1 Day to Three Durbar Squares of Bhaktapur, Patan and Kathmandu

Welcome to this Kathmandu valley tour! Today, we'll explore Bhaktapur, Patan and Kathmandu on a single day. You'll be picked up by our guide in the morning at your hotel, and then our trip starts.

The guide will escort you to our first stop Bhaktapur, 14 km east of the capital Kathmandu. We'll visit the Bhaktapur Durbar Square there, surrounded by old temples and ancient buildings, which is the largest square in Kathmandu Valley. Near the square, you'll be guided to visit Nyatapola Temple and Dattatraya Temple. Nyatapola Temple is a 5-storey Hindu pagoda dedicated to Siddhi Lakshmi, the Goddess of Auspiciousness. It is the highest pagoda in Kathmandu valley as well as the landmark of Bhaktapur. Going upstairs to the top, you can overlook the whole of Durbar Square. Dattatraya Temple is the only temple of Dattatraya, the coalesced god of the three supreme Hindu Gods: Brahma, Shiva, and Vishnu. Built in 1427 AD, there is a three-story tower with a small attic sticking out on the second floor.

Then you will follow the guide to Patan by a private car, the next stop of our Kathmandu valley day tour, where we'll visit Patan Durbar Square and Golden Temple. The architecture you can see in the Patan Durbar Square was mostly constructed in the 1600s. Golden Temple, on the north side of Patan Durbar Square, is a Buddhist temple that was firstly built in the 12th century. The roofs of the 3-story tower are titled with gold, glaring under the sunshine. The wonderful murals tell the life story of the Buddha.

The last stop of our Kathmandu valley sightseeing will be Kathmandu Durbar Square, where our guide will escort you to visit the Kumari Temple. Kumari Temple is a high-profile temple beside Durbar Square, for the girl who is the living goddess lives here, accepting the worship from people. The balconies and windows are decorated with exquisite wood carvings, which is quite charming.

Our guide will lead you to see the Taleju Temple as well. In the northeast corner of Kathmandu Durbar Square, Taleju Temple is the largest temple out of the numerous temples in the square with the highest pagoda built in 1564 in a typical Nepalese style. It doesn't open to the public at most times for it is a royal temple in Nepal, thus we can only view it from outside.

On the north side of Kathmandu Durbar Square, you'll see the black relief of Kal Bhairav, who is the terrifying incarnation of Lord Shiva. It is said if someone lies before the relief, he or she would be punished heavenly.

If we still have sufficient time after the visits, the guide will also take you to Swoyambhunath Stupa on the top of Swoyambhunath Mountain in the west suburb of Kathmandu. It's a giant conical stupa built in the 3rd century BC, one of the oldest Buddhist shrines around the world.

If we don't have enough time, our Kathmandu valley tour would thus end, and the guide would send you back to your hotel directly. Wish you have a wonderful journey today!