This medieval palace complex situated in the heart of the city consists of spectacular m?lange of palace buildings, artistic courtyards and graceful multi-tiered temples. This former royal palace complex is still the centre of Patan's religious and social life that one can experience at different times of the day. There are three main courtyards or chowks in the palace complex, Mul Chowk, Sundari Chowk and Keshav Narayan Chowk.
This palace complex along with the other monuments and vernacular buildings surrounding it forms the Patan Monument Zone, one of the seven monument zones included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

This central courtyard is the largest and oldest of the palace’s three main chowks. Two stone lions guard the entrance to the courtyard which was built by Siddhinarsingh Malla, destroyed in a fire in 1662 and rebuilt by Srinivasa Malla in 1665-66.At the centre of the courtyard stands the small gilded Bidya Temple said to exist before the courtyard was built around it.

Sundari Chowk lies south of the larger Mul Chowk. With its sunken water tank known as Tusa Hiti, superbly depicting the images of various gods and deities, and with other beautifully executed craftsmanship on stones, it is one of the most beautiful and artistic courtyard in the whole palace complex. Tusa Hiti was originally built in about 1670 by Siddhinarsingh Malla and restored in 1960. A toy- size replica of the Krishna Mandir sits above the hiti. The courtyard is surrounded by a three storey building with finely carved struts and windows and was the residence of many generations of Malla kings.

One of the finest museums on the subcontinent, The Patan Museum, houses its timeless pieces of artifacts in the renovated main Palace complex. The main feature of the museum is an outstanding collection of cast bronze and gilt copper work, mostly of Hindu and Buddhist deities. Three galleries are devoted to Hinduism, and two to Buddhism. Another gallery shows the stages involved in the production of hammered sheet metal relief designs (known as repousse) and the ‘lost wax’ method of casting. In another there are also some fascinating photos of Patan at the turn of the 20th century.

Krishna Mandir is Nepal's finest piece of stone architecture. Siddhinarsingh Malla, a passionate devotee of Lord Krishna, built this temple in the 17th century when he dreamt of Krishna and Radha?s union at this spot. This magnificent temple is a delicate, airy creation which defies its heavy material. The first storey of the temple consists of scenes from the Hindu epic Mahabharata; the second storey pavilions are banded by friezes from the Ramayana. Atop a stone pillar in front, a brilliantly executed large metal Garuda, the vehicle of Lord Krishna kneels in homage.

A large bell is hung between two stone pillars and has a metal roof with gajuras across from Mul Chowk. It was built by King Jayavishnu Malla and Queen Chandra Lakshmidevi and used for special proclamations by the Malla Kings. It is now rung during Khadga jatra in honour of the Goddess Taleju.

The five-storey pagoda of Kumbeshwor is one of the oldest temples of Patan. The temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva. It was originally constructed in 1392 as a two storied shrine, but later in the 17th century Srinivasa Malla added the upper three tiers of the temple. This is the older of the two five-storied temples in Kathmandu (the other is the more famous Bhaktapur's Nyatpola).
There are numerous statues and sculptures around the courtyard dating from a number of Nepali dynasties, from the Lichhavis to the Mallas, including a particularly fine Ganesh figure. The main temple is dedicated to Shiva as indicated by the large Nandi (bull) facing the temple inside the main entrance. The temple complex has two ponds whose water is said to come straight from the holy lake at Gosainkunda, which lies several days' walk north of Kathmandu. An annual ritual bath in the Kumveshwore Temple’s tank is claimed to be as meritorious as making the arduous walk to Gosainkunda.
Thousands of pilgrims visit the temple during the Janai Purnima festival in July and August each year to worship the silver and gold lingam which is set up in the tank while members of the Brahmin and Chhetri castes replace the sacred thread they wear looped over their left shoulder. Jhankris (sorcerers) also participate in this festival beating drums and wearing colourful headdresses and skirts dancing around the temple to complete the dramatic scene.
On the southern side of the temple complex is the single storey shrine of goddess Baglamukhi with green painted woodwork. The goddess Baglamukhi is embodied in a tiny image beneath an elaborate silver torana and canopy of snakes. Baglamukhi is considered as the wish-fulfilling goddess. Many devotees visit the temple with hopes that their wishes get rewarded and fulfilled by goddess Baglamukhi at one point of their life. The temple is unusually crowded by many devotees on every Thursdays of the week.

This is, on several counts, the most famous and unique Buddhist monastery (Bahas) of Patan. It has by far the largest and most active Sangh (associations) of any baha in the valley in the valley. Legends date the baha to 12th century, although the earliest its record points its existence to 1409. The entrance to this temple is guarded by two large stone lions and one passes though the stone fa?ade and entryway into a narrow corridor leading into the baha complex .About half way to the baha is another stone fa?ade with a series of Tantric deities set into the archway. To the side of these are images of Amitabh Buddha and Amoghasiddhi, and two images of Manjushree below them. Upon the first sight, one immediately understands the literal sense behind the naming of the temple as The Golden Temple. The front portion of the temple shines through the centuries of gold offerings painted to the main complex by the devotees. Beside that, there are numerous gilded images including the temple in the centre of the courtyard have been finished in gilt copper repousse work.

The Red Machhendranath temple was built in 1408 AD and is situated in Tabahal. For six months the deity is taken to its other shrine in Bungamati. The Rato (Red) Machhendranath temple, the god of rain and abundance comes in a variety of incarnations. To Buddhists, he is the Tantric side of Avalokiteshvara while to Hindus he is another face of Shiva. The temple has four elaborately carved doorways that are each guarded by lion figures and at ground level on the four corners of the temple plinth are reliefs of monkeys. The metal roof is supported by struts, each showing Avalokiteshvara standing above figures being tortured in hell. Prayer wheels are set into the base of the temple. The Machhendranath image is just a crudely carved piece of red-painted wood, but each year during the month-long Rato Machhendranath celebrations it is paraded around the town on a large temple chariot. The complex celebration moves the image from place to place over a period of several weeks in the month of Baishakh (April/May), finally ending at Jawalakhel where the chariot is dismantled. Once every twelve years, the chariot is pulled all the way from the ancient city of Bungamati and is continued through the narrow lanes on Patan to be once again pulled to Bungamati where the procession finally ends.

Minnath temple is a two storey temple dedicated to a Buddhist Bodhisattva who is considered to be the brother of Rato Machhendranath. The Minnath image is also towed around town during the Rato Machhendranath festival, but in a much smaller chariot. The temple originally dates from the Licchavi Period but has undergone several resent restorations and ‘improvements’ and has roof struts carved with figures of multi-armed goddesses, all extraordinarily brightly painted. A large prayer wheel stands in a cage beside the temple.

The Temple of the thousand Buddha (Mahabouddha Temple) is a Shikhara-style temple, modeled after the Mahabouddha temple at Bodhgaya in India, where the Buddha gained enlightenment. The temple takes its name from the terracotta tiles covering it, each bearing an image of the Buddha. It is believed to have originally been built in 1585 although some sources suggest an earlier date. It suffered severe damage in the 1934 earthquake and was totally rebuilt. Unfortunately, without plans to work from, the builders ended up with a different-looking temple and there were enough bricks left over to construct a smaller Shikhara- style shrine to Maya Devi, the Buddha’s mother which stands to the south-west of the Mahabouddha temple.

Also known as Uku Bahal, this Buddhist monastery near the Mahabouddha temple is one of the best known monasteries in Patan. A large rectangular structure with two story gilded roofs encloses a courtyard absolutely packed with interesting bits and pieces. There are dorjes, bells, banners, peacocks, elephants, Garudas, rampant goats, kneeling devis and a regal-looking statue of a Rana General. The lions are particularly curious- apart from regular Nepali ones, are seated on pillars with one paw raised in salute with a decidedly British appearance , looking as if they should be guarding a statue of Queen Victoria in her ‘not amused’ incarnation rather than a colorful Nepali monastery. On the right of courtyard there are fine wooden carved struts. They are said to be among the oldest of this type in the valley. And prior to restoration they were actually behind the monastery, but were moved to this safer location inside the courtyard. The monastery in its present form probably dates from the 19th century, but certain features and the actual site are much older.

According to legend Ashoka, the Mauryan Emperor of India visited Nepal with his daughter, Charumati in 250 B.C and built four stupas at the four corners of Patan. The four stupas are situated in Pulchowk, Lagankhel, Ebahi and in Teta (way to Sano Gaon) respectively. These stupas give evidence to the city's ancient religious importance. The Shakyas worship the stupa on the first day of dark Shrawan (July/August) and the full moon of Ashwin (September/October).

The Buddhist monastery known as Vihara, Bahal, or Bahi is usually a two-storied courtyard style building and integrated into the surrounding architecture. The community of monks and nuns in these monasteries are known as sanghs. The origin of most of these monasteries and associated sanghs can be traced back to the Licchavi period (2nd to 5th century AD) and are at least 200 years old. Every bahal or bahi has a Kwapa-dya, the main, non-tantric image in the ground floor shrine usually situated opposite the main entrance. These courtyards also have at least one chaitya and a mandala.
Patan is the most Buddhist of the three cities in the valley with almost 200 large and small monasteries scattered around the city. At present, there are 18 main bahals with numerous branches and 25 bahis. For more details on the bahals and bahis, please refer to the book, Buddhist Monasteries of Nepal by John Locke available at most leading book stores.

Nepal’s only zoo is in the south-western part of Patan, just north of Jawalakhel. It includes a reasonably extensive collection of Nepali wildlife, including rhinos, tigers, leopards, monkeys, and birds. There is a beautiful pond built in 17th AD that is open for boating. It opens daily except Mondays, from 10am to 4pm.

This industrial estate is situated at Lagankhel near Satdobato in Patan and is well known for Nepali handicrafts such as woodcarvings, metal crafts carpets and thangka paintings. For the convenience of the tourists, there is a shopping arcade where all the handicraft products of the estate are exhibited.

This camp was established in 1960 under the initiative of the International Red Cross and the Swiss Development Corporation (SDC), in cooperation with His Majesty's Government of Nepal. Its main objective is to help the Tibetan refugees to be productive and support themselves. One of the most popular items here are the beautiful handmade Tibetan Carpets.

From a distance , you could almost Bungmati for a well-preserved Tuscan village:scrunched together on a hillock , its tall,block-like brick houses look distictly Romanesque,with their tiled roofs sloping in different direction.Irregular buses from Patan's Jawalakhel drop you off along the road a short walk northwest of the town. Source:Neapl, The Rough Guide

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