Kathmandu Valley Sightseeing tours 3 Day

Trip overview

Kathmandu is the capital of Nepal and the largest metropolitan city, the other two sister cities are Patan or Lalitpur and Bhaktapur. The short form of Kathmandu is KTM, in terms of area Kathmandu valley is only slightly smaller than Singapore. Kathmandu is surrounded by four major mountains, namely: Shivapuri, Phulchowki, Nagarjun and Chandragiri, the city stands at an elevation of approximately, 1,400 meters in the bowl-shaped valley in central Nepal. The total population of Kathmandu is 949,486 people. Kathmandu is not only the capital of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal but also the headquarters of the Central Region among the five development regions constituted by the 14 administrative zones of Nepal located at the central part of the country. The central region has three zones, Bagmati, Narayani, and Janakpur. Kathmandu falls in the Bagmati Zone. Kathmandu, as the gateway to Nepal Tourism, is the nerve of the country’s economy. With the most advanced infrastructure among urban areas in Nepal, Kathmandu’s economy is tourism centric accounting for 3.8% of the GDP.

English and Hindi are understood by most of the people, and a significant number of the population speaks any of the foreign languages like: French, German, Chinese, Hebrew, Korean etc. The literacy rate is 98% in the city. Among urban areas in Nepal, Kathmandu being the premier cultural and economic hub of Nepal is considered to have the most advanced infrastructure. The sister cities of Patan, and Bhaktapur are integral to Kathmandu, from the point of view of tourism, economy and cultural heritage. Even the cultural heritage recognition under the World Heritage list of the UNESCO has recognized all the monuments in the three urban agglomerates as one unit under the title kathmandu valley UNESCO World Heritage site.

The city of Kathmandu was named after a structure in Durbar Square called Kasthamandap, which is a Sanskrit word, Kastha is “wood” and Mandap is “covered shelter.” In 1596, King Laxmi Narsingh Malla built this unique temple, which is also called Maru Sthal. The entire structure contains no iron nails or supports and is made entirely from wood. Legend has it that the timber used for this two-story pagoda was obtained from a single tree. Kantipur is the other name for Kathmandu, “Kanti” is an alternate name of the Goddess Laxmi, and “pur” means the place where such a goddess resides. Thus, the name Kantipur demonstrates the ancient belief that it is the place where the Laxmi dwells.

The history of Kathmandu dates back to ancient times. Traced between the period 167 BC and 1 AD, archaeological explorations indicate that Kathmandu and the two other sister towns in the valley are the oldest towns. Excavations conducted at Hadaigaon and Lubhu in southern part of the valley, in Kathmandu, have unearthed brick walls and Stone Age tools. The geological setting of the valley points to the existence of a lake near Chobar gorge on the Bagmati River, below the present Pashupatinath Temple, which was a pilgrimage place during the period of the Buddha. Manjushree Bodhisatva, a Buddhist Saint, drained this lake by cutting open an outlet in the southern rim of the valley. People started cultivating here and building their homes as the valley that was created was fertile. Manjushree is also said to have worshipped the Swayambhunath on the hillock where the present Swayambhunath temple is located. He is also the founder of the city of Manjupatan, which today falls within the present Kathmandu Metropolitan area, located between Swayambhunath and Gujeswari near the airport. Dharmakara a disciple of Manjushree was declared the ruler of that city by him. It is also said that Krakuchanda Budhha, Kanak Muni Buddha and Kashyapa Buddha visited the Kathmandu valley to worship Swayambhu and Gujeshwari, following the establishment of this city. The king of Gaur, Prachanda Deva built the Swayambhu stupa encasing the eternal flame and his nephew Gunakadeva was anointed as the king of Nepal. Singhakhetu, the last ruler of his dynasty brought prosperity to the kingdom. Subsequent to the rule of the Gunakadeva dynasty, rulers from India, particularly from Bengal and then Madras province ruled Kathmandu. Dharma Dutta of Kanchipuram in Tamil Nadu is cited as the builder of Pashupatinath Temple. This was followed by the reign of Abhir dynasty of eighth rulers and Kiratis said to be originally of the northeastern hill region of India. Their succession of 29 rulers reigned here until the Lichavis came into power.