Photos of Bhaktapur, Nepal’s best-preserved old city

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Bhaktapur, Nepal’s best-preserved old city

Bhaktapur (meaning “City of Devotees”), once known as Bhadgaon and Khwopa (in the Newari language), is one of the three cities in the Kathmandu Valley, about 13 kilometres east of Kathmandu. It has resisted the rapid change of the other two cities in the valley. Bhaktapur Durbar Square is the best-preserved old city centre with its palace courtyards in Nepal.

View to Bhaktapur
 
View to Bhaktapur
 
Street in Bhaktapur
 
On the streets, Bhaktapur
 
Narrow street, Bhaktapur
 
Children, Bhaktapur
 
Woodcarvings, Pujari Math Museum
 
Balcony, Pujari Math Museum
 
Peacock window
 
Peacock window
 
Small Buddhist stupa, Bhaktapur
 
Street corner, Bhaktapur
 
Wakupati Narayan Temple, Bhaktapur
 
Men playing a card game, Bhaktapur
 
Wakupati Narayan Temple, Bhaktapur
 
Yug Vijaya Public Library, Bhaktapur
 
Souvenirs for sale, Bhaktapur
 
Dattatraya Temple
 
Front portal, Dattatraya Temple
 
Drying grain, Dattatraya Temple
 
Dattatraya Square, Bhaktapur
 
Dattatraya Temple, Bhaktapur
 
Bhimsen (Bhisindyo ) Temple, Bhaktapur
 
Bishnu Mandir, Bhaktapur
 
Harihar Narayan Temple
 
Siddhi Vatsala Temple, Bhaktapur
 
Bhaktapur Durbar Square
 
Bhaktapur Durbar Square
 
Kicking a ball, Bhaktapur Durbar Square
 
Bhaktapur Durbar Square
 
Golden Gate, Bhaktapur Durbar Square
 
Bhupatindra Malla Statue
 
King Bhupatindra Malla statue
 
Narshima, Bhaktapur National Art Museum
 
55 Windows Palace
 
55 Window Palace, temples
 
Pashupatinath Temple
 
Nyatapola Temple steps
 
Nyatapola Temple, Bhaktapur
 
Nyatapola Temple roof
 
Bhairavnath Temple
 
Bhairavnath Temple
 
Bhairavnath Temple
 
Bhairavnath Temple, Bhaktapur
 
Bhairavnath Temple, Bhaktapur
 
Pottery Square (Talako Tole)
 
Souvenirs for sale
 
Souvenirs shops, Bhaktapur
 

Bhaktapur (meaning “City of Devotees”), once known as Bhadgaon and Khwopa (in the Newari language), is one of the three cities in the Kathmandu Valley, about 13 kilometres east of Kathmandu. It has resisted the rapid change of the other two cities in the valley. Bhaktapur Durbar Square is the best-preserved old city centre with its palace courtyards in Nepal.

It was the largest of the three Newar kingdoms of the Kathmandu Valley and the capital of Nepal during the great Malla Kingdom until the second half of the 15th Century. King Bhupatindra Malla ruled Bhadgaon from 1696 to 1722, and the Royal palace complex was built during his reign. The square in Bhaktapur was severely damaged by an earthquake in 1934. The magnificent Golden Gate in the gatehouse to the Royal Palace remains, and the façade of the Palace of Fifty-Five Windows was completed in 1754. A considerable amount of damage was done to the palace complex during the earthquakes of both 1934 and 2015, but most have been repaired.

There are beautiful temples and pagodas around the palace dedicated to various Hindu deities. There is the late 15th-century Pashupatinath Temple, dedicated to Shiva; the Nyatapola temple with its five-tier roof, just over thirty metres high; and many others. Beautiful wood carvings are everywhere. The Pujari Math Museum buildings, used initially as Hindu priests’ houses, have the most excellent examples of this intricate art. But it is a living city, with women drying grain on the squares in front of temples and stupas after harvesting.