Dakshinkali Temple

Dakshinkali stands at the meeting of two streams in a wooded gorge, an open shrine reached down steps from the road, and it is among the most visited Kali temples in Nepal. On Tuesdays and Saturdays, and particularly during Dashain, worshippers bring animals, chiefly cockerels and uncastrated male goats, to be sacrificed at the shrine, and the queue can be long; the meat is taken home and eaten, and picnics in the surrounding woods follow. It is a straightforward part of religious practice here and is done in the open. Visitors who are not prepared for it should know that in advance. On other days the temple is quiet, the gorge is green, and the walk down through the forest is pleasant.

What you actually see

• The open shrine - the Kali image at the confluence in the gorge.
• Sacrifice days - Tuesdays and Saturdays, with queues of worshippers.
• The wooded gorge - forest and streams around the temple steps.
• Family picnics - the meals in the woods that follow the offerings.

When to go

October to April for the weather. Tuesday and Saturday are the sacrifice days; other days are quiet. Dashain in the autumn is the most intense period and the queues are very long.

Honest expectations

Animal sacrifice is carried out openly and in quantity on the main days, with the blood and the sound that involves; visitors uncomfortable with that should come on other days or not at all. Photography of the sacrifice is often unwelcome. The site is crowded on ritual days.

Nearby

Pharping lies above; Kathmandu is north.