Skip to content
KidSchoolerनेपाली
Explore Nepal

Visiting Places

Kathmandu Valley

Bhaktapur

The best-preserved old city of the valley — car-free brick lanes and Malla-era temples.

Kathmandu ValleyBagmati Province
Temple architecture of the medieval Newari Kathmandu Valley (illustrative)
Unsplash / Nabin K Sapkota

Bhaktapur is the best-preserved of the valley's three old cities, its brick lanes largely free of traffic. The five-storey Nyatapola Temple, Pottery Square and the wild Bisket Jatra new-year festival are highlights. It is the easiest place in Nepal to feel what the Malla-era valley looked like.

Known for

  • Medieval Newari city
  • Nyatapola Temple
  • pottery square

At a glance

Region
Kathmandu Valley
Province
Bagmati
Getting there
About 13 km east of Kathmandu; 45–60 min by taxi or local bus. Foreigner entry fee at the gates.
Best time
October–March for dry days; mid-April for Bisket Jatra and Nepali New Year.

Things to see & do

  • The five-storey Nyatapola Temple, the tallest pagoda in Nepal
  • Pottery Square, where potters still throw clay in the open air
  • Bisket Jatra, the wild chariot-and-pole new-year festival