Patan

	Kathmandu
	Valley
Patan

The ancient city is situated on the southern bank of the river Bagmati and is about 5 km southeast of Kathmandu. The city is full of Buddhist monuments and Hindu temples with fine bronze gateways, guardian deities and wonderful carvings.

Patan Durbar Square

The square boasts of many famous sites and unique architecture.

Krishna Mandir in the Patan Durbar Square was built to honour the incarnation of Vishnu. The Bhimsen temple which honors Bhim, a great wrestler, brother of the Pandavs, and the deity to Nepalese businessmen, contains fine samples of metal craft. The best place however to see metal sculpture is the Hiranya Karna Mahabinar, the Golden Temple. The Sundari Chowk contains exquisite samples of woodcarvings, stone and metal sculptures.

A must to visit !

The Patan Museum

The Patan Museum displays the traditional sacred art of Nepal in an illustrious architectural setting. Its home is an old residential court of Patan Darbar, one of the royal palaces of the former Malla kings of the Kathmandu Valley. Its gilded door and window face one of the most beautiful squares in the world.

The residential palace compound of Keshav Narayan Chowk which houses the museum dates from 1734, displacing a Buddhist monastery that is still remembered in an annual public rite on the palace doorstep. But both monastery and palace rest on far older foundations that may go back to the Licchavi Period (ca. 3rd to 9th century).

TREKKING in Kathmandu Valley