Panauti is a Newari town around 32 km southeast of Kathmandu is one of the oldest towns in Nepal, with many temples dating back to the 15th Century or earlier on the confluence of the Rosi and Punyamati rivers. In Nepali society, such rivers are considered to be sacred. Panauti, once a major trading center with its own royal palace, today consists of a variety of Buddhist and Hindu religious monuments, and is considered to be one of the area's most important medieval sites. Namobuddha with old Thrangu Tashi Yangtse Monastery is the most important Buddhist pilgrimage sites in Nepal and the holiest in the world. It is known as the place where the Buddha, in a previous life as a prince Namura, gave his body to a starving tigress and her cubs. Kailashnath Mahadev Statue is the world's tallest Shiva temple. The statue is 143 feet (43.5 m) in height was made using copper, zinc, concrete, and steel.