Gorkha
Nepal Travel Destination

When you think of the word Gorkha, you might think of a few things, one could be the infamous Gorkha soldiers that fought in the wars, some might think of it as a beer, and for those who know (and do not know) it is the name of the Nepali town located to the west of Kathmandu and is the hometown of the past King Privthi Narayan Shah.

King Privthi Narayan Shah was the man who put the first steps towards uniting Nepal as a whole country instead of it being separate kingdoms. (You can read more about him on the Kathmandu Valley page under history.) Actually, he would not have been able to achieve his goal without the help of his dedicated army, the Gorkha soldiers.

Perched 1000 feet above the town of Gorkha, is the palace, with its beautiful architecture which is noticeable from all the surrounding area. The palace itself is regarded as a sacred worshiping area since it has these magnificent hilltop views of the surrounding valleys and the Himalayas beyond its reach.

Even though only Hindus are allowed in the actual temple, the hike to the top is well worth it to see the views and to imagine what the king might have been looking at when he decided that he was to conquer all of Nepal for its unity.

Below the palace, a saint named Gorakhnath used to live in a holy cave that is located right below the palace, and this is where the town got its name. The town of Gorkha itself is a hill bazaar and is also below the palace line. The cobble stone streets and the old artistic architecture will draw the visitor into a time well forgot.