Kathmandu 1: Durbar Square and Royal Palace

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Arrived in Kathmandu a few days ago...not really expecting to enjoy our stay here as much (not only did the guide books and newspapers say was very polluted, over touristy with traffic problems, the locals from Kathmandu that we met in Pokhara also echoed these sentiments)... So it was somewhat to our (very pleasant) surprise, that in spite of the pollution and traffic, we have thoroughly enjoyed Kathmandu - it is such an interesting city, so many nooks and crannies to explore, awesome temples and old buildings, etc. Will certainly be looking at coming back to Kathmandu as a hub for visits to Bhutan and Tibet. However, must say our luck held again - in that there was a stir (strike) on our first day sightseeing so everything was very quiet, only traffic on the roads being the tourist cars..which certainly helped with the smog and getting around easily

We've separated the pictures from Kathmandu into a few entries..The first, attached to this blog is Kathmandu's Durbar (Royal Palace) square..In one of gthe other blogs you'll see pictures of Patan's Durbar square, which although not on the same scale as the Kathmandu square, contains the Golden Temple..

The square is a World Heritage site listed by UNESCO. Its huge and just blew us away with its presence...one of the most impressive squares we have seen in the world. The square is a cluster of ancient temples, palaces, courtyards and streets that date back to the 12th and 18th centuries. Its apparently the social, religious and urban focal point of the city...as you can see from the pictures. Defintely a "must see"

In the square is the Palace ...it was the royal Nepalese residence until the 19th century and is the site of important ceremonies, such as the coronation of the Nepalese monarch. Its decorated with elaborately-carved wooden windows and panels. The King Tribhuwan Memorial Museum and the Mahendra Museum are inside the complex. Unfortunately we couldn't take photos inside the palace complex, but many of the carvings and people you see (including the holy men) were taken just outside of the palace.

Anyway, lots of pictures to follow...hope you enjoy (andour apologies if there ar4e too many - it just takes too much time to edit them all, and decide which are more interesting, so we've slacked off trimming down the number of published pictures from the few hundred we take each day, to 40 or 50 now rather than the 25 we started off limiting ourselves to)a feww hundred per day 4 05 500 per just gone for leaving it at havihope you enjoy...

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Photos

Kathmandu Durbar Square - Scene 12
Entrance to Palace museum - no photos allowed inside