Übersicht
Visit the ancient city of Patan, which happened to be a kingdom in itself once and is situated across the Bagmati River to the south of Kathmandu. The tour includes a visit of Patan Durbar Square, temples and courtyards of Royal Palace.
Patan, the oldest of all the three cities of Kathmandu valley. It is the best known for its artistic heritage. It is probably one of the oldest Buddhist City in the world. The city is situated on a plateau across Bagmati River. Another name of Patan, is Lalitpur. The city is surrounded by 4 Stupas as 4 corners of Patan, one at each corner of its cardinal points. These stupas are said to have been built by the famous Emperor Ashoka.
This is one of the most elegant architectural treasures of which Patan is very proud. About the beauty of Patan, a western lady writer has to say this - "Patan means eternity itself and Patan Durbar Square is the spectacular sight of Asia indeed". Really it is full of Hindu temples and Buddhist monuments with bronze gateways, guardian deities and wonderful carvings and many visitors come here to see these monuments. Patan Durbar square is the famous visiting place. The square is full of ancient places, temples, and shrines noted for their exquisite carvings.
The former royal palace complex is the centre 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 centre a masterpiece of stone architecture, the Royal bath called Tushahity.
Patan Museum - This museum inside the durbar square specializes in bronze statues and religious objects. It is considered as one of the best museums in Asia.
Hiranya Varna Mahavihar - Located inside kwabadehul, this three- story golden pagoda of Lokeshwar (lord Buddha) was built in the twelfth century by king Bhaskar Verma. It is famous as the golden temple. Inside the upper story of the pagoda, are the golden images of lord Buddha and a large prayer wheel.
Golden Window - This was specially built for King Siddhi Narasingha malla. His devotion to Lord Krishna as well as the Buddhist God of compassion Karunamaya Lokeshwar is a famous episode in Nepalese history of religion.
Mahabouddha Temple - This temple of Buddha built interestingly in the Hindu Shikara style- has five golden pinnacles.
