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Kathmandu Photo Gallery - Patan

I have been to Kathmandu many times over the years. Here are photos of Patan from May 2008

Kathmandu Patan 01 View From Plane Patan (1350m) is the second largest city in the Kathmandu Valley located on the south side of the Bagmati River, 5km southeast of Kathmandu. It is officially known as Lalitpur, the City Of Beauty.

Kathmandu Patan 01 View From Plane

Kathmandu Patan 02 Patan Durbar Square 01 From Plane Patan’s Durbar Square is the heart of Patan and is filled with monuments, temples and statues, probably the best Newari architecture in Nepal. The square rose to prominence between 16C to 18C during the Malla period. On the right is the Patan’s Royal Palace.

Kathmandu Patan 02 Patan Durbar Square 01 From Plane

Kathmandu Patan 02 Patan Durbar Square 02 Krishna Temple And Royal Palace The octagonal white stone Krishna Temple sits on the west side of Patan’s Durbar Square, while the whole eastern side is occupied by the Royal Palace. This view from the south was taken from the Teleju Restaurant.

Kathmandu Patan 02 Patan Durbar Square 02 Krishna Temple And Royal Palace

Kathmandu Patan 02 Patan Durbar Square 03 Krishna Temple and Taleju Bell The Krishna Temple (1723) is the octagonal white stone temple as you enter Patan’s Durbar Square from the south. The large bell hanging between two pillars on the right is Taleju Bell (1736).

Kathmandu Patan 02 Patan Durbar Square 03 Krishna Temple and Taleju Bell

Kathmandu Patan 02 Patan Durbar Square 04 Krishna Mandir, King Yoganarendra Malla Column, Garuda Column, Vishwanath Temple, And Bhimsen Temple The Krishna Mandir temple, King Yoganarendra Malla column, Garuda column, Vishwanath Temple, and Bhimsen Temple occupy the west side of Patan’s Durbar Square. Vishwanath (Shiva) Temple (1627) is an elaborately decorated two-roofed temple with two stone elephants guarding the entrance. The Bhimsen Temple (1682) at the northern end of Durbar Square is a three-story temple dedicated to the god of trade and business.

Kathmandu Patan 02 Patan Durbar Square 04 Krishna Mandir, King Yoganarendra Malla Column, Garuda Column, Vishwanath Temple, And Bhimsen Temple

Kathmandu Patan 02 Patan Durbar Square 05 King Yoganarendra Malla Column Close Up The King Yoganarendra Malla column (1700) in Patan’s Durbar Square is topped by a golden statue of a kneeling King Yoganarendra Malla and his queens on a lotus, protected by the hood of a cobra with a bird on his head.

Kathmandu Patan 02 Patan Durbar Square 05 King Yoganarendra Malla Column Close Up

Kathmandu Patan 02 Patan Durbar Square 06 Krishna Mandir And Garuda Column Garuda kneels with folded arms on top of the column facing the Krishna Mandir in Patan’s Durbar Square. Krishna Mandir (1637) is an Indian style stone temple with a shikhara-style spire on top.

Kathmandu Patan 02 Patan Durbar Square 06 Krishna Mandir And Garuda Column

Kathmandu Patan 03 Golden Temple 01 Entrance Towards Inner Courtyard The Golden Temple is a Buddhist monastery just north of Durbar Square in Patan built somewhere between 12C and 15C. The Golden temple is also known as Hiranya Varna Mahavihara or Kwa Bahal. The entry to the courtyard of the Golden Temple in Patan has many ornately carved many-armed deities flanked by a pair of griffins.

Kathmandu Patan 03 Golden Temple 01 Entrance Towards Inner Courtyard

Kathmandu Patan 03 Golden Temple 02 Mahakala Mahakala, a deity worshipped by both Buddhists and Hindus, defends the dharma at the entrance to the Golden temple in Patan. Mahakala is of the eight terrible deities of the Buddhist pantheon, with snake ornaments, sharp teeth, protruding belly, and wearing a tiger skin.

Kathmandu Patan 03 Golden Temple 02 Mahakala

Kathmandu Patan 03 Golden Temple 03 Elephants Guard Entrance From Inside Courtyard On either side of the entrance in the courtyard of the Golden Temple in Patan are two metal statues of elephants standing on tortoises. Between the elephants is the exquisite carved doorway with Buddha and the five Dhyani Buddhas on the arch above the entrance.

Kathmandu Patan 03 Golden Temple 03 Elephants Guard Entrance From Inside Courtyard

Kathmandu Patan 03 Golden Temple 04 Main Temple The large rectangular Golden Temple in Patan has three roofs and a copper-gilded façade. The long metal strips coming down from the roof are supposed to provide a slide for the gods when they descend to answer prayers. In the foreground is the roof of the Swayambhu Chaitya.

Kathmandu Patan 03 Golden Temple 04 Main Temple

Kathmandu Patan 03 Golden Temple 05 Shakyamuni Buddha In Main Temple An extremely ornate statue of Shakyamuni Buddha is the main image inside the main shrine of the Golden Temple in Patan. The two bells hanging from the ceiling in the front of the Buddha are used to perform daily worship.

Kathmandu Patan 03 Golden Temple 05 Shakyamuni Buddha In Main Temple

Kathmandu Patan 03 Golden Temple 06 Padmapani Lokeshvara Padmapani Lokeshvara is one of the four Lokeshvara statues situated at the four corners of the Golden Temple inner courtyard in Patan.

Kathmandu Patan 03 Golden Temple 06 Padmapani Lokeshvara

Kathmandu Patan 03 Golden Temple 07 Vajrasattva An 8-armed and 4-headed Vajrasattva statue is in northwest far right corner of the Golden Temple courtyard in Patan.

Kathmandu Patan 03 Golden Temple 07 Vajrasattva

Kathmandu Patan 03 Golden Temple 08 Vajra And Prayer Wheels An enormous vajra is flanked by prayer wheels just inside the entrance to Golden Temple in Patan. The Swaymbhu Chaitya is behind.

Kathmandu Patan 03 Golden Temple 08 Vajra And Prayer Wheels

Kathmandu Patan 03 Golden Temple 09 Swayambhu Chaitya Swayambhu Chaitya is the small, richly decorated temple in the centre of the inner courtyard of the Golden Temple in Patan. The temple is supposedly older than the main temple and has a golden roof with an ornate bell-shaped top.

Kathmandu Patan 03 Golden Temple 09 Swayambhu Chaitya

Kathmandu Patan 03 Golden Temple 10 Swayambhu Chaitya Left Side On the four corners of the Swayambhu Chaitya at the Golden Temple in Patan are mystical lions with long pointed teeth, sharp curled claws, long curving snouts, standing on the hind legs. To the left is the main Golden Temple with the five Dhyani Buddhas carved on the wall, and wood-carvings of many-armed deities on the roof struts.

Kathmandu Patan 03 Golden Temple 10 Swayambhu Chaitya Left Side

Kathmandu Patan 03 Golden Temple 11 Swayambhu Chaitya Lattice Door The lattice doors of the Swayambhu Chaitya in the Golden Temple in Patan are very ornate.

Kathmandu Patan 03 Golden Temple 11 Swayambhu Chaitya Lattice Door

Kathmandu Patan 03 Golden Temple 12 Swayambhu Chaitya Buddha Statue A small Buddha statue is one of many surrounding the outside of the Swayambhu Chaitya in the Golden Temple in Patan.

Kathmandu Patan 03 Golden Temple 12 Swayambhu Chaitya Buddha Statue

Kathmandu Patan 04 Kumbeshwar Temple 01 The Kumbeshwar Temple is a five-story temple directly north of Durbar Square in Patan. It was supposedly built in 1392, making it the oldest temple in Patan.

Kathmandu Patan 04 Kumbeshwar Temple 01

Kathmandu Patan 04 Kumbeshwar Temple 02 Hindu Wedding Cermony I was lucky enough to see part of a Hindu wedding ceremony at the Kumbeshwar Temple in Patan. The groom wore a traditional garland of grass around his neck.

Kathmandu Patan 04 Kumbeshwar Temple 02 Hindu Wedding Cermony

Kathmandu Patan 04 Kumbeshwar Temple 03 Hindu Wedding Cermony Bride Close Up The Nepalese Hindu bride was dressed in a heavily embroidered red sari, beautifully made up, and wearing much jewelry at the Kumbeshwar Temple in Patan.

Kathmandu Patan 04 Kumbeshwar Temple 03 Hindu Wedding Cermony Bride Close Up

Kathmandu Patan 05 Rato Macchendrana Chariot The Rato Macchendranath wooden-wheeled chariot sad idle in the street of Patan waiting to be moved later in the day. It has a very unwieldy tall spire made from bamboo poles raised from four ends of the chariot, making the chariot balance precariously. Rato (Red) Macchendranath is the god of rain and plenty, and is a tantric version of Avolokiteshvara to Buddhists and a version of Shiva to Hindus. This is the longest and most important festival of Patan, beginning with building the chariot, and then towing the chariot through the streets of Patan every day for a month, ending just before the monsoon.

Kathmandu Patan 05 Rato Macchendrana Chariot

Kathmandu Patan 06 Mahabouddha Temple 01 The shikhara-style Mahabouddha Temple (Temple of a Thousand Buddhas) southeast of Patan’s Durbar Square gets its name from the terracotta tiles, each with an image of the Buddha. It resembles the Mahabodhi Temple at Bodh Gaya in India where Shakyamuni gained enlightenment. This temple was originally built in 1585, but was rebuilt after being destroyed in the 1934 earthquake.

Kathmandu Patan 06 Mahabouddha Temple 01

Kathmandu Patan 06 Mahabouddha Temple 02 Buddha Sculpture Every brick of the Mahabouddha Temple in Patan has an image of the Buddha.

Kathmandu Patan 06 Mahabouddha Temple 02 Buddha Sculpture

Kathmandu Patan 06 Mahabouddha Temple 03 Avalokiteshvara Sculpture A black statue of Avolokiteshvara rests inside the Mahabouddha Temple in Patan.

Kathmandu Patan 06 Mahabouddha Temple 03 Avalokiteshvara Sculpture

Kathmandu Patan 06 Mahabouddha Temple 04 Buddha Statue Flickering butter lamps and offerings frame a golden coloured statue of Buddha inside the Mahabouddha Temple in Patan.

Kathmandu Patan 06 Mahabouddha Temple 04 Buddha Statue


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