Places to see at Bhaktapur city are

Nyatapole Temple in Bhaktapur, Nepal

The Kathmandu Valley, the political and cultural hub of Nepal is the first stop for the majority of visitors to the country. It has separate kingdom itself, it contains three fabled cities- kathmandu, Patan, and Bhaktapur. Each cities is an artistic exposition of graceful temples, elegant palaces, brick-paved courtyards and quaint streets. There are seven UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the Valley. The history of the Valley begins with the Buddhist saint Manjushree who slashed a passage through the surrounding hills to drain out the primordial waters and make it inhabitable. Over the centuries, a refined urban civilization emerged, built on a unique synthesis of Hinduism and Buddhism Dynasties came and went. Trade and the arts flourished. Its deeply-religious Newar inhabitants built fabulous cities and artistic temples that attracted devout pilgrims as well as rampaging invaders.

 

Changu Narayan Temple is situated on a ridge overlooking the Valley about 12 km to the east of the city. It is dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu. One of the finest and oldest specimens of pagoda architecture, the temple is embellished with exquisite wood and stone carvings.

Bhaktapur Durbar Square. As you walk in, you cannot but be overcome by feeling of inner harmony. Such is the art and architecture and the spatial layout here. The 15th-century Palace of 55 Windows, situated to the left as you enter through the city gate, inspires admiration. The National Art Gallery is also housed inside. The entrance to the palace, the Golden Gate, is a masterpiece in repousse art.

Taumadi Square lies to the east of Durbar Square reached by a narrow brick-paved lane. The towering five-roofed Nyatapol temple presides over the square. The stairway leading up to the temple is flanked by stone figures of deities and mythical beasts, each 10 times more powerful than the one immediately below.

Dattatreya Square takes its name from the Dattatreya temple dedicated to a three headed combination of the Hindu Deities Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. The Square is famed for its many ornate Hindu monasteries known as Math. The 15th-century Pujari Math is the most famous among the nine here and the building is decorated with the finest wood carvings, including the celebrated Peacock Window. The National Wood working Museum is also housed here and the Brass and Bronze Museum is across the street.

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Places to see at Kathmandu Valley are

Durbar Square: This complex of palace, courtyards and temples, built between the 12th and 18th centuries, used to be seat of the ancient Malla kings of Kathmandu. The Durbar Square, protected as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is the social religious and urban focal point of the city. There are also three museums inside the palace building.

Swayambhu Stupa watches over the Valley from the top of a hillock on its western side. The huge stupa is one of the holiest Buddhists sites in Nepal and its establishment is linked to the creation of the Kathmandu Valley out of primordial lake. Swayambhu is also known as Samhengu and is listed as World Heritage Site.



Boudhanath Stupa lies about 6 km to the east of downtown Kathmandu and is the largest stupa in the Valley. It looms 36 meters high and presents one of the most fascinating specimens of stupa design. Boudhanath, a World Heritage Site is also known as Khasti.


Pashupatinath Temple one of the most sacred Hindu shrines in the world, Pashupatinath lies 5 km east of the city center. The richly-ornamented pagoda houses the sacred linga or phallic symbol of Lord Shiva. Devotees can be seen taking ritual dips in the holy Bagmati river flowing beside the temple also a World Heritage Site.




Balaju consists of a sprawling garden of stone water spouts, religious shrines, fish ponds, and a replica of statue of Budanilkantha. Situated below Nagarjun hill about 3 km northwest of the city center. Balaju is also known for its bank of 22 stone water spouts carved in the shape of sea-dragons.



Budhanilkantha is situated below Shivapuri hill at the northern end of the Valley. It is about 9 km from the city center. The hub of the temple complex is a pond in which lies a great stone figure of the Hindu god Vishnu reclining on the coils of a cosmic serpent.

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Gai Jatra festival

     After Janai Purnima festival in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, Locals celebrate the Gai Jatra festival, promoting freedom of expression in the major cities; Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur. The streets of Bhaktapur celebrate this festival in a deeply cultural way. Gai means Cow and Jatra means festival in Nepali language. The Cow represents a means of transportation for dead souls to cross the holy river in order to reach heaven. It is believed that the dead souls grab on to the tail of cow to help them cross the holy river. It is believed that the culture of celebrating Gai Jatra started when King Pratap Malla lost his son and his wife, entering a period of great sorrow. It was decided that one person from each house where a death had occurred should come before the queen to show that many others were also feeling the same kind of pain. This event lessened the pain of the people and showed the queen that she was not the only person who had lost family. Another belief is that the festival started when people from different households were asked to try to make the queen laugh. A lot of people came and tried their best, making various jokes, and were eventually successful in making the Queen laugh. On this day in Bhaktapur, people who have lost a family member in the previous year lead a procession in the streets, led by a cow.Previously, a real cow would lead the procession, but these days the cow is made from bamboo, second-hand clothes and locally available raw materials. The photo and name of the lost family member is hung from the effigy of the cow. Children of the family dress in costumes to represent the different gods and goddesses in order to bless the dead souls. The procession is led by a traditional music band along with stick dancers. It is believed that these stick dancers use their sticks to clear a path, chasing the ghosts which try to stop the dead souls from reaching Heaven. Besides the religious importance, Gai Jatra day is also a day where people laugh and joke. It is a day when everyone is allowed to make joke about anyone.

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मेहेन्दी लगाउँदै एक युवती

 साउन महिनामा महिलाहरु मेहन्दी लगाउँछन् ।

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Nag Panchami (नाग पंचमी)

अनन्तं वासुकिं शेषं पद्मनाभं च कम्बलम् |
शंखपालं धार्तराष्ट्रं तक्षकं कालियं तथा ||

Nag Panchami, a festival of snakes, is the day when nag is worshiped. Nag is snake and Panchami means the fifth day after no-moon day. Nags are worshiped on the fifth day following no-moon day on the Hindu month of Shrawan. The day is called Nag Panchami.

Nags are deity snakes. In Hindu culture, they own a prominent space. Kadroo, one of the wives of Kashyap Rishi, Lord Brahma’s son, gave birth to Nags. They were the rulers of Patal Lok.

On Nag Panchami, the great nine nags, namely, Ananta, Vāsuki, Padmanābha, Kambala, Shankhapāla, Dhārtarāshtra, Takshaka, and Kaliya were worshipped. These Nags were very powerful.

Legends:

There are various mythological beliefs about Nag Panchami and its celebration.

The universally held Hindu belief is that Lord Krishna conquered Nag Kaliya and put an end to his evil deeds on the day of Shrawan Panchami, as stated in Mahabharat. Therefore, people started celebrating the day as Nag Panchami.

Another myth states that on this day, while tilling his land, a farmer accidentally killed some young serpents. The mother of these serpents took revenge by biting and killing the farmer and his family, except one daughter, who happened to be praying to the Nags. This act of devotion resulted in the revival of the farmer and the rest of his family. Since then, Nag Panchami has been celebrated. It is believed that in reward for worship, snakes will never bite any member of the family. So on the day of Nag Panchami, tilling of land is forbidden

In the Kathmandu Valley, however, there is another legend associated with this occasion. Once upon a time, the valley was a vast lake full of snakes. It was called Nagdaha (Nag: snake deity, daha: lake). Later, there came a time when humans thought of settling down here and so they started to drain the lake (an antithesis to another myth which says that it was miraculously drained by the Buddhist sage Manjushree). The furious Nags who had power over the rains, brought about a severe drought by preventing rainfall in the valley. Luckily, a king’s tantric powers compelled the Nags to allow rain to fall again. However, in recognition of their awesome power, the king designated the 5th day of Shrawan as Nag Panchami to pay homage to the Nags. He also ordered the preservation of certain lakes as safe refuge for the Nags. The lakes so chosen were Taudaha in Kathmandu and Nagdaha in Lalitpur.

Nag Panchami in Nepal:

On this day, Nepalese traditionally post pictures of Nags high above their doorway of their homes to keep off evil spirits. There is a tradition where Chitrakar caste of icommunity makes paper prints of the Nags and sell them to the people for five days before Nag Panchami. People worship the nag by offering a symbol of milk (the white color liquid from the paste of rice). They also keep milk for snakes near snake holes.

People make cottons garland, use cow dung and rice flour’s serpent’s form and worship it with cow’s milk, lava, barley, sesame, nuts and with some other religious items.  As per the belief, the Snake Kings are offered food items such as milk and honey by placing them in gardens. It is believed that these offerings are honoured by the snake kings by giving good rains and crops, thus the prosperity. Scripture explains that without Nags’ help there will be no rain. It is also believed that if Nag Panchami is observed properly every year the Nags provide us good health, wealth and blessing during our life. If Nags are angry, they make us sick and no medicine can heal. 

The Nepalese people believed that the snake kings had relation with the almighty God and would take care of them. The festival is celebrated in the month of July/August.

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