A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Bhakptapur is one of three main cities in the Kathmandu Valley along with Kathmandu and Lalitpur (Patan) and is only about 15 km or 45 minutes drive from where we stayed in Thamel. It is the smallest city in Nepal and also the most densely populated. The Newar people who are well known for being business savvy and prosperous live here, and the city is known for its Newar traditions and artisans. Bhaktapur also has a Durbar Square as well as several other historically important squares and sights.
It was a very long drive day to get back to the city the day after ending the trek. It was supposed to be around eight hours but was more like ten. We only arrived in Bhaktapur at around six in the evening. We had a final celebratory and farewell dinner with Bashu and Nara at a lovely local restaurant. And then enjoyed a proper long hot shower! And a real bed! Such bliss. The hotel we stayed at was so lovely, in the traditional style of the area. We had a huge room, a real treat after the small teahouse rooms on trek. We were also the only guests for those two nights which was a bit awkward at times. The owners were very friendly and we had some interesting discussions with them including about government corruption, the brain drain of all the young people leaving Nepal to work abroad, and how there are so many hotels and not enough tourists. Because Bhaktapur is so close to Kathmandu, it’s easy to pop by for a day or half day visit so many people probably do that rather than staying over.
We woke up to rain that first morning in Bhaktapur and didn’t feel the need to rush out of bed. The last 12 days had all been very early starts and we enjoyed a long lie in and another hot shower. The hotel owner’s wife made us the most amazing cooked breakfast, we ate like kings here with a full spread every morning. Bhaktapur is well known for it’s juju dhau, or king curd, basically very thick yoghurt. Oh my gosh it is so yum! The hotel provided some for us each morning, it had a distinct caramel taste that we didn’t find elsewhere in the city. A must try in Bhaktapur.
We nursed our full bellies waiting for the rain to let up. It did eventually and fined up into a lovely not too hot day. Bhaktapur is very compact and it is easy to navigate the city on foot. Exploring started at Durbar Square, right around the corner from the hotel. The Durbar Square is a former royal palace complex and was home to the Malla Kings from the 14th to the late 18th century. The Bhaktapur Durbar Square was considered the biggest and grandest of the three Kathmanda Valley Durbar Squares prior to independence, however the square has fallen into disrepair since independence and many buildings were lost in the 1934 and 2015 earthquakes. Fifteen or less of the 99 original courtyards remain today. Nevertheless, the square still has some amazing sights and architecture. Some of the main sights include the Char Darm and Krishna temple, the Nhekanjhya Lyaku palace, the Golden gate, the Yakshasvara temple, the Vatsala temple, the Palace of 55 Windows, the Chyasilin Mandap, the Taleju Bell, and various other statues and structures.
From Durbar Square, we came back down to the Pottery Square. Bhaktapur is well known for its pottery and on a sunny day you can see pottery drying out in the square. We didn’t realise today was a public holiday so not much was open and also the rain on both days meant potters didn’t leave their clay pieces out. It’s possible though to take a pottery class here and also to purchase all kinds of pottery items. We came back another time to get some mugs and a teapot once we had packed and knew what our luggage space looked like.
From Pottery Square, we carried on to Taumadhi Square. The main attraction in Taumadhi Square is the five storeyed Nyatapola temple. At 30 metres high it is the tallest temple in Nepal and was commissioned by King Bhupatindra Malla for the personal deity of the royal couple. Several other temples and statues are in this square as well. And two huge carts which were from some or other festival. It wasn’t clear if these are preserved or replaced every year. Lots of people were climbing on them, tourists and locals alike, which is a shame as they were crumbling a bit with fallen off wheels and other parts.
From Taumadhi Square we walked to Dattatraya Square where the main sight is the Dattatraya temple, a three storied pagoda style temple dedicated to Dattatraya, the combined form of the Hindu gods Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. It was built by King Yaksha Malla in 1427 and has intricate woodwork and stone carvings. It was originally built as a public rest house and was later dedicated to Dattatraya.
Dattatraya Square is also home to the former palace of the Malla Kings known as the Pujari Math. One of the highlights of this palace is the Peacock Window, actually in a narrow alley around the corner from the square. It took some perseverance to find it, and when we did it was a bit like looking at the Mona Lisa, is this it? It was smaller than expected, but when looking closer, is intricate and beautiful and shows real craftsmanship.
On the other side of the alley from the Peacock Window, is a paper making shop showing the whole process from making the pulp, to dyeing to making the pages housed in a traditional old building. It was lovely exploring the depths of this old building.
The Peacock Window
And that was already all the sights to see in Bhaktapur, so very easy to do as a day trip from Kathmandu. There were some other temples a bit further afield about an hour’s drive away or so, but we were happy to chill and didn’t feel strongly about missioning to see another similar looking temple.
Lunch was in order and we found a rooftop restaurant overlooking Durbar Square. After lunch we relaxed at the hotel a bit and then went out for an evening stroll to enjoy the late light of the day.
Durbar Square bathed in soft light at sunset
Earlier we had spotted a cafe above one of the pottery places in Pottery Square. They were open despite the holiday and the two of us the only customers. We had a lovely more western meal and a fun evening of playing DJ on their spotify account. They were super relaxed and chill and let us commandeer their phone for our own song choices all evening.
Then it was time for the worst part of any holiday. Packing to go home. And hoping it all fits in your suitcase. We had left our main luggage behind in Kathmandu and been given weatherproof bags for the trek. We were reunited with our luggage in Bhaktapur and were faced with the task of reuniting the two bags. Fortunately it was smoother than expected and there was even space for souvenirs!
The next morning after another bumper breakfast, we took a walk to a nearby pond that was fairly disappointing despite being on the list of top things to do in Bhaktapur. The pond was outside the main tourist area of the city and has a very different feel, we were happy to come back to the tourist area around our hotel. When coming back into Durbar Square, we were asked to show our tourist entry ticket.
The clouds had been gathering all morning and we managed to time a visit to the art museum as the rain came down. The National Art Museum is housed in the Palace of 55 Windows in Durbar Square and was the first museum in Nepal. The museum houses a collection of traditional paintings, sculptures, and artifacts spanning various periods and styles. It was mostly Hindu religious art, but the building itself was lovely to walk around and admire and afforded great views over Durbar Square.
For lunch we went back to the pottery cafe place but unlike the night before it was severely disappointing. We struggled to find good places to eat here as many places had long elaborate menus but upon ordering most of the items were not available. At the pottery cafe, they failed to mention certain items were not available and served half meals instead. It was really disappointing. We were also hoping to have a foot massage today but the only spa place in Bhaktapur didn’t offer foot massages. We had a very chilled time in Bhaktapur, but also wondered if it wouldn’t have been better to stay in the tourist areas of Kathmandu for the conveniences post trek and just do a day trip to Bhaktapur. But that’s probably why the hotels in Bhaktapur are struggling. Anyway. Something to consider for next time.
Having seen all the sights already and in need of a post lunch pre-flight snack, we found the Himalayan Java cafe overlooking Taumadhi Square and enjoyed a coffee while people watching in the square.
And then all too soon it was time to head back to the hotel, collect our bags, and head to the airport. Thank you to Snow Cat Travel for even arranging all our airport transfers and making life super easy for us.
Kathmandu airport is truly awful, old, dirty, and over capacity. It was a reverse of all the procedures upon arrival: pre bag scan, a ticket and passport check, check in, security, another check of sorts. It was very crowded and nothing available in the departures hall. At least our flight was mostly on time, many others were very delayed. A short stop over in Singapore, a long passport queue on arrival in HCMC, and we were home!
Thank you Nepal and Snow Cat Travel for a truly amazing trip!!
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