Kathmandu Durbar Square

वसन्तपुर दरबार क्षेत्र

The old royal palace square of the Malla kings, with the Hanuman Dhoka palace, the residence of the living goddess Kumari, and dozens of Newari-style temples. Restoration has been ongoing since the 2015 earthquake.

Kathmandu Durbar Square, also known as Hanuman Dhoka Square, was the seat of the Malla and Shah royal courts. The square is dense with more than 50 palaces and temples in Newari style, dating from the 12th to 18th centuries. Highlights include the old Hanuman Dhoka Palace (with a museum and the nine-story Basantapur Tower), the Taleju Temple, the erotic wood carvings of the Jagannath Temple, the Shiva-Parvati Temple, and the Maju Dewal platform, which you can climb. The most distinctive site is the Kumari Ghar, home to the Kumari, a young girl revered as a living goddess. She appears briefly and unpredictably at a wooden window on the third floor, and photography is prohibited in the courtyard. The 2015 earthquake destroyed many buildings on the square. Most have since been restored with aid from China, the United States, and others, though a few still have scaffolding. Foreign visitors pay an entrance fee of 1,000 rupees (Chinese visitors should ask whether the South Asian rate applies). With your passport, you can get a free visitor pass valid until the end of your visa at the office beside the ticket counter, which allows repeated entry. The square borders the old city of Kathmandu. Walking north past Indra Chowk and Asan Tole will take you all the way to Thamel, along the most lived-in old streets in the city. In the evening, locals fill the steps of Maju Dewal, which makes it a good spot for people-watching. Watch out for the many pigeons and stray dogs, and be wary of people offering unsolicited guiding services.

Kathmandu Durbar Square

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