In August, we looked at Hallgrimskirkja in Reykjavik, Iceland. This month for the Pléiades 1 – Pléiades Neo Point of Interest, we check out Janaki Mandir in Nepal.

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These two satellite images show an aerial view of Janaki Mandir in Napal. You can see the rectangular outer building of the temple and the inner section of the temple in the courtyard in the 30-cm Pléiades Neo 4 enhanced color image taken November 29, 2025. It dominates the neighborhood and shows small dots of people visiting the temple, which is also captured in the Pléiades 1B 50-cm color enhanced image taken February 23, 2024. PLEIADES © CNES 2026, Distribution Airbus DS.   

About the Point of Interest: Janaki Mandir in Nepal happens to be an enormous white temple that honors the birthplace of a Hindu goddess. Located in the center of Janakpur, the building marks the spot where Sita, also known as Janaki or Maithili, was born. In addition to its more than 60 rooms, the temple contains several shrines where followers can pray, reflect, or join in daily ceremonies. The focal point is a Sita statue festooned with flowers, which legend says was found in the Saryu River near where Rama was born. The complex also contains a small museum displaying dioramas of important events in Sita’s life, as well as prime examples of Mithila art.

Fun Factoids: (1) According to ancient myth, King Janaka found the baby Sita alone in a field, presumably the daughter of the earth goddess Bhumi. Raised as his own, Sita later became the wife of Lord Rama (an avatar of Vishnu), and her story is chronicled in the Hindu holy book Ramayama, inevitably making her temple an important pilgrimage site. (2) The temple itself is notable for serving as an architectural amalgam of Hindu, Nepali, Koiri, and Mughal styles. Whereas most Nepali temples are built in the familiar wood and brick pagoda style, Janaki Mandir is built of stone and marble. (3) At nearly 1,500 square meters (16,000 square feet) it is also considerably larger than the average temple. (4) The temple is a centerpiece during major festivals, but it is also known for its annual reenactment of the marriage of Sita and Rama. As such, it is a popular honeymoon destination for newlyweds too. (5) Every year, thousands of pilgrims from Nepal, India, Sri Lanka, and other countries visit Ram Janaki Temple to worship Lord Ram and Sita. Many worshippers visit the temple during the festivals of Ram Nawami, Vivaha Panchami, Dashain, and Tihar. (6) In the southwest corner of Janaki Mandir is the Vivah Mandap, which has been built at the site where the marriage of Ram and Sita is said to have taken place. Another well-known temple in the vicinity is Ram Mandir, built in pagoda style, and hence is different from the other temples in Janakpur which generally bear resemblance to Mughal architecture. It houses a female statue, said to be of Yogamaya, which has the reputation of being one of the most beautiful images of female forms in Nepal. Other holy sites of interest include the Laxman Temple, Sankat Mochan Temple and Hanuman Temple.

The 50-cm Pléiades 1 High-Resolution Satellite Constellation

The Pléiades 1 constellation (or at least part of it!) has been in orbit since December 2011 and if you have not had a chance to check out any sample imagery, take a few moments and have a look at the gallery on our website. If you work with high-resolution imagery, you should consider Pléiades 1 and Pléiades Neo for your next geospatial projects.

A variety of Pléiades 1 products are available from both a well-established archive and as a new collection, including 50-centimeter (cm) pansharpened imagery and 50-cm panchromatic – 2-meter (m) 4-band multispectral bundles. We are happy to discuss the technical specifications, pricing and tasking options available with both of these satellite constellations.

The 30-cm Pléiades Neo High-Resolution Satellite Constellation

Pléiades Neo is our newest high-resolution satellite constellation. The first Neo satellite went up in April 2021 and the second in August of the same year. This 30-centimeter resolution constellation will add two more satellites in the next few months and upgrade from daily to intraday revisits. Pléiades Neo has six multispectral bands with 1.2-meter resolution, including a deep blue and two infrared bands, along with a 30-centimeter resolution panchromatic band.

The archive is growing every day, and the satellites are available for new collections, making Pléiades Neo the perfect solution for site monitoring. Check out our beautiful sample images in the Pléiades Neo gallery.

More sample images and technical information about Pléiades 1 can be found on our website here; while the same can be found here for the Pléiades Neo constellation.

The Apollo Mapping sales team can answer any questions you might have about Pléiades 1 and/or Pléiades Neo. We can be reached at (303) 993-3863 or sales@apollomapping.com.