Kathmandu Durbar Square

A very old Hindu text has described Kathmandu as the land of gods surrounded by beautiful mountains around. Some two hundred years ago, a western visitor wrote that there were as many temples as there were houses and many idols as there were people. Duly recognized as a world heritage site by UNESCO, this particular area best known as Kathmandu Durbar Square lies in the heart of this city. The locals know this area by its old name Hanuman Dhoka Palace Square, the seat of the Nepalese Royalty. The king no longer lives in the old Royal Palaces in Kathmandu,the palace was moved north to Narayan hiti about a century ago. At that time it was on the edge of the city, now it's close to popular tourist area of Thamel.Hanuman Dhoka, running along the eastern edge of the Square, takes up more space than all the other monuments here combined. Hanuman Dhoka palace complex consists of a huge Royal Square exposing a tremendous variety of temples dedicated to different Hindu gods and goddess.Most of the buildings we see here date from 15th to 18th century. The centre palace complex here is named after a monkey god called Hanuman. One can see a huge stone statue of Hanuman painted all red righr next to the main entrance of the palace. Hanuman here is regarded as a powerful protector of the entire Durbar Square.

Some of the important monuments to be seen here are: Taleju Temple tallest tallest of all structures built by King Mahendra Malla in the 16th century. Jagannath Temple built in the 16th century known for fascinating erotic figures carving in the woooden struts eaves. The Kumari Bahal( House of Living Goddess), overlooks the square from the south. The square is squeezed by the palace into two parts: at the southern end is the Kasthamandap(known as wooden pavilion) ancient building that probably gave its name, while the northern part is taken up by a varied procession of statues and temples. It is easy to spend hours wandering around Durbar Square and the adjoining Basantapur Square. This is very much the center of the old Kathmandu and watching the world go by from the terraced platforms of the towering Maju Dewal is a wonderful way to get a feel for the city. Although many of the buildings around the square are very old, a great deal of damage was caused by the great earthquake of 1934A.D. and many were rebuilt, not always in their original form.