Golden Gate
Fine ornament.
Nyeta — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Nabin K. Sapkota — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Janak Bhatta — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Janak Bhatta — CC BY-SA 4.0
The heart of Bhaktapur, the best-preserved old city in the valley and the third palace square on the World Heritage list. It was the seat of the Malla kings from the 14th century, then of the kings of Bhaktapur until it was absorbed into a unified Nepal in 1769. Its showpiece is the finely ornamented gilded Golden Gate, leading into the Palace of Fifty-Five Windows with its carved wooden windows, with stone and wooden temples around the brick-paved square. It connects to Taumadhi Square, home of the towering Nyatapola temple, and Pottery Square, where pots are shaped and dried in the sun. The whole old city deserves a slow wander: red-brick lanes, houses with carved wooden windows, courtyards and old wells, and quiet daily life. A must-try is juju dhau, the creamy king curd served in clay pots. The foreigners' fee for the old city differs between sources and is paid at its entrances. Temples and stupas are living places of worship: dress modestly, walk clockwise around Buddhist stupas, remove shoes where asked, and note that some Hindu shrines admit Hindus only. Many of the valley's monuments were damaged in the 2015 earthquake, and restoration is still under way at some.
Fine ornament.
Pots in the sun.
In clay pots.
Old central Bhaktapur, eastern Kathmandu valley
Yes, it is the valley's best-preserved city, and its three squares and lanes deserve a slow wander; staying overnight shows it calm in the morning.
