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Kathmandu Valley
Durbar Square(Hanuman Dhoka)
Kathmandu’s number one tourist attraction swarms with life. Though a few of the square’s 50-plus monuments date from the 12th century, most are from the time of the Malla Kings. Probably the most famous building here is the Kumari Bahal, a building richly decorated with beautiful woodcarvings, which is home to the Royal Kumari, the Living Goddess, a manifestation of the great goddess Durga. Nearby the former Royal Palace is a Mall Dynasty dwelling, once considerably more extensive than today. Within, the courtyard Nassal Chowk, originally hosted dramatic dance performances, now it is the coronation site of the Shah kings and contains some of the finest wood carvings you will see anywhere in the kingdom.
The 14th century Jagannath Mandir is the oldest temple in the area, its steps carved with inscriptions in many languages, nearby Telaju Mandir is one of the largest and finest temples in the Valley. It is dedicated to the patron deity of the royal family, Taleju Bhawani, a wrathful form of Durga who once demanded human sacrifices.
Swayambhunath
The most ancient and enigmatic of the Valley’s holy shrines the golden-spired stupa of Swayambhunath tops a wooded hillock. Records of its history date as far as the 5th century, but its origins are believed to be older. It is the Kathmandu Valley’s most sacred Buddhist shrine and whilst its worshippers include the Vajrayana Buddhists of northern Nepal and Tibet, Newari Buddhists are the most fervent devotees.
Pashupatinath
This is Nepal’s most sacred Hindu shrine and one of the subcontinent’s great Shiva sites. The supreme holiness of the site stems from the Shiva linga enshrined in its main temple and its location. It expresses the very essence of Hinduism as pilgrims, priests, devotes, temples, ashrams, images, inscriptions and cremation ghats intermingle with the rituals of daily life, all sprawled along the banks of the sacred Bagmati River. The temple’s origins are obscure, an inscription dates from 477, but a shrine may have stood here for 1000 years before that.
Boudhanath
This great stupa is one of Nepal’s most distinctive monuments and one of the most important Buddhist sites in Nepal and, with a diameter of over 100 meters, amongst the largest in the world. There are a number of legends accounting for the stupa’s construction, but it is generally believed to date from the 5th century. All stupas contain holy relics and Boudha is said to contain the remains of the past Buddha Kasyapa.
Boudha is a particular focus for Kathmandu’s Tibetan community and throughout the day there is a constant stream of people circling the stupa spinning prayer wheels and reciting mantras. Surrounding the stupa are six major monasteries and a host of smaller ones as well as cafes, restaurants and shops selling Tibetan carpets and Newari silversmiths.
PATAN
This ancient city, once a kingdom in itself, is situated across the Bagmati River to the south of Kathmandu. Approximately 80% of the inhabitants are Newars and they fiercely retain their identity as separate to Kathmandu.
Patan’s origins are clouded in mystery. It claims its place as capital of the mythic Kiranti Dynasty and association with the great Indian emperor, Ashoka, who is credited with the building of the 4 grass-covered stupas surrounding the city. For many centuries Patan’s importance eclipsed that of Kathmandu and by the 7th century was one of the major Buddhist centers of Asia attracting pilgrims, scholars and monks from India, Tibet and China. Medieval Patan was the largest and most prosperous of the three Valley kingdoms. It was annexed to Kathmandu in the late 6th century and most of its magnificent architecture dates to the late Malla era (16th-18th centuries).
Durbar Square
Patan’s Durbar Square offers the finest display of Newari urban architecture in Nepal. There are temples devoted to Shiva, Krishna, Ganesh and Vishnu all actively visited by residents and visitors. At the northern end of the square the ancient sunken water tap has been restored and is still in use with young girls filling huge jugs from the carved stone waterspouts. The courtyards of the Royal Palace with their ornamented windows, columned arcades, shrines and sunken royal bath are amongst the most lovely in all Kathmandu Back streets.
Old Patan comprises a small area with individual neighborhoods dedicated to metalworking, stone carving, and woodwork as well as some lovely old temples. One of the most lovely is the Kwa Bahal or ‘Golden Temple’, a lavish, gilt-roofed shrine – the main façade covered in gilt and silver, the whole surrounded by images of real and mythical beasts, scenes from the Buddha’s life.
BHAKTAPUR
Once the capital of the Valley, Bhaktapur is the most unchanged of the three cities. Retaining something of its medieval atmosphere, Bhaktapur embodies the essence of the Newari city. Despite frequent rebuilding as the result of earthquakes the city’s architecture and organization remain an excellent example of town planning. Neighborhoods, roughly organized by caste, are centered on a main square with a public water source, temples and a Ganesh shrine. The 12th century the King of Banepa moved his capital here and it ruled a unified Valley for the next 3 centuries. It was the last of the cities to fall to Prithvi Narayan Shah in 1768 and since then its importance has diminished considerably.
Durbar Square
Much of Bhaktapur’s Durbar Square was destroyed in the 1934 earthquake and appears much emptier than those of Kathmandu or Patan. Amongst its many attractions are substitute shrines for the four great Indian pilgrimage sites and the Golden Gate. This is the most famous piece of art in all Nepal, an exquisite monument of gilded metalwork constructed in 1753.
Potter’s Square
The neighborhood of the potter caste, where hundreds of clay vessels are set to dry in the sun before being fired in makeshift kilns. Families work in the open producing tiny oil lamps, teacups, bowls, vases and water jugs.
Taumadhi Tole
This square is more important to the locals and more intimately tied to daily life and festivals than Durbar Square. It is dominated by the 5-roofed, 30-meter high Nyatapola Temple, the tallest in Nepal.
Main Bazaar
This brick paved street and its offshoot alleys reveals the heart of Bhaktapur as life spills into the street – women pond laundry, children play, old men squat in doorways for a chat and shopkeepers sell all the necessities of daily life.
Tachapal Tole
The original town center, dating from the 8th century. Many of the pilgrim rest houses and those that sheltered ascetics have become private dwellings others remain as fully-fledged temples. The famous ‘Peacock Window’ is down an alley off the square.