Editorial photo #13903330 Human Interest

Nepal: Daily Life In Bungamati

The idol of Rato Machhindranath is seen inside the reconstructed Rato Machhindranath Temple in Bungamati, Lalitpur, Nepal, on June 29, 2026. Revered locally as Bungadyo, Rato Machhindranath is worshipped by both Hindu and Buddhist communities as the deity of rain, harvest, prosperity, and communal well-being in the Kathmandu Valley. The historic Shikhar-style temple was rebuilt after being destroyed in the 7.8-magnitude Gorkha earthquake of April 2015, which severely damaged the centuries-old Newar settlement of Bungamati and its cultural heritage. The reconstruction took nearly a decade and combined traditional craftsmanship, archaeological documentation, and extensive collaboration among local communities, heritage experts, and government agencies. Following the completion of major reconstruction works, the idol, which had been housed in a temporary shrine since the earthquake, was ceremonially reinstalled inside the rebuilt temple in 2025. Bungamati is regarded as the ancestral home of Rato Machhindranath and serves as the starting and ending point of the centuries-old Rato Machhindranath chariot festival, one of the Kathmandu Valley's most important religious celebrations. Historians trace the tradition back more than 1,300 years, making the temple a significant symbol of Nepal's living cultural and religious heritage. (Photo by Safal Prakash Shrestha/NurPhoto)