Places to Visit inside Kathmandu Valley

Kathmandu

The Kathmandu Valley is virtually an open air museum of magnificent Hindu and Buddhist art and architecture. What makes this vibrant, if congested, old Asian city so fascinating is that it is a museum in full use today. No matter that a temple structure was built centuries ago for a religious community, it may be part of a active elementary school now, with soccer play, where monks or priests once danced and chanted. There are fifteenth century shrines and temples literally to the left and right as one walks among crowds in the busy markets. Hindu men, women, and children are often seen making their morning pujas (prayer offerings of food and flowers) in front of magnificent small and large stone deity images, some are ancient. Buddhists with prayer wheels circling in their hands are also observed making their daily Kora (walking meditations) around gleaming white stupas found in many parts of this religious city. Narrow, brick-paved curving alleys remind us of the vestiges of Medieval times among twentieth-century buildings. Hindu culture focuses upon the celebration of many festivals; each featuring dances, costumes, lights and decorations, often with bright marigolds strung in chains. Many celebratory activities are street parades, very accessible to visitors. There are colorful festivals to enjoy most months of the year.

 

Pashupatinath

Pashupatinath is Nepal's holiest Hindu Pilgrimage site (followed by the remote Muktinath in the Himalaya). Like Varanasi in India - although on a much smaller scale - it is a time-warp of temples, cremation ghats, ritual bathers and bearded, half-naked sadhus (religious mendicants). Dedicated to Lord Shiva (one of the Hindu trinity), the shrines and temples of Pashupatinath straddle the now-polluted Bagmati river which, like the Ganges, is considered sacred by the faithful. To die and to be cremated here is to be released from samsara (the cycle of rebirth in this world). This wooded ravine near the golf course and airport is considered to be one of the abodes of Lord Shiva who is the patron deity (in one of his more benign forms) of Nepal. Pashupati is another name for Shiva and means 'Lord of the Animals'.

 

Swayambhu

The history of the Valley, according to the legends, begins with Swayambhu, or "the self-existent". In times uncharted by history, Bodhisattva Manjusri came across a beautiful lake during his travel. He saw a lotus that emitted brilliant light at a dome-like shape had been found. The stupa's central mast was damaged and replaced at that time. Peripheral sources of power were discovered on the hilltop as well and stupas, temples and resthouses were built to honor them. Image of important deities, both Buddhist and Hindu, were also installed.

Swayambhu is the best place to observe the religious harmony in Nepal. The stupa is among the most ancient in this part of the world, and its worshippers are diverse from Newar nuns, Tibetan monks, and Brahmin priests to lay Buddhists and Hindus. The largest image of the Sakyamuni Buddha in Nepal is in a monastery next to the stupa. Other monasteries here have huge prayer wheels, fine Buddhist paintings. Swayambhu is a major landmark of the Valley and looks like a beacon below the Nagarjun hill. It provides an excellent view of the Kathmandu Valley.

 

Kathmandu Durbar Square & Kastamandap

The Square is the complex of palaces, courtyards and temples that are built between the 12th and the 18th centuries by the ancient Malla Kings of Nepal. It is the social, religious and urban focal point of the city. Taleju Temple, Kal Bhairab (God of Destruction), Nautalle Durbar, Coronation Nasal Chowk, the Gaddi Baithak, the statue of King Pratap Malla, the Big Bell, Big Drum and the Jagnnath Temple are some of the interesting things to see in this Square.

An intriguing piece here is the 17th century stone inscription that is set into the wall of the palace with writings in 15 languages. It is believed that if anybody deciphers this entire inscription, the milk would flow from the spout, which lies just below the unscripted stonewall. Some people say that the inscription contains coded directions to a treasure King Pratap Malla has buried beneath Mohan chowk of Durbar Square.

King Laxmi Narsingha Malla built this temple in the sixteenth century. It is said to be constructed from the wood of single tree. It is located near the temple of Kumari. Indeed the city of Kathmandu derives its name from this temple.
Behind Kasthamandap, there is a small but a very important temple of Ashok Vinayak, also known as Kathmandu Ganesh or Maru Ganesh.

 

Bouddhanath

The Boudhanath stupa is located on the ancient trade route to Tibet and Tibetan merchants rested and offered prayers here for many centuries. When refugees entered Nepal from Tibet in the 1950s, many of them decided to live around Bouddhanath. They established many gompas, and the "Little Tibet" of Nepal was born. This "Little Tibet" is still the best place in the Valley to observe Tibetan lifestyle. It is the biggest stupa in the Valley.

The stupa, well known as Khasti, is also known as the World Heritage Site. It looms 36 meters high and presents one of the most fascinating specimens of stupa design. There are more than 45 Buddhist monasteries in the area.

 

Patan

The ancient city is situated on the southern bank of the river Bagmati and is about five km southeast of Kathmandu. The city is full of Buddhist monuments and Hindu temples with fine bronze gateways, guardian deities and wonderful carvings. Noted for its craftsmen and metal workers, it is known as the city of artists. Patan is the oldest of the three ancient city-kingdoms of the Kathmandu valley which once ruled by the Mallas. Patan is still populated mostly by Newars, two-thirds of them being Buddhist.

As in Kathmandu and Bhaktapur, a fusion prevails between Hinduism and Buddhism. Also, as in those cities, Patan has a Durbar Square and a labyrinth of winding lanes. The square boasts of many famous sites and unique architecture. Krishna Mandir in the Patan Durbar Square was built to honor an incarnation of Vishnu. Krishna fought by the side of the Pandavs in the Mahabharat war to assure that truth would prevail. This temple is the best example of stone architecture in Nepal. Scenes from the Mahabharat, Asia's greatest mythological war are carved on the temple's wall. The Bhimsen Temple which honors Bhim - great wrestler, brother of the Pandavs, and a deity to Nepalese businessmen - contains fine samples of metal craft. The best place, however, to see metal sculpture is the Hiranya Varna Mahabihar, the "Golden Temple". It is a Newar monastery which contains wall painting , fourteenth century statues, and scriptures.

Other sites including the Mahabouddha Temple and Uku Bahal are only a few minutes walk away from the square. The streets in this area are home to metal sculptors of the present day. Many more temples dedicated to Ganesh, the elephant-headed god, Shiva, Narsingha, Taleju, and others are situated in the Patan Durbar Square.

 

Bhaktapur

Bhaktapur, located at an elevation of 1,402m, is a medieval town known for many fine examples of sculpture, woodcarving and colossal pagoda temples consecrated to different gods and goddesses. The city was founded by King Ananda Deva in A.D. 889. Pottery and weaving are its major traditional industries.

Newar, the local resident of the valley are dominent in this city. If you are a first time visitor in Nepal, this is the most closer place to provide you the knowledge of history culture and many more things about ancient Nepal.