Tal Barahi Temple

Tal Barahi (Varahi Mandir) is a two-storey pagoda on a small island in Phewa. It is dedicated to the goddess Barahi — Varahi, a form of Durga — and is a working Hindu temple, not a lakeside prop. The only way on is by boat from the east shore. Saturdays and festival days (especially around Dashain) are the crowded ones.

Local tradition links the shrine to a Shah-era king. The building is brick, wood and stone in the usual pagoda style. Give the puja space; photographs of the inner shrine are not the point of the visit.