Bhaktapur

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Peacock Window

A street of Bhaktapur

Bhaktapur (27.67°N 85.43°E. Also Bhadgaon or Khwopa) is an ancient Newari town in the east corner of the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. It is located in Bhaktapur District.

From time immemorial it lay on the route between Tibet/China and India. This position on the main caravan route made the town rich and prosperous: each autumn the traders from Tibet came with sheep ("changra"), fitting nicely with the main Nepali holidays, 'Dasain' (hindi: Dussehra), when nearly everyone in Nepal sacrificed male animals to the goddess Durga. On the return trek the traders brought back to Tibet grains, sugar or Buddhist scriptures.

This prosperity fueled the cultural life: ie. the temple builders developed a Pagoda-style, spreading it through Tibet all the way to Japan. Finest of all is the seven-tiered, heaven piercing Nyatapole.

Bhaktapur is a popular day-trip for tourists visiting Kathmandu. Lately, with the horrendous air-pollution of Kathmandu, more and more tourists are staying in Bhaktapur for a few days, before arrangements for trekking are finished. For foreign tourists the entry fee is NPR750/$10; for nationals of SAARC-countries and China (sic!) the fee is NPR50.