Our city Kathmandu is a living museum. In no other city in the world you can find so many ancient artifacts within a square kilometer. Yet, we have not been able to capitalize or acknowledge the many heritage sites within Kathmandu besides a few usual tourist spots that have been promoted since the dawn of tourism in Nepal.
The Kathmandu Heritage walk is an effort to expose the domestic and international tourists to rarely visited sites from Durbar Square to Thamel – centuries old temples with exquisite carvings, statues, courtyards (bahals), forgotten alleys, eateries, and bazaars all within the vicinity.
Gather in front of Kumari Ghar and after Kumari darshan, start walk.
The temple is dedicated to Seto Machchendranath who is both Hindu & Buddhist, something that is very indicative of the original culture of Kathmandu valley. Machchendranath comes from the Sanskrit word for ‘fish.’ Machchendranath is the God of Rain. There is an interesting, hidden pottery market behind the temple.
The largest Buddhist Bahal in Kathmandu and one of the oldest still in existence in the world today. The first courtyard worth exploring is Saraswati Nani dedicated to the goddess Saraswati. The second courtyard is the Green Tara Nani.
Kathesimbu Stupa is a smaller replica of the great stupa of Swayambhunath, built for people who were unable to visit Swayambhu. The domed chaitya is rumored to be from the 5th & 6th centuries. The stone chaitya around this courtyard are 20th century additions. Harati, the goddess of health has a temple in the corner & the Tibetan Drubgon Jangchup Choeling Monastery is here too.
Chhusya Bahal is one of the most well preserved bahals of Kathmandu. The roof struts over the main entrance depict four celestial Buddhas, while to the right are protective goddesses and to the left musicians and dancers. Historians query why these roof struts are characteristic of 13th century woodwork yet the temple dates a few centuries after this in 1640.
