Nepal's 8 Key Historic Sites: What's Rubble, What's Still Standing
PART.2
Patan Durbar
PHOTOGRAPHS BY JILL SCHNEIDER, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CREATIVE (LEFT), PRATAP THAPA, XINHUA/CORBIS (RIGHT)
Located in modern Lalitpur in the south-central Kathmandu Valley, the Patan Durbar is a royal palace complex built in the 17th century and is the seat of one of Nepal’s three kingdoms. According to Coningham, the recently restored Sundari Chowk (courtyard), as well as the most important temple in the Durbar Square, the Krishna Mandir, have survived. However, many smaller pagoda temples have collapsed.
Swayambhunath
PHOTOGRAPH BY KURT WERBY, ALL CANADA PHOTOS/CORBIS
This fifth-century temple complex west of Kathmandu features what is perhaps Nepal’s most iconic stupa, with colorful eyes of the Buddha emblazoned on its surface. The stupa has survived, yet the 17th-century Pratapur Temple adjacent to the stupa, which was heavily damaged bylightning in 2011 and recently restored, appears to have collapsed.