The urban sector covers
an area of 4 square miles. Pottery plus
weaving form its traditional industries.
They make the best yogurt of the
kingdom; so it is known as 'juju dhou'
or 'king curd.' Nowadays numerous
cottage factories produce masks and
wooden handicrafts as well. Bhaktapur is
13 kilometers direct east of Kathmandu
and is accessible by public taxi
vehicles including the bus, mini-bus,
trolley-bus, cab and auto-rickshaw.
Bhaktapur Durbar Square (World Heritage
Site): -
The city of Bhaktapur lies 14 km to the
east of Kathmandu. Its Durbar Square is
a symphony of art and architecture. The
centerpiece is the 55-window palace
overlooking the square which is paved
over with brick. The history of the
palace dates back to the 12th century.
Datta-Traya Square :
Further to the north-east of Toumadhi
Square is another interesting locality
called Datta-Traya Square. In fact this
is the second important urban spot of
Bhadgaon. The Datta-Traya Temple also
built by late King Vupatindra Malla in
the 17th century is a famous pagoda
carrying an amusing history. This is a
wooden temple facing west; it is
believed that the timber used for its
relevant construction was sawed out of a
single tree. So you can imagine how big
the tree must have been. The square has
been nomenclature from the name of the
Deity itself. The three-storied temple
is dedicated to the three-headed Deity
of the orthodox Hindus. It symbolizes
the divine triad, a mere combination of
Brahma (the Creator), Bishnu (the
Preserver) and Maheshwor (the
Destroyer). The square as a whole can be
regarded as a marvelous gallery of
intricate wood carvings. One can smell
environments of medieval period around
the square. In the periphery of the
temple, you can also see monasteries,
Vimsen Temple and a platform. There are
a couple of handicraft quarters around
where watching the skills of the carvers
is a sheer joy. The Pujari-Math Temple
has the renowned Peacock Window in the
laneside facing the cardinal direction
of east. It is a pure wooden structure,
a master-piece indeed. Apart from these,
there exist two special museums-the
Metal Craft Museum and the Wood Craft
Museum.
Changu Narayan :
The temple of Changunarayan is situated
on a peninsular ridge to the north of
Bhaktapur. It was built in the 3rd
century and is dedicated to Lord Vishnu.
The temple is most ancient specimen of
Pagoda-roofed shrine in the valley. It
is decorated with some of the finest
stones, metal and woodcrafts. Most of
the architectural wealth was put
together during the reign of the Malla
king who ruled the Kathmandu valley from
the 13th to 18th centuries. The temple
is thought to have been built by Bishnu
Gupta, and was latter added to by Hari
Dutta Verma in 323 A.D. the surrounding
views are splendid and the temple is the
living museum. From Kathmandu, it is 8
miles in the eastern direction. Himalaya
peaks like Manaslu(8156m), Ganesh
Himal(7111m), Langtang (7246m), Choba
Bhamre(6016m), Gaurishankar(7134m) and
Numbur(6957m) are also clearly seen from
Nagarkot. A motorable road links
Nagarkot with Bhaktapur. |