Two hundred metres north of Durbar Square, the five-tiered Kumbheshwar is one of only two pagoda temples in Nepal of that height — the other is Nyatapola in Bhaktapur. Founded in 1392, it is the oldest temple in Patan still standing. The shrine is dedicated to Shiva, and the small natural spring in its courtyard is said to flow directly from the sacred lake at Gosainkund, hundreds of kilometres to the north.
The temple complex is alive in a way that the more touristed parts of the city are not. On Janai Purnima in August, thousands of pilgrims come here to renew their sacred threads in the holy waters. Local Newar Buddhists and Hindus both worship at the same shrines, which is typical of how religion blurs in the valley.