Square, Plaza sights in Kathmandu
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Asan Tole
From dawn until late at night the six-road junction of Asan Tole is jammed with buyers, sellers and passers-by, making it the busiest square in Kathmandu. Every day, produce is carried to this popular marketplace from all over the valley so it is fitting that the three-storey Annapurna Temple is dedicated to the goddess of abundance, Annapurna, represented by a purana bowl full of grain.
At most times, but especially Sundays, you'll see locals walk around the shrine, touch a coin to their heads, throw it into the temple and ring the bell above them.
Nearby the smaller two-storey Ganesh shrine is coated in bathroom tiles. To the south is the Yita Chapal (Southern Pavilion) …
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Durbar Square
Kathmandu’s Durbar Square was where the city’s kings were once crowned and legitimised, and from where they ruled (durbar means ‘palace’). As such, the square remains the traditional heart of the old town and Kathmandu’s most spectacular legacy of traditional architecture, even though the king no longer lives in the Hanuman Dhoka – the palace was moved north to Narayanhiti about a century ago.
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Makhan Tole
Crowded and fascinating Makhan Tole starts at Tana Deval Temple and runs towards the busy marketplace of Indra Chowk. Makhan Tole was at one time the main street in Kathmandu and the start of the main caravan route to Tibet. From here you can either head south to visit the Hanuman Dhoka or continue northeast up Makhan Tole back towards Thamel.
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Nasal Chowk
From the entrance gate of the Hanuman Dhoka you immediately enter its most famous chowk. Although the courtyard was constructed in the Malla period, many of the buildings around the square are later Rana constructions. During that time Nasal Chowk became the square used for coronations, a practice that continues to this day on the coronation platform in the centre of the courtyard (the current King Gyanendra was crowned here in 2001).
The nine-storey Basantapur (Kathmandu) Tower looms over the southern end of the courtyard.
The rectangular courtyard is aligned north-south and the entrance is at the northwestern corner. Just by the entrance there is a surprisingly small but…
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Itum Bahal
The long, rectangular courtyard of the Itum Bahal is the largest Buddhist bahal (courtyard) in the old town and remains a haven of tranquillity in the chaotic surroundings. A small, white-painted stupa stands in the centre of the courtyard. On the western side of the courtyard is the Kichandra Bahal or 'Keshchandra Paravarta Mahar Bihar', one of the oldest bahals in the city, dating from 1381.
A chaitya in front of the entrance has been completely shattered by a bodhi tree, which has grown right up through its centre. In autumn and winter the square is decorated in ornate swirling patterns of drying grain.
Inside the Kichandra Bahal is a central pagoda-like sanctuary, and…
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Indra Chowk
The busy shopping street of Makhan Tole spills into Indra Chowk, the courtyard named after the ancient Vedic deity, Indra. On the right of the square is the Akash Bhairab Temple, or Bhairab of the Sky Temple. From the balcony four metal lions rear out over the street. The temple's entrance is at the right-hand side of the building, guarded by two more metal lions, but non-Hindus cannot enter.
The silver image inside is visible through the open windows from out in the street, and during important festivals, particularly Indra Jatra (September), the image is displayed in the square. A large lingam (phallic symbol) is also erected in the centre of the square at that time.
In…
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Kot Sq
Beyond the Great Drums (near the Krishna Temple) is the closed-off Kot Sq where Jung Bahadur Rana perpetrated the famous 1846 massacre that led to a hundred years of Rana rule. Kot means 'armoury' or 'fort'. During the Dasain festival each year, blood again flows in Kot Sq as hundreds of buffaloes and goats are sacrificed. Young soldiers are supposed to lop off each head with a single blow.
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