Located east of the famous Kaiser Mahal near Thamel, the Narayanhiti Palace Museum is a former royal palace that housed the country’s monarchs. That is historically significant because of 2001’s ‘Royal Family Assassination.’ The name Narayanhiti is a combination of two words: ‘Narayan’ means ‘Lord Vishnu’ the Hindu god, and ‘Hiti’ means ‘water spout.’ The name is particularly significant due to Lord Vishnu ‘s temple located right in front of the complex of the palace.

The Narayanhiti Palace experienced what is referred to popularly as the country’s greatest disaster. On 1 June 2001, King Birendra was slain in a massacre by the son of the Monarch, Prince Dipendra, along with his wife Queen Aishwarya and members of their household. Although the mystery behind the massacre never unveiled itself, Dipendra is widely believed to have murdered his family because they opposed his marriage to his beloved, Devyani Rana.