Situated at an altitude of 1,401 m, Bhaktapur covers an area of four square miles. Bhaktapur or "the City of Devotees" still retains the medieval charm and visitors to this ancient town are treated with myriad wonders of cultural and artistic achievements. The past glory of the Malla rulers continue to be reflected at the Durbar Square. Pottery and weaving are its traditional industries. The city lies about 14 km east of Kathmandu.
Orientation and Arrival
Bhaktapur drapes across an east-west fold in the valley, its southern fringe sliding down towards the sluggish Hanumante River. Owing to a long-term westward drift, the city has two centres (residents of the two halves stage a boisterous tug- of-war during the city's annual Bisket festival} and three main squares. In the west, Durbar Square and Taumadhi Tol dominate the post-fifteenth-century city, while Tachapal Tol presides over the older east end.
You'11 arrive by one of two routes. The handy trolley bus, departing from the National Stadium south of Kathmandu's GPO every fifteen minutes or so, drops you on the main road about ten minutes' walk south of town, as do the frequent Barhabise-bound buses from Kathmandu's City Bus Park. Arriving by minibus from the City Bus Park, you'11 be deposited near Sidha Pokhri, a five-minute walk west of Durbar Square. Local buses from Nagarkot terminate at Kamal Binayak, five minutes northeast of Tachapal; tourist buses from Nagarkot continue to the main intersection just north of Durbar Square.
Bhaktapur has no rikshaws and just a few resident taxis, but it's compact enough to be explored on foot One-speed bikes can be rented along the road east of minibus park (west of Durbar Square).
Highlights:
- Watch RITUAL DANCES, such as Mahakali Pyakhan and Bhairav Pyakhan, which will be staged in the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Durbar Square as well as Taumadhi and Dattatreya Squares. These dances will run throughout the Festival enhanced by and enhancing the majesty of these ancient and mysterious settings.
- Walk the path of the gods as you dance to Traditional Musical ENSEMBLES which will circumambulate the city on Bhaktapur’s ritual procession route: the Pradaksinapath or Saparu (Gai Jatra) route.
- Be welcomed by the sounds of the enormous Nagara Drums, featured in the film The Little Buddha. Their thunderous beat will continue during the festival's entire five days filling the visitor’s heart with the mysteries of Bhaktapur’s past.
- Learn about Traditional Newari Handicrafts, such as wood-carving, weaving, mask-making and thanka painting, at Nasamana Square in the art and craft exposition. Bhaktapur’s acclaimed craftsmen will reveal the age-old traditions throughout the festival.
- Watch Potters demonstrate their ancient CERAMIC skills at Talako and Sujamari. These generation-old skills will mesmerize the visitor and give a glimpse into Bhaktapur’s rich artistic history.
- Be enthralled by Bhaktapur’s mysterious and sacred Nau-Baja musical ENSEMBLES at Wakupati Narayan temple, Sujamari Square and Til Madhav Narayan temple, Taumadhi. These ensembles comprised of nine different drums and other subsidiary instruments bring alive the mysterious of Bhaktapur’s Newar traditions.
- Browse over 60 stalls displaying Bhaktapur’s handicrafts and other industrial products at the INDUSTRIAL AND TRADE FAIR organized jointly by the Bhaktapur Municipality and the Bhaktapur Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI). Here you can purchase, or just browse the best of Bhaktapur’s locally made handicrafts and arts.
- Feast on Newari delicacies at the FOOD FESTIVAL located in Bhaktapur’s Durbar Square. This will please the pickiest gourmets and hungriest gourmands alike.
- Gaze upon Bhaktapur’s unique traditions of art and culture in the EXHIBITION OF PHOTOGRAPHS AND PAINTINGS presented at the Kuthu Bahi, a famed Buddhist monastery located in the western part of the city. The exhibition portrays Bhaktapur’s unique traditions of art and culture.
- Be delighted at a BOOK EXHIBITION which will feature books on Newar tradition and culture, as well as texts about traveling, trekking, mountaineering, religion, meditation, wildlife and other subjects related to Nepal. Even the choosiest book-worm will be overjoyed.
- Visit the National Art Gallery in Durbar Square, as well as the National Wood Working MUSEUM and Bronze and Brass Museum in Dattatreya Square. The National Art Gallery features one of the finest collections of Nepali art in the world. Excellent pieces of carvings are on display at the National Woodworking Museum, and the Bronze and Brass Museum displays varieties of traditional Newari utensils such as kalash (ritual jars), kitchenware, ritual butter-fed lamps, water vessels, ink-pots, hookahs, and spittoons.
- View displays of traditional Newari Costumes and Ornaments at the new Municipality Building in Chyamasingh.
- Let your vision soar at the Kite flying EXHIBITION featured at Lamagal. A huge collections of Newar traditional multicolored kites, as well as kites shaped like the temples Nyatapola and Bhairabnath will fill the sky.
- Discover Bhaktapur by following the map A WALKING TOUR OF A MEDIEVAL CITY, which will acquaint visitors with places of religious, historical and archeological importance.
- Read more about BHAKTAPUR FESTIVAL 1997, informational articles on Newari tradition and culture, and other facts needed by travelers, in a Souvenir Magazine which will be distributed free to foreign tourists and Nepalese travel and trade professionals during and after the festival. All the information needed to visit and enjoy Nepal will lie between its covers.
