Overview

A sightseeing tour that showcases the architectural feat of Bhaktapur. We first commemorate Bhaktapur’s Durbar Square, considered to be the best preserved of the three ancient royal squares in Kathmandu valley, with excellent examples of wood and stone carvings, medieval architecture, and reposes craftsmanship to behold. The palace of 55 windows, built for King Bhupatindra Malla in 1754 is the square’s main attraction, accessed through Sunko Dhoka, the Golden Gate, which is an attraction in itself. We’ll have a chance to visit the national art gallery or museum, unless we prefer to just wander among the decorated shrines and deities perched high on their stone pedestals, before we take a short stroll to potter’s square. Bolachhen, or potter’s square, is famous for the craftspeople that congregate here daily to mold earthenware out of wet clay. We’ll see a number of traditional Nepalese earthenware being produced, as well as a temple dedicated to Ganesh, known as the patron of potters, within the square. From here we’ll visit Dattatreya square, a magical place typical of a historical urban plaza surrounded with houses of fascinating architectural value. Located nearby are the national woodworking museum, and brass and bronze museum, where we can view examples of craftsmanship from the various dynasties who controlled the area over the ages. We’ll be sure to sample some of Bhaktapur’s famous dahi (curd), known for its mellow sweetness, before we take a last stroll through Durbar Square to admire its charms in the evening light.

Later we drive to the temple of Changunarayan, situated on a ridge to the north of Bhaktapur. It was built in the 3rd century dedicated to Lord Vishnu. The temple is a very ancient specimen of a Pagoda-roofed shrine – one of the earliest in the valley. It is decorated with some of the finest stone, metal and woodcraft. Most of the architectural wealth was put together during the reign of the Malla kings who ruled the Kathmandu valley from the 13th to the 18th centuries. The temple, which is thought to have been built by Bishnu Gupta and later extended by Hari Dutta Verma in 323 AD, is virtually a living museum.