Located four kilometres north of Bhaktapur at the end of a high ridge (1,677 metres), the temple of Changu Narayan is one of the oldest in the Kathmandu Valley, and the most sacred to worshippers of Vishnu.

The original construction of Changu Narayan, or Vishnu of the Moving Hill, is attributed to Licchavi king Hari Datta Varma around 325 CE. The earliest inscription found dates back to the year 464 in the reign of King Manadeva I, but there are indications that the temple must have existed long before.