After breakfast, we commence our visits to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites beginning within the Kathmandu District. These sites include Kathmandu Durbar Square, Pashupatinath Temple, Swayambhunath, Bauddhanath, and Patan.
1. Kathmandu Durbar Square
Kathmandu Durbar Square showcases Nepalese art and architecture at its best. The architecture is typical of the Malla dynasty who ruled over Nepal from the 12th to 18th century.
2. The Swayambhunath Temple
The Swayambhunath Temple has a compelling mix of both Hindu and Buddhist shrines and stupas. It is popularly known amongst foreigners as the Monkey Temple owing to the large monkey population residing in the area.
3. Pashupatinath Temple
Pashupatinath Temple is situated on the banks of river Bagmati and is one of the main temples of Lord Shiva. The temple area is full of other smaller temples of numerous Hindu deities which gives the whole place an ambiance of a sacred paradise.
4. The Bouddhanath Stupa
The Bouddhanath Stupa is one of the largest stupas in South Asia which was built on the ancient trade route to Tibet. Beside the main stupa which was built in a Nepali Buddhist style, there are over fifty Tibetan monasteries around the area built by Tibetan merchants and the large influx of Tibetan refugees over the years. Here, you not only get to appreciate the spectacular art and architecture of ancient Nepal but that of neighboring Tibet as well.
5. Patan Durbar Square
Once a fiercely independent city-state, Patan (pah-tan) is now almost a suburb of Kathmandu, separated only by the murky Bagmati River. Many locals still call the city by its original Sanskrit name of Lalitpur (City of Beauty) or by its Newari name, Yala. Almost everyone who comes to Kathmandu also visits Patan’s spectacular Durbar Sq – even after the 2015 earthquake, this remains the finest collection of temples and palaces in the whole of Nepal. The ancient Royal Palace of Patan faces on to a magnificent Durbar Sq. This concentrated mass of temples is perhaps the most visually stunning display of Newari architecture to be seen in Nepal. Temple construction in the square went into overdrive during the Malla period (14th to 18th centuries), particularly during the reign of King Siddhinarsingh Malla (1619–60).
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