A half-day walking tour of Patan, the Kathmandu Valley's "city of beauty", taking in the Malla-era Durbar Square, the gilded Golden Temple and the valley's finest collection of Newar bronze and stone art.
Itinerary
Day 1: Patan Durbar Square, Golden Temple and Patan Museum
Half Day Tour: approx. 3 to 4 hours. Just across the Bagmati River from Kathmandu, Patan (also called Lalitpur, "city of beauty") was a separate Malla kingdom with its own royal palace and its own school of Newar craftsmen. The tour begins in Patan Durbar Square among the stone-carved Krishna Mandir, the Bhimsen Temple and the old royal palace, then continues a short walk to Kwa Bahal, better known as the Golden Temple, a three-tiered Buddhist monastery with a gilded copper facade and a courtyard full of votive shrines. The visit closes inside the Patan Museum, housed in the former palace, whose bronze and repousse collection is regarded as the finest introduction to Newar religious art in the valley.