A Pocket Tour of Durbar Square

An Introduction
Over 50 monuments can be found in Durbar Square, the oldest dating back to the 12the century, when the area was the crossroads of two important trading routes. Over the years it evolved into the hub of Kathmandu. A succession of kings built and elaborated on the main royal palace here, which gave it the name "Durbar" or palace, Square.
The area flourished in the 17th century, the "Golden Age" of the Kathmandu Valley, when the Malla rulers of the three neighbouring city-states of Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur waged artistic warfare to see who could built the most splendid monuments. Any innovation in one was quickly copied by the other kings, a competition that explains the similarities between the three cities Durbar Squares.

Today, modern life if interwoven with the historical past, flowing in, out and around the royal monuments in a steady stream. Children play at the feet of fierce guardian lion images and fly kites from the steps of 300-years-old passersby, from honking taxis to barefoot porters, cross the square. There is much hidden history in Durbar Square too, things visible to the eye which conceal their meaning from all but those who know it intimately.
Starting The Tour
Begin at the end of New Road, in front of Nepal Bank, where a statue of Juddha Shamsher Rana, Prime Minister from 1932 to 1954, stands majestically in the midst of a traffic eddy. He presided over the rebuilding of Kathmandu following the 1934 earthquake which damaged much of the old city. Under his direction, New Road was built over the ruins.
Continuing straight ahead, the red brick and dark wood of the old Royal Palace appears on the right, as the asphalt road ends and ancient flagstones begin. This wing of the palace is dominated by the nine-storey Basantapur Tower, whose many masterpieces of woodcarving were restored with the aid of UNESCO in the 1970s. Tradition says kings of the Malla of the tower, held audiences on the second, viewed their dancing girls on the third, and climbed to the fourth floor every evening to survey the smoke from the city's cooking fires to ensure that nobody was going hungry.



The tower faces the red-brick Basantapur Square, originally a courtyard for royal elephants, later transformed into a large vegetable market. Today it is a marketplace for curio vendors and strolling flute sellers. The side street leading down from here is the once-notorious "Freak Street".
At the west end of the square rises a red brick building adorned with intricate wood-carvings, the Kumari Bahal.This is the home of the young girl chosen as the "Living Goddess" of Kathmandu (the Kumari tradition is practiced in other parts of the Kathmandu Valley, but this girl is known as the "Royal Kumari" to set her apart from the ten others). Step inside the courtyard, and you may get a glimpse of the goddess, who will appear briefly at an upper window for a contribution of a few rupees. Photos of the Kumari are strictly forbidden, but the wealth of intricate carvings inside the courtyard make good photo subjects.
Coming out of Kumari Bahal, there is a large Narayan Temple on opposite side to find a large and perfect stone Garuda, the traditioal vehicle of the god Narayan. The winged man-bird has been kneeling in front of the temple waiting to serve its deity for the past 300 years.
Past the Garuda and a row of small shops selling flowers, incense, and offerings, lies the broad-roofed, ancient Kasthamandap Temple, which dates back to the 12th century and has been restored many times since then. Legend has it that the shrine was built from the wood of a single sal tree, thus its name, meaning "House of Qood."
"Kasthamandap" is also the basis for "Kathmandu", Showing the temple's importance in the city's history. Originally the building was rest house or assenbly hall located at the beginning of the old trade route to Tibet. From here the city gradually grew with the Kasthamandap as its hub.
Just to the right of the temple, at the head of Maru Tole, a street more commonly known as "Pie Alley", is one of Kathmandu's shrines. The small golden Maru Ganesh, bedecked with metal pennants, would be easy to miss. Were it not for the steady stream of worshippers circling it, ringing the bells to alert the elephant-headed god Ganesh to their presence. The deity is a special favorite because he presides over good luck and travel, and on his special days of Tuesday and Saturday, the number of visitors here increases.
If you're ready for a break by now, return to the main square. The top steps of the triple-roofed Shiva Temple on your left are a good place to sit and watch the never-ending activity of Durvar Square below. It seems that even the gods enjoy the spectacle, far across the way the brightly-painted wooden figures of Shiva and Parvati lean from the top window of their house-like shrine, looking down on the assortment of sellers, buyers, and wanderers that fill the square.
From here, you will notice that the east side of the square is flanked by a rather startling intrusion: the neo-classical white facade of a Rana addition to the Royal Palace known as Gaddi Baithak, it is typical of the Ranas' introduction of European styles to Nepal, a taste they acquired after their mid-19th century travels to the West.
When you're ready to continue, take the road running northeast between the Shiva/Parvati temple and a facade of the old Royal Palace on the right. The ground floor of the palace is filled with souvenir shops, but the second-storey widows are classical masterpieces, and the rooftop is capped by several small pagodas. Be sure to glance at the last set of Windows at the corner. These are actually carved of ivory, a fact that wasn't discovered until 1975 when the palace underwent a thorough cleaning. In front of these windows, across the lane, is a giant Bell cast in 1786 and rung only once a year, during the autumn Dasain festival.

The Hanuman Dhoka Area
Just past this point the street opens onto a second forest of temples, a bit more peaceful than first. This area is known as Hanuman Dhoka, and its tile roofs are favorite haunt for pigeons. Turning to the right you'll find a large latticed screen of red wood. Peer between the slits to see the fierce, painted mask of Seto Bhairav, one of the 64 terrible manifestation of the god Shiva. He is believed to have the power to frighten off demons. The 12 foot high gilded visage is unveiled only once a year, during the week-long festival of Indra Jatra, when rice beer flows from a spout projecting from the image's mouth and young men jostle each other to drink form it.
Across the way, sitting high upon a pillar, is a beautiful statue of King Pratap Malla, who reigned around 1660. It was the custom of the Valley's kings to gain blessings by memorializing themselves in such a fashion, and pratap Malla's image is especially appropriate here, since it was he who contributed much of Durbar Square's present adornments. His statue kneels facing what was once his private prayer room, on the third floor of the Degu Taleju temple. contunuing now past an open arcade on the right, where hindu sages sometimes give teachings, you arrive at Hanuman Dhoka, the entrance to the old Royal Palace. The name comes from the doorway's guradian, Hanuman the Monkey King, whose effigy stands nearby upon a pedestal, robed in red and shaded unrecognizable, obscured by the sindhur paste (Vermillion powder mixed with mustard oil) applied as an offering by the faithful over the course of three centuries. One belief is that Hanuman possesses the Evil Eye in order to ward off smallpox and demons and the sindhur thus protects innocent viewers from harm.
The golden gare, dhoka he guards is brightly painted and flanked by two lions carrying images of Shiva and Parvati. Overhead are a series of figures, from the left: Krishna, in his peaceful and fierce aspects, and Pratap Malla with his Queen. At the doorway you can buy tickets for admission to the palace, which contains a museum devoted mainly to the life of late King Tribhuvan.