Bhaktapur and Changu Narayan Day Tour

The Bhaktapur and Changu Narayan Day Tour is, indeed a cultural and religious immersion in Nepal’s diverse heritage. Both these sites are UNESCO World Heritage-listed where visitors get opportunities to gain knowledge of its rich history and wonder at its structural excellence. It is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get up close and personal with two of the most stunning historical sights of the Kathmandu Valley. Visitors get to witness the oldest temple of Nepal in Sankhu and some of the finest examples of Nepalese architectural works in Bhaktapur.
The historical Bhaktapur and Changu Narayan Day Tour begin with a sumptuous breakfast at your Kathmandu hotel. It is roughly an hour’s drive after breakfast to reach Bhaktapur first. The tour gets going with visits to the several top attractions of the town. To enlist the major cultural highlights of this medieval city are the Golden Gate, Nyatapola Temple, the National Arts Gallery, the palace of 55 windows, Potter’s Square and several other landmarks.

The informative Bhaktapur and Changu Narayan Day Tour continue after lunch in Bhaktapur. Travelers will then take a short drive to reach the vicinity of the oldest temple in Nepal, Changu Narayan. The temple is an emblem of the religion and devotion of the Kathmandu valley and plays a significant role. After spending some time in the temple, it is time to drive back to Kathmandu. The cultural explorations during the historical tour showcase some of Nepal’s finest examples of traditional craftsmanship. Not only that, but it also provides in-depth background on thousand years of Nepali history.

Trip Highlights

Bhaktapur Durbar Square, the royal palace of the old Bhaktapur kingdom is located in the current city of Bhaktapur, also known by the name of Khwopa or Bhadgaon. It lies 13 km east of Kathmandu. The four distinct squares namely, Durbar Square, Taumadhi Square, Dattatreya Square, and Pottery Square is informally known as the Bhaktapur Durbar Square. The impressive square is a potpourri of the pagoda and shikhara-style temples grouped around the palace of 55 windows built of brick and wood. The historical place includes the heritage from the 15th century flaunting the masterwork of metal, wood, and stone arts and architecture. The major attraction of this place is Nge Nyapa Jhya Laaykoo – the palace of 55 windows. Other landmarks include the Vatsala Temple, Statue of Bhupatindra Malla, Nyatapola Temple, Bhairavnath Temple, Lun Dhwaka – the Golden Gate, Lion’s gate, and Mini Pashupati Temple. Durbar Square is, indeed, one of the most charming architectural showpieces of the Valley.

One of the major highlights of Bhaktapur is the Nyatapola Temple, which in Newari language means five-storied temple – the symbolic five basic elements. It is 30m tall making it the biggest and tallest pagoda of Nepal. The building was completed by King Bhupatindra Malla and remains open to the public once a year – during Dashain. It is also believed that it took three generations to complete the temple. Each of the five stories of the temple is protected by the bodyguards of the goddess Shiddilaxmi. Starting from the bottom terrace, the bodyguards are namely wrestlers, elephants, lions, griffins, and goddesses.

The historical palace was built during the reign of King Bhupatindra Malla, but it was not complete even during the reign of his son Ranjit Malla. The palace is one of the most beautiful architectural attributes of Bhaktapur Durbar Square. The palace was named based on the fifty-five carved wooden windows on its front elevation. The palace supposedly had 99 courtyards in the initial days of being built, but in the present day, it has only 9 courtyards.

The golden gate is a visual highlight of Bhaktapur Durbar Square. It is one of the most beautiful examples of ancient Newari architecture. The golden door of this monument is featured by a Garuda fighting with a number of mythical creatures – the supernatural serpents. The bottom part is adorned with a 4-headed and 10-armed mysterious monster-like goddess Taleju Bhawani. Built by the Malla King Ranjit Malla, this golden gate provides entrance to the main courtyard of the 55-window palace. The golden gate, to sum up, is one of the most beautiful gilded copper works in the entire Kathmandu Valley.

The National Art Gallery located within the Durbar Square contains the best of the three museums in Bhaktapur. A rare and extensive collection of cloth paintings and manuscripts, something similar to Buddhist Thangkas, with painted covers and illustrations are found in the museums. The entrance to the gallery is guarded by two huge lions, a male, and a female. Next to the lions are some statues of the monkey god, Hanuman in his tantric form, and Lord Vishnu as the Narasingha. The inside of the gallery contains brass, bronze, stone, and wooden images of medieval art tradition including the portraits of all the Shah kings.

The Bhairavnath Temple is dedicated to Kasi Bhairav, the formidable embodiment of Lord Shiva. Initially built as a one-story pagoda by King Jagat Jyoti Malla, it was later modified and an extra story was added during the reign of King Bhupatindra Malla. Further, when the temple was rebuilt after the devastating earthquake in 1934, a third level was added to it. The sacred temple has only the head of Bhairav in the inner chamber. According to mythology, Kasi Bhairav’s head was severed by a religious tantric to keep him in Bhaktapur. Along the north wall of the temple, there are massive wheels and runners from the chariot that is used to tow the idol of Bhairav around the town during the popular Bisket Jatra festival.

The Dattatreya Temple is as old as the palace of 55 windows and lies at the east end of Tachupal Tole. The temple is said to have been built using the timber from a single tree back in 1427 during the reign of King Yaksha Malla. As such, the temple is dedicated to Dattatreya, a probing crossbreed deity, blending elements of Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. At the entrance of the three-story pagoda-style temple are two large sculptures of Jaya Malla and Patta, the two popular wrestles of that era. Also seen together is a Chakra disc, a conch, and a gilded metal statue of Garuda, a bird-like divinity in kneeling position.

Pottery Square is the center of Bhaktapur’s ceramic industry. The square is situated to the south of the Durbar Square just nearby the Taumadhi Square. Thus, some even call it by the name of Taumadhi Potter’s Square. It had a formal name of Bolachha Tole but since it is the most popular and famous amongst several others, everyone knows the place simply as Potter’s Square. This public place is full of potters’ wheels and rows of clay pots being dried in the sun. Numerous shops in the nearby vicinity sell the finished product made of clay. For genuine Nepali experiences, the Pottery Square showcases a genuine Nepali furnace along with local potters at their wheels and piles of clayware being sun-dried.

Changu Narayan Temple is considered to be the oldest temple in the history of Nepal. The sacrosanct temple is named after the daughter of a Kashmiri king who married off his daughter with the prince of Bhaktapur. The temple is built in the two-tiered pagoda style and the sides are guarded by mythical beasts including elephants, lions, and griffons. The statue inside the temple is of the creator of all life, Lord Vishnu. The doors of the temple are opened only for performing rituals, and only Hindu people are allowed to enter inside. The extraordinary carvings seen around the courtyard belongs to the Licchavi era. Lord Vishnu is seen to appear in his various incarnations in those carvings.