Patan

Patan is the third-largest city in Nepal right after Kathmandu and Pokhara. It is presently known as Lalitpur. Both names are derived from the Sanskrit word ‘Lalitapattan’. The city is located just across the river Bagmati from Kathmandu. Patan has a Durbar Square that is full of statues, temples, and palaces. In addition, Durbar Square also has the ‘Patan museum’ which is a must-see attraction. It is a traditional centre for handicrafts and is also a place to purchase traditional jewellery, Buddha statues and masks. Patan was once an independent and a mighty kingdom of the Kathmandu Valley. It has now become a melting pot of two famous religions, Hinduism and Buddhism. A temple of the Hindu Lord Krishna rests right in the middle of the same town whose architecture has been dedicated to the Buddhist Dharma-Chakra (Wheel of Righteousness) philosophy. Its ancestral uniqueness is still moulded into Patan and this distinguishes Patan as a different atmosphere altogether in a short travel.