Hiranyavarna Mahavihara or Kwabahal, popularly known as "Golden Temple" is one of the most popular destination of Patan, the city of art and craft. It is situated around 200m north of Patan Durbar Square on the way towards Kumbheshwor Mahadev.
The golden temple is a Mahayana Buddhist monastery built in 12th century by Bhaskar Deva Varma. The temple is not exactly built with pure gold but with the gold plated over brass sheet. It is a three storey golden pagoda of Lokeshwor (Lord Buddha), the upper storey of the pagoda, are the golden image of Lord Buddha and a large prayer wheel.
As soon as you enter the through the main entrance you will see the courtyard fully crafted with different artifacts on the wall, doors, floors etc. You will need to climb upstairs to visit monastery where various Buddhist practices such as pooja, mantras are performed.
You are not allowed to wear leather shoes inside the monastery and foreign visitors need to pay entrance fee Rs 50 (around 50 cents) to enter the Golden Temple
