--- title: "Temple and Monastery Etiquette: How to Visit Sacred Sites in Nepal" canonical: "https://lokoon.com/guides/temple-etiquette" author: "Lokoon" published: "2026-11-15T04:43:13.631749+00:00" modified: "2026-11-15T04:43:13.631986+00:00" kind: "guide" --- # Temple and Monastery Etiquette: How to Visit Sacred Sites in Nepal > Shoes, direction, dress, photography and offerings. The customs that apply at Hindu temples and Buddhist shrines, explained simply. Religion in Nepal is not kept behind walls. Shrines stand at street corners, people stop to touch a deity's feet on the way to work, and the country's most famous monuments are busy places of worship. Visitors are generally welcome. Knowing a few customs lets you move among them without causing offence or feeling awkward. Dress Cover your shoulders and knees. Loose trousers or a long skirt and a top with sleeves are appropriate for both men and women. Remove hats inside shrines. A light scarf is useful for covering up at short notice. Shoes Take off your shoes before entering a temple building, a monastery prayer hall or a home. The sign is usually a row of footwear at the door. Socks are fine. Leather Some Hindu temples do not allow leather inside, since it comes from cattle. You may be asked to leave belts, bags or wallets at the entrance. Signs or guards will tell you. Direction At Buddhist sites, always walk clockwise: around stupas, around prayer walls and small roadside shrines, and inside monastery halls. This keeps the sacred object on your right. On mountain trails, pass to the left of walls of carved stones and prayer-flag poles. Spin prayer wheels clockwise as well, with your right hand. Where you can and cannot go Certain Hindu temples admit only Hindus to the inner courtyard or sanctum. The best-known examples are the main shrine at Pashupatinath and a few temples in the old royal squares. Signs normally say so, and guards enforce it. This is not hostility; it is a rule about ritual purity. You can usually see a good deal from outside. In monasteries, the main hall is open to visitors unless a private ceremony is under way. If the doors are closed, wait or come back later. Photography - Exteriors of temples and stupas can generally be photographed freely. - Do not photograph inside sanctums or prayer halls unless you have clear permission. Many have signs forbidding it. - Ask before photographing people who are praying, making offerings, or performing rituals, and before taking pictures of monks, nuns, priests and holy men. Some ascetics expect payment. - Cremations: watch from a respectful distance and do not take close-up pictures of mourners or the deceased. - The living goddess, when she appears at her window in Kathmandu, may not be photographed. - Switch off your flash. Behaviour - Speak quietly. Silence your phone. - Do not touch statues, offerings or ritual objects, and do not climb on shrines for a better view. - Step around offerings placed on the ground, such as flowers, rice and lamps. Never step over them. - Do not point the soles of your feet towards an altar, a deity or a person. When sitting on the floor, tuck your feet under you or to the side. - Do not touch anyone on the head, including children. - Use your right hand, or both hands, to give and receive. - Public displays of affection are inappropriate. - Smoking, drinking and eating are out of place in temple precincts. Offerings and blessings You are not obliged to make an offering. If you would like to, flowers, incense or a butter lamp can be bought from vendors at the gate. A small donation in the box is always welcome at monasteries. A priest may offer you a tika, a dab of red paste on the forehead, or tie a thread round your wrist as a blessing. Accepting is a friendly gesture; a small donation in return is customary. At major tourist sites, a few self-appointed holy men press tika on visitors and then demand a large sum. You may decline with a smile and a raised hand. Food that has been offered to a deity and returned to worshippers is called prasad. If you are given some, receive it in your right hand and eat it or carry it away; do not throw it on the ground. In a monastery - Enter quietly and keep to the edges of the hall. - If prayers are in progress, sit on the floor at the back. - Do not sit on the monks' cushions or the teacher's throne. - Do not walk between someone who is prostrating and the altar. - Stand when a senior lama enters, as others do. When you are unsure Watch what local people do and follow them. If you make a mistake, a quick apology and a smile are enough. Nepalis are forgiving of visitors who are plainly trying to be respectful, and often go out of their way to explain. The effort is noticed, and it is nearly always repaid with warmth. Source: https://lokoon.com/guides/temple-etiquette