Kathmandu Shyambhu Stuppa

Swayambhu Stupa

The most ancient and enigmatic of all the Valley's holy shrines lies 2 km west of Kathmandu city, across the Vishnumati river. The golden spire of Swayambhunath stupa crowns a wooded hillock and offers a commanding view of Kathmandu city. On clear days one can even view a line of Himalayan peaks. The view is splendid at dusk as city lights flicker one by one, and even better when a full moon hangs in the sky. The establishment of Swayambhunath Stupa goes back to the legendary beginning of the Kathmandu Valley.The legend says that when the bodhisattva Manjushri drained the waters of the lake to reveal the Kathmandu valley, the lotus of the lake was transformed into the hillock and the blazing light became the Swayambhu stupa. Swayambhunath stupa is a World Heritage Site. One can get to Swayambhu by taxi or bike or have a nice short walk from the Kathmandu city, leaving the hustle and bustle of the city for the quieter neighborhood on the banks of the Vishnumati river. The main gate of the stupa leads to the steep stairs, which is indeed a traditional ancient pilgrim route. It's really wonderful to climb up the worn stone steps, 365 in all,that leads straight up to the top, where Swayambhunath's painted eyes peer down at all comers. If one doesn't want to climb all these stairs, one can go around the south side of the hill where you will find a small parking area for taxis and tourist bus. Once one is in the site of Swayambhunath, one can explore the hillock and visit a small stupa of Manjushri too. Entrance fee Rs.50 for overseas visitors. (SAARC nationals Rs. 30)

Kathmandu Hanuman Dhoka Durbar square

 

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 17 th 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 inscripted stone wall. Some people say that the inscription contains coded directions to a treasure King Pratap Malla has buried beneath Mohan chowk of Durbar Square. There are several museums inside the palace building. There is an entrance feeof Rs. 250 for all the foreign visitors to visit all the museums of the palace building. This is a three-storey temple situated in the main Market Avenue called Indra Chowk. The image of Akash Bhairav is displayed outside for a week during Indra Jatra, the festival of Indra (the God of Indra). The festival of Indra falls on monsoon season of Nepal.

Kathnandu(budanilkantha)

Situated below Shivapuri hill at the northern end of the valley, Buddhanilkantha temple is 9 km from Kathmandu city. The temple consists of a pond in which lies a great stone figure of the Hindu god Vishnu reclining on the coils of a cosmic serpent. The huge statue of sleeping Vishnu is carved from the single block of black stone of a type not found in the valley. It is believed that ages before the two hardworking farmers (husband and wife) discovered the statue when they were ploughing their field.

Besides Budhanilkantha temple, there are other two sets of exactly similar, but smaller statues of 'sleeping Vishnu' in the Valley. One set is in the Balaju garden and the other is hidden in the old garden of Hanuman Dhoka Palace of Kathmandu city. A prophetic dream of King Pratap Malla generated the belief that the King of Nepal should never visit Buddhanilkantha temple on threat of death. He then built the similar statue in two places.

The huge massive statue is one of the finest masterpiece of art that should be seen. One can get to the temple by hike, bike, taxi or take a public bus from bus stop at Kathmandu city or catch a three- wheeler tempo to Budhanilkantha from Jamal at Kathmandu. It takes around an hour from Kathmandu to reach here. Early morning is the best time to visit the temple. The priest performs daily puja around nine o' clock in the morning.

kathmandu visiting places

Mahabouda is sitauated little further east from the southern end of Durbar Square and then turning right at the sunken water taps lies this Buddhist monument. The temple, made of clay bricks with thousands of images of Lord Buddha engraved, is an excellent example of terra cotta art form. The terra-cotta structure is one of the fourteen-century Nepalese architectural masterpieces.
Golden Temple

This Buddhist monastery is a three storey golden pagoda of Lokeshwor (Lord Buddha). The monastery, built in the 12^th century by King Bhaskar Verma, is embellished with exceptionally fine woodcarvings and repousse work. Inside the upper storey of the pagoda, there are the golden image of Lord Buddha and a large prayer wheel. It is a five-minute walk west and north from the northern end of Durbar Square.

The Ashokan Stupa: The Emperor Ashoka of India visited Nepal in 250 B.C and built four ancient stupas at the four corners of Patan. The four stupas are situated in Pulchowk, Lagankhel, Ebahi and in Teta (way to Sano Gaon) respectively. These stupas give evidence to the city's ancient religious importance.

Achheswor Mahavihar:was founded towards the beginning of the 17^th century. The Mahavihar has recently been reconstructed and it commands a beautiful view of the Kathmandu Valley. It is located behind the Ashokan Stupa at Pulchowk.

Kathmandu(kumbeshwor)

The five-storey pagoda of Kumbeshwor is one of the oldest temple of Patan. The temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva. It was orginally constructed in 1392 as a two storied shrine, but later in the 17^th century Srinivasa Malla added the upper three tiers of the temple. Hence this is one of the Valley's two five-storied temples (the other is Bhaktapur's Nyatpola). The two ponds here (Konti) are believed to be connected by a subterranean channel to the holy Gosaikund lake, which lies several days' walk north of Kathmandu. On the festival of Janai Purnima (usually the August full moon) thousand devotees of Lord Shiva come to worship the embossed silver sheath worn by the temple's sacred linga (phallic symbol), which is placed in a special pavilion in the middle of the tank in the hub of temple.

On the southern side of the temple complex is the single storey shrine of goddess Baglamukhi with green painted woodwork. The goddess Baglamukhi is embodied in a tiny image beneath an elaborate silver torona and canopy of snakes. Baglamukhi is considered as the wish-fulfilling goddess. Many devotees visit the temple with hopes that their wishes get rewarded and fulfilled by goddess Baglamukhi at one point of their life. The temple is unusually crowded by many devotees on every Thursdays of the weeks.

kathmandu visiting places

The patan Durbar square, situated in the heart of the city, consists of enchanting melange of palace buildings, artistic courtyards and graceful pagoda temples. The former royal palace complex is the center of Patan's religious and social life and houses a museum containing an array of bronze statues and religious objects. There are three main courtyards or chowks, so named central Mul Chowk, Sundari Chowk and Keshav Narayan Chowk in the square. The Sundari Chowk holds in its center a masterpiece of stone architecture, the Royal bath called Tushahity.it is situated inside lalitpur one of the three cities inside the Kathmandu valley.
     Krishna mandir one of the holy place of nepal is situated at this durbar square.which has been established in ancient period.Krishna mandir is nepal's finest piece of stone architecture.Siddhi Narshingh,a passionate devotee of Krishna,built this temple in the 17TH century when he dreamed Krishna and Radha being union at this spot.This magnificent temple is a delicate,airy creation which defies its heavy material.The first storey of the  temple consists of scenes from the Hindu holy book Mahabharat;the second storey pavilions are banded by friezes from the Ramayana.Atop a stone pillar in front,a brillantly executed large metal Garuda(the bird on which the lord Krishna rides)kneels in homage.

kathmandu visiting places

• Nepal's capital is situated in a valley full of historic sites, ancient temples and shrines, golden pagodas and fascinating villages. Hotels, bars and restaurants cater to all budgets. Shops offer handicrafts, carpets and Nepali paper prints. Bus services, taxis and bicycles open up the city. Trek to see the Monkey Temple, the valley's oldest and most sacred shrine. Mingle with locals and animals amid Durbar Square's monuments and temples or with mountain trekkers in the bustling Thamel.There are many other places like malls like city centre ot the heart of the kathmandu city.other are also there near the histrorical place called Darahara which is of nine storage an it was said that it was upto 12 storage before,an earthquake came at 2009 and 2046 make its situation to like this although its has been taken as histrolic place and mantainance of this place is also good but its is in dangerous condition due to big houses n malls.other places like Pasupati Nath the god of hindu people it is one of the famous place of Nepal.many foreners visit this place but most of the followers are from bhutan most from india it is said that before going kashi for tritha yatra a religious visit of matth n mandir of god and goddess and also river called Ganga is worshipeed which is situated at the India.other places like buddist temple called Soyambhu situated southwest of kathmandu which is situated at the top of the hill and it can be seen from many parts of Kathmandu Valley.

kathmandu

The city of Kathmandu is named after a structure in Dubar square called Kastamandap. In Sirskrit, Kastha  is "wood" and Mandap is "covered shelter." This unique temple, also known as Maru Sthal, was built in 1596 by King Laxmi Narsingh Malla. The entire structure contains no iron nails or supports and is made entirely from wood. Legend has it that the timber used for this two-story pagoda was obtained from a single tree.
Kathmandu is sometimes also called "Kantipur". "Kanti" is an alternate name of the Goddess Laxmi, and "pur" means the place where such a goddess resides. Thus, the name Kantipur  demonstrates the ancient belief that it is the place where Lakshmi dwells.
"Yen" is its original name, which was given to it before introduction of Sanskritized culture, by the indigenous people, the Newars. Meaning and significance of it is still unknown and under debate. The locals, in their day-to-day life still call their city name as Yen. And thus the Nepalbhasha version of the name of the metropolis is Yen Mahanagarpalika

kathmandu

The city’s rich history is nearly 2000 years old, as inferred from an inscription in the valley. Its religious affiliations are dominantly Hindu  followed by Buddhism. People of other religious beliefs also live in Kathmandu giving it a cosmopolitan culture. Nepali is the common language of the city, though many speak the Nepal Basha,Newari as it is the center of the Newari (meaning: citizens of Nepal) people and culture.English and Hindu are understood by all of the educated population of the city. Besides a significant number of the population speaks any of the foreign languages like : French, German, Chinese, Hebrew, Korean etc. The literacy rate is 98% in the city.
Kathmandu is now the premier cultural and economic hub of Nepal and is considered to have the most advanced infrastructure among urban areas in Nepal. From the point of view of tourism, economy and cultural heritage, the sister cities of Patan(lalitpur) and Bhaktpur are integral to Kathmandu. Even the cultural heritage recognition under the World Heritage list of the UNESCO has recognized all the monuments in the three urban agglomerates as one unit under the title "Kathmandu Valley"-UNESCO world heritage site.

kathmandu

 The city is the urban core of the Kathmandu valley in the Himalayas, which also contains two sister cities namely Patan or Lalitpur, 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) to its southeast (an ancient city of fine arts and crafts) and , bhaktpur 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) to its east (city of devotees). It is also acronymed as 'KTM' and named 'tri-city'. Kathmandu valley is only slightly smaller than Singapore in terms of area.
The city stands at an elevation of approximately 1,400 metres (4,600 ft) in the bowl-shaped valley in central Nepal surrounded by four major mountains, namely: Shivapuri, Phulchowki, Nagarjun and Chandragiri. It is inhabited by 949,486 (2009) people. The Kathmandu valley with its three districts including Kathmandu district accounts for a population density of only 97 per km² whereas Kathmandu metropolitan city has a density of 13,225 per km². It is by far the largest urban agglomerate in Nepal, accounting for 20% of the urban population in an area of 5,067 hectares (12,520 acres) (50.67 square kilometres (19.56 sq mi)).067 hectares (12,520 acres) (50.67 square kilometres (19.56 sq mi)).
Kathmandu is not only the capital of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal but also the headquarters of the Central Region (Madhyamanchal) among the five development regions constituted by the 14 administrative zones of Nepal located at the central part of the country.Kathmandu is located in the Bagmati Zone.
Kathmandu, as the gateway to Nepal Tourism, is the nerve centre of the country’s economy. With the most advanced infrastructure among urban areas in Nepal, Kathmandu's economy is tourism centric accounting for 3.8% of the GDP in 1995–96 (had declined since then due to political unrest but has picked up again).