Rani Pokhari

This large fenced tank is said to have been built by King Pratap Malla in 1667 to console his queen over the death of their son (who was trampled by an elephant). The pool (pokhari means pool or small lake) was apparently used during the Malla era for trials by ordeal and later became a favourite suicide spot.

Perhaps because of the high suicide rate, the gate to the tank and its central Shiva Temple is unlocked only one day each year, during the festival of Tihar. The footbridge over the nearby chowkaffords the best views of Rani Pokhari. The chowk has rather optimistically been declared a no-horn zone.

Across Kantipath is a long imposing building originally known as the Durbar School, which was the first school in Nepal (1854). It has since been renamed the Bhanubhakta School, after the Nepali poet of that name.