Patan is merely 5 km away from the capital city, Kathmandu, but, despite such proximity, its 'preserved' ancestral uniqueness distinguishes Patan as a different environment to experience in a short travel. Patan is also known as Lalitpur, "City of Beauty", and its unique Durbar Squares, temples, alleys, cuisine, hospitality and religious tolerance justify the pre-historic status of the city.

mong the three major cities of the Kathmandu Valley, Bhaktapur, to this date, is the living representation of how the entire Kathmandu Valley would have looked like during the medieval periods. The city is celebrated for its glorious architecture; sky-high temples built in pagoda style - which is believed to be the stairway to the heaven, fine clay pottery, and massive royal courtyards whose existence date back to the 12th century, where devotees, still, celebrate their pre-historic festivals by equal amount of gusto and passion.

This temple is said to be the oldest Hindu temple still in use in the Kathmandu Valley. Built in the two-tiered pagoda style, the main shrine here is guarded on all sides by pairs of real and mythical beasts – elephants, lions, winged lions and ram-horned griffons – and its roof struts feature some amazingly intricate carvings of Tantric deities.