Set foot at Patan’s stunning architecture and commerce

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If the place that you’d go into had a lively and bountiful trade and commerce, you’d surely expect the locals to be as busy as bees even when the sun strikes high. You will see a lot of produce not usual to the market you visit every day.

The flamboyant tapestries of cloth flailing on the sidewalk, the smell of the local street food being gnawed at by a lot of pedestrians, the tick-tocking of live and humongous crabs being hoisted from a fisherman’s boat, the mean-looking boulders of carved wood being sold at an affordable price—all of these, you’d surely experience when a city is kicking with business and the economy is thriving to be better for its people.

The chaos of the public market would surely deafen you, but once you have jived onto the rhythm of the people clamoring for a specific item, you’d surely enjoy the pandemonium. If this is one of the things on your bucket list, then visit Patan in Nepal for you to be immersed on the real-life noises behind bustling ports and local markets.

Location

Situated on the celebrated Kathmandu Valley and is on the southern side of the Bagmati River, Patan is one of Nepal’s major cities of commerce, trade and general populace.

It is said to be a part of the areas of land which are elevated, made up of very thin layers of clay and gravel.

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Stretching a span of space of almost sixteen square kilometers, Patan is bordered by Imadol and Harisiddi on its east, the Kathmandu Metropolitan City on its’ northern end, small towns of Saibu, Sunakothi and Dhapakhel bordering the south and Kirtipur and part of the Kathmandu Metropolitan City hugging Patan’s west.

The city of Patan is subdivided into micro-cities of 22 municipal wards. Patan in Nepal is also still being called Lalitpur, its’ Sanskrit deviation which meant City of Beauty.

Climate

The whole country of Nepal, including Patan, is considered to have a humid subtropical climate according to the Koppen Climate Classification.

Within this specific class of climate, Patan is said to experience relatively high temperatures all throughout the year with precipitation evenly distributed.

The high temperatures are a common weather occurrence in Patan and the amalgamation of enough rain makes the city a very nice place to travel to.

Transportation

If you want to enter and exit Patan through air travel, the main city doors are located at the Tribhuvan International Airport. Serving both domestic and international flights to and from Patan, Tribhuvan International Airport is located 7 kilometers away from the core city center.

Connecting Patan to Kathmandu City Center is Thapatali Bridge which lies above the Bagmati River, both of the cities’ separators. Hordes of motorcycles have been passing onto this bridge as their main pathway to Patan. The city, which is being known for dense population, has motorcycles as the most common method of circling around.

While there are avenues and roads for the usual car travel, motorcycles dominated the general area. Walking cannot be discounted as an efficient way to roam as most locals travel by foot in going from one place to another.

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If you want to rub elbows with the locals, the Lalitpur Yatayat bus line would be your first choice as this system connects Patan to Thamal and Kathmandu cities.

Dropping tourists and locals alike at the Patan Durbar Square, you need to walk a good five-minute road to get into the city center. Aside from this bus system, you’d also be able to see micro-buses and tempos dotting the skinny roads of Patan. Traffic is a usual occurrence every single day in this busy city.

What to See

Mahabouddha Temple

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Built in 1585 with some retouches on the 1930s, the Mahabouddha Temple is a sacred place important to Patan locals. Be amazed by the hundreds of terracotta tiles adorning the luscious green-dotted landscape with the images of Buddha all around.

Experience Patan’s strong worship on the said religious icon and take in the architecture put into finishing the said temple.

Peace Gallery

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Taking the name of this place, the exhibitions being showcased inside this edifice shouts of love, joy and peace.

Inspired by Kunda Dixit’s A People War by Nepali Times, artists had come forth into creating a magnificent string of paintings and pictures which depicted portraits by the decade-long civil war.

Mul Chowk

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Chowk in Patan language means ‘square’ and this iconic place had been one of the landmarks Patan is known for.

Bordered by two temples on its’ south and northeastern corner, Mul Chowk is such a respected place in the whole of Southern Patan.

Be inspired into taking your religious trip into the next notch while imbibing the rich following of holiness observed on this place.

Durbar Square

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Boasting of concentrated Newari architecture dating back as far as the medieval era, Durbar Square is one of the most populous places that have been visited by locals and tourists alike in the whole of Patan.

Like decorations of an ancient diorama, the roofs and elegant temples crowding the square is a sight to behold.

Tusha Hiti

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Located on another chowk, Tusha Hati is a well-structured sunken water tank to be seen in the Sundra Square.

This piece of mighty architecture had long been discovered since 1647 and amongst the many facets of art that can be found in Patan.

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Images:

(1) www.shafir.info 
(2) www.digitalhimalaya.com
(3) www.aviationnepal.com
(4) www.ourglobaltrek.com
(5) www.teachingcardioinkathmandu.blogspot.com
(6) www.mountainsoftravelphotos.com
(7) www.plus.google.com
(8) www.harekrsna.com