathibhara fulfills their wishes, the number of visitors continues to grow annually, the committee informed.
About Temple
The Pathibhara temple is located in Taplejung district at an altitude of 12,000 feet (3794 meters) above sea level, 19.4 kilometers northeast of the district headquarters, Phungling.
The temple can be reached by foot in about one day from Phungling Bazar.
This sacred site, dedicated to the goddess of faith, purity, and devotion, attracts devotees year-round. The temple stands on the peak of Pathibhara Hill, which is shaped like a grain-filled “pathi,” giving the goddess the name Pathibhara Devi.
Among the Taplejung Limbu communities, Pathibhara is known as “Muktuvung.”
In Limbu, “Muktu” means power or strength, and “wung” refers to a plant, symbolizing the goddess as a source of power or strength.
To reach the temple, one must trek uphill for about two hours through the forest, passing areas like Lekali Angeri, Gobresallo, Dhupi, Gurans, and Malingo Ghari.
