Krishna temple
Elegant stone.
Alexander Shafir — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Bijay Chaurasia — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Bijay Chaurasia — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Shadow Ayush — CC BY-SA 4.0
The heart of old Patan, also called Lalitpur, Kathmandu's neighbour across the river, and the second of the three palace squares on the World Heritage list. Many find it the loveliest and most harmonious of the three, with a dense cluster of temples, palaces and courtyards in Newar architectural style. On one side stands the old palace of the Malla kings with its decorated courtyards and famous Golden Window; in the middle rises the elegant 17th-century stone Krishna temple with its stepped towers, ringed by multi-tiered wooden temples and stone pillars topped by statues of kings. The palace holds the Patan Museum, counted among South Asia's finest, with bronze and wooden art in a carefully restored building and a quiet café in its courtyard. Around the square are the lanes of craftsmen who still cast metal figures in age-old ways. Foreigners pay NPR 1,000, per visitor guides, with an extra fee for the museum. 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.
Elegant stone.
In the palace.
Metal casting.
Central Lalitpur (Patan), south of Kathmandu
Both are worth it, but many find Patan lovelier and calmer, and its museum is among the region's best.