Bhaktapur

Located 20 km away from the main city of Kathmandu, Bhaktapur is known as a place of devotees. It is listed amongst World Heritage sites by UNESCO and is one of the popular tourist attractions of Nepal. Also known by the name Bhadgaon, it has beautiful temples, gilded roofs and open courtyards. Bhaktapur did face the menace of the earthquake as half of the temples got destroyed but Nyatapola Temple. Historically, Bhaktapur was amongst largest of the three Newar kingdoms of the Kathmandu Valley. During the ‘Malla Kingdom’, Bhaktapur was declared the capital of Nepal and it remained so till the half of the 15th century. Today it is the third largest city of Nepal, which still has vast population of Newars. The Nepal Bhasa (language) of Bhaktapur has a distinct flavour from that of Kathmandu and Patan. Following an ancient route between India and Tibet, Bhaktapur is surrounded by mountains and gives a magnificent view of the Himalayas.