My Visit to Bhaktapur Durbar Square

1. Introduction

Educational tour is the best way to get knowledge about anything. To get knowledge about historical, religious and natural importance of Bhaktapur our school organized one day educational tour on 13^th of Kartik 2071. We students of grade 9 and 10 including teachers headed towards Bhaktapur which lies at the distance of 13 km East of Kathmandu valley. Altogether we were 40 students and 3 teachers, including school staff. To make our tour fruitful, we have designed some objectives.

2. Objectives

a)       To know about location and important places of Bhaktapur.

b)       To know about cultural and religious importance Bhaktapur.

c)       To know about major historical attractions of Bhaktapur.

3. Methodology

We had adapted different methods to collect the necessary information.

I) Primary source

We collected the information through our own eye witness. We also took interviews of local people.

II) Secondary sources

We collected the required information from brochure given by Nepal Tourism Board. We bought some books and also flushed our curiosity through internet.

4. Findings:

The Bhaktapur Durbar Square is located in the current town of Bhaktapur, also known as Bhadgoan, which lies 13 km east of Kathmandu. The complex consists of at least four distinct squares: Durbar Square, Taumadhi Square, Dattatreya Square and Pottery Square, the whole area is informally known as the Bhakapur Durbar Square.

The Durbar square at Bhaktapur was severely damaged by an earthquake in 1934. At first there were 99 courtyards attached to this place, but now only 6 remain. Before the earthquake, there were 3 separate groups of temples. Currently, the square is surrounded by buildings that survived the quake.

The Durbar Square proper houses the 55-window Palace which was constructed by King Jitamitra Malla and was home to royalty until 1769. It is now a national gallery. Close by is the Golden Gate which leads into Mulchok Court which is home to the Taleju Temple. This temple, like others in the main towns of the Kathmandu Valley, is dedicated to the goddess Taleju Bhawani and includes shrines to both the Taleju Bhawani and Kumari. Entrance to the temple is restricted to Hindus and the living goddess strictly cannot be photographed.

5. Conclusion and suggestions

Bhaktapur Durbar Square has a great historical and cultural importance. It has been proved a great tourism spot of Nepal as it is visited by thousands of foreign visitors every year. It is a good source of income for our government. If such places are preserved, it can be a great treasure for the nation. The surrounding of Bhaktapur Durbar Square is densely populated that has adverse effect on the site. So the government must take some steps to control it. Local people should be more careful about the cleanliness of the surrounding. People must be aware about the cultural and historical importance.

The tour was quite helpful to us to know about the Bhaktapur and its surrounding areas. Lastly, we had a lot of fun and the fun was a lot informative.

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