Gorkha

Gorkha (गोरखा) is the hill town the modern Nepali state came from. Prithvi Narayan Shah was born in its fortress palace and set out from here in the 18th century on the campaign that unified the valley kingdoms into one country, and the name of his principality later became the word Gurkha. The Gorkha Durbar sits on a steep ridge above the bazaar, part palace and part temple, with the Kalika shrine at one end and a long climb to reach it. The reward is a panorama that takes in Manaslu, Ganesh Himal and the Annapurnas. Half an hour away, the hilltop temple of Manakamana is one of the busiest pilgrimage sites in Nepal, reached by a cable car that carries well over a million people a year.