Bhaktapur: from Wikipedia :II

Geography

Bhaktapur is around 13 km east of Kathmandu and lies on the old trade route to Tibet. It occupies an area of around 10 km² at an altitude of 1,401 meters above sea-level. Bhaktapur district, in which the Bhaktapur city lies, is the smallest district of Nepal.

[edit] Demographics

At the time of the 1991 Nepal census it had a population of 61405 and had 9187 houses in it.[2] The male inhabitants of this city wear a special type of cap called the Bhaad-gaaule topi. This city is famous for its yoghurt or curd Ju-Ju Dhau.

[edit] Tourism

Bhaktapur is a popular day-trip destination for tourists visiting Kathmandu. Lately, with more air-pollution in Kathmandu, more tourists are staying in Bhaktapur for a few days, before trekking arrangements are finished. In addition, although the Mount Everest (i.e. Sagarmatha) is breathtaking and the landscape of Lord Buddha (i.e. Founder of Peace) mysterious, tourists visiting Nepal still don't feel their sojourn complete unless they have experienced Bhaktapur, Nepal's ancient "City of Culture".

Pottery is one of the main tourist attractions in Bhaktapur besides the architecture.

(THE MAIN ATTRACTION OF BHAKTAPUR)

* Three Squares - Darbar Square, Taumadhi Square, and Dattatreya Square.
* Popular Places - Changu Narayan (World Heritage Site), Nagarkot, Surya Vinayak, Kamal Vinayak, Siddha Pokhari, Chonga Ganesh etc.
* Devine Miracolus Vision - Largest Shiva lingum, Golden Spout and Gate, Magnificent peacock windows, around 40 temples etc.

DURBAR SQUARE

Bhaktapur's main square, Durbar Square, houses the 55-window Palace which was constructed by King Bhupatindra Malla and was home to royalty until 1769. It is now a National Gallery. Close by is the Golden Gate which leads into Mulchok Court which is home to the Taleju Temple. This temple, like others in the main towns of the Kathmandu Valley, is dedicated to the goddess Taleju Bhawani and includes shrines to both the Taleju Bhawani and Kumari. Entrance to the temple is restricted to Hindus and the living goddess strictly cannot be photographed.

The Durbar square is surrounded by spectacular architecture and vividly showcases the skills of the Newari artists and craftsmen over several centuries. The royal palace was originally situated at Dattaraya square and was only later moved to the Durbar square location.

The Durbar square in Bhaktapur was severely damaged by an earthquake in 1934 and hence appears very spacious than the other ones located at Kathmandu and Patan. Nowadays tourist can enjoy dainamic beauty of BHAKTAPUR DURBAR SQUARE.