Bhaktapur Durbar Square

Bhaktapur Durbar Square is the palace square of the old Newar kingdom of Bhaktapur, about thirteen kilometres east of Kathmandu in Bhaktapur district. It is also the entrance to a walled brick town that still functions as a town: four connected squares, a working pottery quarter, and streets where woodcarving and curd-making are trades rather than souvenirs.

Four squares, not one

Most visitors arrive expecting a single monument and find a route instead. Durbar Square holds the palace, the Golden Gate and the statue of King Bhupatindra Malla on his pillar. A short walk south-east brings you to Taumadhi Square and the five-tiered Nyatapola. Continue east along a paved street of carved window frames and you reach Dattatreya Square, the oldest part of the town, with the Pujari Math and its peacock window. Off to one side lies Pottery Square, where clay is thrown and dried in the open.

Walking that line end to end takes twenty minutes without stopping and most of a day with. The town is closed to through traffic inside the gates, which is why it feels different from anywhere else in the valley within thirty seconds of entering. The Malla kings who built it were in open competition with their cousins in Kathmandu and Lalitpur, and the Malla dynasty guide explains how a single kingdom split into three capitals that each tried to outbuild the others.

The 55-Window Palace and the Golden Gate

The palace facade carries a long row of carved wooden windows in dark timber against brick, which is where the name comes from. The Golden Gate, added in 1754 under Ranajit Malla, is a gilded copper doorway with Garuda above the lintel and a torana of deities around it, and it is the single most photographed object in the town. It opens into Taleju Chowk, which non-Hindus may not enter beyond a point; the National Art Gallery occupies another part of the palace and holds paubha scroll paintings and stone sculpture.

Nyatapola: five storeys, five pairs of guardians

Nyatapola was built in 1702 under Bhupatindra Malla and is the tallest pagoda temple in Nepal. It sits on a five-stage stone plinth, and each stage carries a pair of guardian figures flanking the stairway: wrestlers at the bottom, then elephants, lions, griffins and goddesses. Local tradition holds that each pair is ten times stronger than the pair below. The temple came through the 1934 earthquake and the 2015 earthquake standing, which is usually cited as proof that the stepped plinth and the timber frame were designed by people who understood their ground.

The steps are the town's meeting place. People sit on them at every hour, and if you want one photograph of Bhaktapur that explains the town, it is taken from the top of that plinth looking down into Taumadhi Square.

Bhaktapur at a glance

Pottery Square is a working yard

Rows of unfired pots dry in the sun on the paving, potters throw on wheels under open shelters, and the kilns are straw-fired mounds that smoke for days. Nobody is performing this for visitors, which is the appeal. You can try the wheel at several of the workshops for a small fee, and small fired pieces sell for very little. In the monsoon the yard empties, because the drying does not work.

Juju dhau, and where to eat it

Bhaktapur is known across Nepal for juju dhau, a sweetened buffalo-milk curd set in unglazed clay pots. The pot matters: the porous clay draws off moisture and firms the curd. It is sold from shopfronts all over the old town, eaten with a wooden spoon straight from the pot, and it costs very little. The town's other staple is bara, a fried lentil cake, usually with egg. Neither is a tourist dish.

Bisket Jatra turns the town over for a week

At Nepali new year in mid-April, chariots carrying Bhairava and Bhadrakali are hauled through the streets and a tug of war between the upper and lower halves of the town decides which way they travel. A tall wooden pole is raised at Yosin Khel and later pulled down, which formally begins the new year. The streets are packed, the chariots are heavy and unpredictable, and accommodation books out well in advance. If you can time a visit to it, do; if you cannot, our festival calendar guide sets out the rest of the year.

The ticket, and why you should ask about extending it

Entry to the old town is ticketed for foreign visitors and collected at the gates rather than at any individual monument. The fee is higher than at the other durbar squares and it funds the municipality's conservation work, which is visible everywhere in the form of new brickwork, replacement carving and reroofing. If you are staying in Bhaktapur or expect to come back, ask at the ticket counter about extending the pass for the length of your stay rather than buying a second one; bring your passport and a photograph.

After 2015

Bhaktapur lost more buildings in the April 2015 earthquake than the other two durbar squares. Several temples on Durbar Square came down entirely and some have been rebuilt while others remain as plinths. Whole residential blocks in the back lanes were damaged and have been reconstructed in brick, sometimes with a concrete frame behind a traditional facade. The town is not a preserved ruin; it is a place that has been rebuilding itself repeatedly since the eighteenth century and is doing so again.

Making a day or two of it

Bhaktapur rewards an overnight stay more than any other site in the valley, because the tour buses leave at about four in the afternoon and the squares empty. Stay in the old town and the early morning belongs to water carriers and school runs. From here the hilltop temple at Changu Narayan is a short drive or a walk, and the ridge at Nagarkot is the obvious sunrise add-on. Background reading is in the Kathmandu Valley districts guide and the World Heritage sites guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I get to Bhaktapur from Kathmandu?

It is about thirteen kilometres east. Taxis take forty-five minutes to over an hour depending on traffic, and frequent local buses and minibuses run from Ratna Park and Koteshwor to the Kamalbinayak stand just outside the old town.

Is the Bhaktapur entry fee worth paying?

It is unavoidable if you want to enter the old town, and it funds the municipality's restoration programme. The ticket covers the whole walled town rather than a single square, which is a far better deal than the price of the individual monument suggests.

Can the ticket be extended for several days?

Ask at the counter when you buy it. Visitors staying in the town can usually have the pass extended rather than paying again, and you will be asked for your passport and a photograph.

How tall is the Nyatapola temple?

It has five roof tiers on a five-stage plinth and is the tallest pagoda temple in Nepal. It survived both the 1934 and the 2015 earthquakes, which is generally credited to the stepped stone base and the timber frame.

Is one day enough for Bhaktapur?

One day covers the four squares comfortably. An overnight stay is better, because the day-trip crowds clear in the late afternoon and the town is at its best early and late.

What should I eat there?

Juju dhau, the sweetened buffalo curd set in a clay pot, and bara, a fried lentil cake usually served with egg. Both are sold from ordinary shopfronts throughout the old town.