Manakamana: The Wish-Fulfilling Temple and Nepal's First Cable Car

Halfway along the highway between Kathmandu and Pokhara, cables rise from the bank of the Trishuli River and disappear over a forested ridge a kilometre above. At the top stands the temple of Manakamana, one of the most visited shrines in the country. Nepalis believe the goddess here grants the wishes of those who make the journey, and the queue of hopeful worshippers rarely lets up.

The goddess and her story

The name joins two words: mana, the heart or mind, and kamana, a wish. The temple is dedicated to a form of the goddess Bhagwati. Legend links her to a seventeenth-century queen of Gorkha who possessed divine powers known only to a devoted attendant. After her death, a farmer ploughing on this ridge struck a stone that bled milk and blood. The attendant recognised it as a sign of the queen, and a shrine was established with his descendants as its priests. They still serve today.

People come to ask for a child, a job, success in an examination, a visa or recovery from illness, and return to give thanks when the wish is granted. Newly married couples visit to ask for a blessing on the marriage.

The cable car

Until 1998, reaching the temple meant a climb of three to four hours on a stone staircase. In that year Nepal's first modern cable car opened from the roadside settlement of Kurintar. The Austrian-built gondolas cover about 2.8 kilometres and rise roughly a thousand metres in around ten minutes, swinging over the river, terraced fields and sal forest.

Tickets are sold as return journeys with separate rates for Nepalis, visitors from neighbouring countries and other foreigners. The system closes for a lunch break in the middle of the day, so check the timetable. A few open carriers are reserved for goats and other animals being taken up as offerings.

At the top

The upper station opens onto a lane of shops selling flowers, coconuts, red cloth, sweets and souvenirs. Five minutes' walk brings you to a paved square with the temple at its centre: a two-tiered pagoda with a gilded roof. It was damaged in the 2015 earthquake and has since been rebuilt in its traditional form.

Worshippers queue to pass the inner sanctum, where a priest takes their offerings. On busy days the line winds around the square and can last several hours. Visitors who simply want to see the temple can walk around the outside freely.

Behind the temple is an area where animals are sacrificed, mainly goats and pigeons. Those who prefer not to see this can keep to the front of the square.

From the edges of the ridge there are views north to Manaslu, Himalchuli and the Annapurnas in clear weather, and down to the river far below.

When to go

• Saturdays and public holidays are extremely busy. Queues for the cable car alone can exceed an hour.

• Weekday mornings are calm.

• The Dashain festival in autumn and the Nepali new year in mid-April draw the largest crowds.

• Winter brings the orange harvest; fruit sellers line the lanes.

Practical details

• Location: Kurintar is about 105 kilometres from Kathmandu and 95 from Pokhara, roughly three to four hours from either, depending on roadworks.

• Time needed: two hours on a quiet day, including the ride both ways. Half a day at weekends.

• Dress: modest clothing. Shoes come off at the temple platform.

• Leather: belts and bags may need to be left outside the inner enclosure.

• Photography: fine in the square; not of the sanctum.

• Food: simple restaurants at both stations serve rice meals, fried snacks and tea.

• Accommodation: guesthouses on the ridge for those who want to worship at dawn, and riverside resorts near the lower station.

Fitting it into a journey

Manakamana is an easy stop on the drive between the two cities, or on the way to Chitwan. It combines well with the hill town of Bandipur, about an hour further west, and with Gorkha, whose hilltop palace stands on a facing ridge to the north. With a private car, all three can be covered in two unhurried days.

Why stop

Even for those with no wish to make, the visit is worthwhile. The gondola ride is a pleasure in itself, the ridge is breezy and green, and the square shows Nepali devotion at its most direct and practical. Watching a family carry a small goat, a tray of marigolds and a great deal of hope into a cable car tells you something about how religion is lived here.