Patan

Patan, which adjoins Kathmandu on the south, possesses a beautiful Durbar Square, an impressive Golden Temple and one of the most beautiful museums of Asiatic art we've seen.

After returning from our Everest flight and eating breakfast, we visited Patan. So we were already pretty tired and not quite capable of seeing all we would have liked to. We enjoyed it anyway, especially the museum (and its cafe).

Patan also has a Durbar Square -- and a beautiful one at that, more orderly laid out than the one in Khatmandu.


Durbar Square, south entrance	Durbar Square, Krishna Mandir in center

Jagannarayan Temple	Elephants guard the Vishwanath Temple
	Krishna Mandir, in Patan's Durbar Square. Since Krishna is an avatar of Vishnu, Vishnu's mount, the eagle Garuda, is on the column in front of the temple. This temple is in the notrtern Indian style, with a sikhara tower.

After strolling through Durbar Square, we took a side street for several hundred meters, then turned right twice and reached the Kwa Bahal, or Hiranaya Varna, better known as the Suwarna Mahavira, or Golden Temple. In fact, it is a Buddhist monastery. It is beautiful and it well deserves its name.


Interior court of the Golden Temple

Mythical guardian beast	Elephants

Inside the monastery	Golden statue

Silver sculpture	Golden Buddha with flower petals

Then we went to the beautiful Patan Museum. Everything about this museum is nice -- the building, the art on display and even the garden cafe. The museum, in the old Royal Palace, has been beautifully restored and the art displayed is beautiful. For more of it, see our gallery, startiing at this page.


Patan Museum (Royal Palace) seen from Durbar Square	Patan Museum court; the cafe is under the trees to the right
	The Sun Dhoka, or Golden Gate, is the entrance to the Patan Museum in the old Royal Palace

Inside the Patan Museum	Shakyamuni, the historical Buddha (Nepal, 12th c.)

The afternoon was devoted to well-needed rest and recuperation. The next morning, we left Kathmandu and set out for Bakhtapur and Dhulikhel.

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