Bhaktapur: From Wikipedia I

Bhaktapur (Nepali: भक्तपुर जिल्ला Bhaktapur Jillā), also Bhadgaon or Khwopa (Nepal Bhasa: ख्वप Khwopa) is an ancient Newar town in the east corner of the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. It is located in Bhaktapur District in the Bagmati Zone. It is the third largest city in Kathmandu valley and was once the capital of Nepal during the great Malla Kingdom until the second half of the 15th century.

Bhaktapur is known for its fabulous culture and indigeneous lifestyle. It is listed as a World Heritage by UNESCO for its adbundant rich culture, temples, artworks in wood, metal and stone. Many tourists visit Bhaktapur yearly to feel the indigeneous lifestyle and to see the majestic view of the himalayas.

Etymology
The term "Bhaktapur" (Sanskrit/Nepali: भक्तपुर) refers to "The Town Of Devotees". This Bhaktapur City is also known as "Khwopa" (Nepal Bhasa: ख्वप) or "Bhadgaon" (Nepali:भादगाँउ) or "Ancient Newari Town" through out the Kathmandu valley.


History
It is the home of traditional art and architecture, historical monuments and craft works, magnificent windows, pottery and weaving industries, excellent temples, beautiful ponds, rich local customs, culture, religion, festivals, musical mystic and so on. Bhaktapur is still an untouched as well as preserved ancient city, which in fact, is itself a world to explore for tourist.

From time immemorial it lay on the trade 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 Hindu holidays, 'Mohni' (Parbatiya: Dashain; 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 five-tiered, heaven piercing Nyatapole.

The rivalry between the 3 kingdoms of the Kathmandu valley extended to include arts and architecture. Some of the fabulous pieces of work can be found in the Durbar square area which is surrounded by temples and palaces. Most of the buildings were constructed during the 15th century.