Hitis (Water Fountains) of the Kathmandu Valley
Kathmandu Valley, Nepal
Nearly 20% of residents of Nepal’s Kathmandu Valley do not have access to water within their homes. Instead, Valley communities have historically relied on fountains known as hitis for fresh water.
Water in Nepal's Kathmandu Valley
Nearly 20% of residents of Nepal’s Kathmandu Valley do not have access to water within their homes. Instead, Valley communities have historically relied on fountains known as hitis for fresh water. Fed by groundwater diverted through a complex maze of channels, these traditional structures often feature elaborately carved spouts depicting deities or mythological creatures. Dating from as far back as the sixth century CE, hitis have long been fixtures of the Kathmandu Valley, and estimates from 2008 stated that they provided nearly three million liters of water per day. Yet today, only a fraction of existing hitis still function properly.
Reliable Water Access
As indoor piping becomes more common across the valley, it is the poorest who continue to rely on hitis on a day-to-day basis. However, mushrooming urban development has destroyed much of this traditional infrastructure, interrupting both the flow of water and the transmission of knowledge of traditional hitis maintenance strategies, just as climate change heightens water stress in the region. And while more than 70% of the valley’s population relies on piped underground water, in recent years this system has only provided water intermittently, sometimes just a few days a month, with the increasing severity of monsoons further interrupting supply. The hitis offer a lifeline for reliable water access throughout the region, and their protection and restoration play a significant role in sustaining reliable access to water for the communities of the Kathmandu Valley.
Our Work
Awareness and Restoration
The goal of World Monuments Fund’s project is to raise awareness of this essential network of traditional water fountains and call for their enhanced protection. In addition, we are working on restoration efforts and to support improved management of the underground aquifers and water table that feed the hitis. To achieve this, WMF is collaborating with local communities and authorities to map and document this crucial heritage infrastructure before then rehabilitating select hitis to keep Kathmandu’s water flowing.
Exploring the historic infrastructure’s potential to address a contemporary crisis, WMF is undertaking an in-depth physical and hydrological assessment of the hiti system and conducting demonstration projects that will contribute to future conservation efforts. This water rehabilitation project will establish a model for other hitis of the Valley and other traditional systems across the region.
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Hitis (Water Fountains) of the Kathmandu Valley
World Monuments Watch
Through the World Monuments Watch, WMF collaborates with local partners to design and implement targeted conservation programs—including advocacy, planning, education, and physical interventions in the historic built environment—to improve human well-being through cultural heritage preservation.
Our Supporters
World Monuments Fund's work at the Hitis of the Kathmandu Valley of Nepal has been made possible, in part, by support from the U.S. Embassy Kathmandu through the Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP); The Robert W. Wilson Charitable Trust; the Watch Committee of World Monuments Fund; American Express; Iron Mountain; and Tianaderrah Foundation / Nellie and Robert Gipson.