The Kathmandu Durbar Square is the historic place that was also a politically important site until recently. The Kings of Nepal were crowned and their coronation ceremony was solemnized in this durbar square. The Durbar Square, with its old temples and palaces, epitomizes the religious and cultural life of the people. The temples, monuments, and palaces are believed to have been built by the Malla kings of the Medieval Nepal.
The Durbar Square is called the Hanumandhoka, the Monkey God’s Door in Nepal, named so after the Monkey God Hanuman. The area is also known as Basantpur, the place for celebrations and festivals. The UNESCO enlisted the Durbar Square area as the World Heritage Site in 1979.
The famous temples and monuments around the area are Taleju Bhavani, Kal Bhairav, Nautale Durbar, Coronation Nasal Chowk, and the Gaddi Baithak.
Other famous landmarks around the area are the Temple of Living Goddess Kumari, the wooden temple of Kasthamandap, Ashok Vinayak, and the erotic art temple of Jaisi Deval. There are also museums inside the Durbar Square Palace.
The central location of the Durbar Square makes it easier to visit a number of other places of historic, aritistic, and cultural interests. While the sky god of Akash Bhairav lies just adjacent to the Durbar Square area, the famous pagoda style temple of Machchendranath lies north east of the Durbar Square between Indra Chowk and Asan.
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