Kailashnath Mahadev Statue () is the tallest

Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...

statue in the world. It is currently the fifth tallest Hindu deity statue. It is situated in Suryabinayak,

Bhaktapur District Bhaktapur District ( ; ) located in the eastern part of Kathmandu valley, is the smallest among seventy-seven districts of Nepal. It is part of Bagmati Province. Bhaktapur District Post Office is 44800. The district, with Bhaktapur as its ...

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

, about 20 km from

Kathmandu Kathmandu () is the capital and largest city of Nepal, situated in the central part of the country within the Kathmandu Valley. As per the 2021 Nepal census, it has a population of 845,767 residing in 105,649 households, with approximately 4 mi ...

. The statue is 143 feet (43.5m) in height and was made using copper, zinc, concrete, and steel.

Design and construction

Designed to resemble images of the Hindu god,

, and seen as a marvel of Nepalese engineering, the statue's construction began in 2003 and was completed in 2011. It was constructed mainly by Kamal Jain and "Hilltake", a company established in Nepal in 1992 which deals with products such as water tanks. Nepalese engineers were involved in the design and construction of large structures. The statue's foundation is about 100 feet deep, which was necessary to anchor the structure into the ridge. Due to the threat of potential landslides, structures were also built for ground stabilization.

Tourism

About 5,000 visitors come to the statue on a weekday, and a significantly larger number visit on weekends, national holidays, and Hindu festivals. Due to the number of visitors the statue has contributed to religious tourism in Nepal, both locally and internationally, raised the economic activity of the local community, and has made an impact on the development of nearby villages.

References

{{Nepal topics Shiva temples in Nepal Culture of Nepal Hindu temples in Kathmandu District Colossal statues Tourist attractions in Nepal Sculptures of gods Shiva in art Buildings and structures in Bhaktapur District 2010 establishments in Nepal