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Halesi-Maratika Caves
Christopher J. Fynn · CC BY-SA 4.0

Halesi-Maratika Caves

मरातिक गुफा

Cave in Nepal

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The Halesi-Maratika Caves are located next to the village of Mahadevasthan, in the Khotang District of eastern Nepal, 3,100 ft. – 4,734 ft. above sea level. The cave and temple are about 185 km south west of Mount Everest. The temple is a venerated pilgrimage site for Hindus, Buddhists and Kirat. The caves are called the Halesi Mahadev Temple by Hindus who associate them with Mahadeva, a form of Shiva; while they are known as the sacred place to Buddhists, who consider them to be the caves associated with the legend of Padmasambhava. The Kirati Rai of the region worship Halesi as an ancestral deity of the community. The Kirat mundhum, a rich oral tradition of the Kirats, manifests that their ancestor Raechhakule (Khokchilipa) also known as Hetchhakuppa used to stay inside the Halesi cave in the remote past. For that reason, the Kirat/Rais consider Halesi as their ancestral place.

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cave wd

Nearby places

Sources

  1. Wikipedia (English): Halesi-Maratika Caves · CC BY-SA 4.0
  2. Wikipedia (Nepali): मरातिक गुफा · CC BY-SA 4.0
  3. Wikidata item Q6755052 · CC0 1.0
  4. Image: Maratika cave 1.jpg by Christopher J. Fynn (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Last updated · facts checked 4 November 2026

Cite this page

"Halesi-Maratika Caves". DigiNepal. Last updated 31 October 2026. https://diginpl.com/places/halesi-maratika-caves. Retrieved 4 November 2026.

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Text from the Wikipedia article Halesi-Maratika Caves, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. This page's text is shared under the same licence. Facts from Wikidata (CC0). Image: Maratika cave 1.jpg — Christopher J. Fynn, CC BY-SA 4.0.

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