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Kathmandu Valley · old town

Patan

पाटन Yala (Nepal Bhasa)

Patan, officially Lalitpur and Yala in Nepal Bhasa, is the valley's second royal city, 5 km south of Thamel across the Bagmati. It has the finest palace museum in Nepal, dozens of Buddhist courtyards and a living metal-casting trade. Give it one full day, ideally with a night in the old town.

  • Stay 1–2 nights
  • Best Mar – May · Oct – Nov
  • पहाडPahad
Plan a trip with PatanRead its story
Patan
Photo: Clemensmarabu · CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

The air at Patan

Altitude1,350 m15.3% of the way to 8,849 m
BeltPahadपहाड · The middle hills: terraces, towns, rhododendron
Each breath85%of the oxygen at sea level
Water boils95.4 °Cso dal takes longer here
vs Kathmandu+0.3 °Ctypical difference by height

Oxygen, boiling point and temperature are worked out from the standard atmosphere for 1,350 m; real days vary with weather.

Cross the Bagmati bridge from Kathmandu and within ten minutes you are in a different city. Patan's old core is compact, its lanes quieter, and its Durbar Square is perhaps the most harmonious of the three. Here the palace of the Malla kings faces a row of temples in brick, wood and stone, with the stone Krishna Mandir at its centre. People sit on the temple plinths all day, chatting, selling vegetables and watching the light move.

Behind the square lies the real Patan: a web of bahals, the Buddhist monastery courtyards of the Shakya and Bajracharya families, each with a shrine, a chaitya and children kicking a ball. The Golden Temple, Kwa Bahal, is the best known. Others, like Uku Bahal and the terracotta-tiled Mahabouddha, are minutes away. In the lanes between, workshops cast bronze statues of Buddhas and Taras by the lost-wax method.

Patan is also the home of Rato Machhindranath, the red rain god whose towering chariot is built and pulled through the city each spring. During those weeks the chariot stands in the middle of the road, traffic finds its way round it, and the whole city follows its slow progress towards Jawalakhel. Come in April or May and you may see it.

Why go

Patan Durbar Square

A row of brick and stone temples facing the old palace, with the 1637 Krishna Mandir at the centre, the bronze Garuda on its pillar, and King Yoganarendra Malla kneeling high on his column. Locals use the temple steps as benches from dawn to dusk.

Patan Museum

Set in the palace's Keshav Narayan Chowk, this is the clearest introduction to valley art: bronzes, woodcarving and explanations of how temples work. Allow two hours, and stay for lunch in the garden cafe behind it.

Golden Temple, Kwa Bahal

A Buddhist monastery courtyard with a gilded facade, prayer wheels, monkeys carved on struts and a boy priest on duty. Remove leather items and shoes before entering the inner courtyard. A small entry fee is charged.

Mahabouddha and the casting lanes

A tall shikhara covered in terracotta tiles, each moulded with a Buddha image, squeezed into a tiny courtyard. The surrounding lanes are full of bronze-casting and polishing workshops where you can watch statues being finished.

Kumbheshwar and its pond

A five-tiered Shiva temple in the north of the city with a sacred pond. On Janai Purnima in August, pilgrims bathe here and priests tie protective threads. On ordinary days it is a quiet neighbourhood temple.

Rato Machhindranath's chariot

In spring, a chariot about 60 ft tall is built at Pulchowk and pulled over several weeks through Patan to Jawalakhel. Watching hundreds of people haul it with ropes is one of the valley's great sights.

१The story of Patan

A Buddhist city ruled by Hindu kings

Patan is old. Licchavi inscriptions and the Manga Hiti spout, dated to 570 CE, show a city here in the first millennium. Its Buddhist heart, the bahals, grew through the medieval period, when Patan's Shakya and Bajracharya families were known as far as Tibet for their scholarship, painting and metalwork. Many Newar craftsmen who built and gilded temples in Lhasa came from these lanes.

In the 17th century Patan's Malla kings turned the palace square into what you see today. Siddhi Narasimha Malla built the stone Krishna Mandir in 1637, carved with scenes from the Mahabharata and Ramayana, and his successors added courtyards and temples. Patan fell to Prithvi Narayan Shah in 1768. Under the new state it lost its king but kept its guthis, festivals and crafts, which is why the city still feels self-governing in spirit.

The palace's Keshav Narayan Chowk was restored as the Patan Museum, opened in 1997 with Austrian support, and its collection of bronzes and woodwork is the best introduction to valley art. In 2015 several temples in the square, including the Hari Shankar temple, fell or were badly damaged. Local carpenters and masons, working with the Department of Archaeology and conservation groups such as the Kathmandu Valley Preservation Trust, have since rebuilt them with traditional brick, timber and carving.

२The legend
As it is told · पाटन

Local legend says Patan's Rato Machhindranath came to the valley to end a twelve-year drought. The yogi Gorakhnath, offended at not being welcomed, had sat down in meditation on the nagas, the serpents who bring rain. A king, a priest and a farmer named Lalit travelled to Kamaru in Assam and brought back Karunamaya. Gorakhnath rose to greet his guru Machhindranath, the nagas were freed and the rain fell. Some say the city's name Lalitpur honours Lalit.

३The people

Who lives here

Patan is a Newar city at heart. Shakya and Bajracharya Buddhist families still run the bahals and the casting workshops, Maharjan farmers work the fields on its southern edge, and Hindu merchant families keep shops round Mangal Bazaar. Since the 1960s, Jawalakhel has housed Tibetan refugee families known for carpet weaving. Newer middle-class neighbourhoods, NGOs and embassies have spread across Pulchowk and Sanepa. Nepal Bhasa is still heard daily in the old lanes.

Local name: Yala (Nepal Bhasa)

४Words you will hear
Nepal Bhasa
यल
Yala

Patan, the Newar name for the city

Nepal Bhasa
पौभा
Paubha

Newar scroll painting of Buddhist or Hindu deities

Nepal Bhasa
द्यः
Dyah

God or deity, as in Bunga Dyah, the rain god

Every word on this site

५What to eat

Kwati

A thick soup of several sprouted beans, traditionally nine, cooked with spices and sometimes buffalo. Newar families make it for Gun Punhi, the August full moon, when pilgrims bathe at Patan's Kumbheshwar pond. Many khaja ghars round Mangal Bazaar serve it year round, with beaten rice.

६Few people know

Things most guides leave out

The Manga Hiti stone spout, just north of the Krishna Mandir in Patan Durbar Square, has an inscription dated to 570 CE. It still flows, and residents use it daily, making it one of the oldest working public water systems in the valley.

Wikipedia: Dhunge dhara

Kumbheshwar temple in northern Patan is one of only two free-standing five-tiered pagoda temples in the Kathmandu Valley; the other is Nyatapola in Bhaktapur. Tradition says its pond is fed by water from the lake at Gosainkunda.

Wikipedia: Kumbheshwar Temple

At the Golden Temple, Kwa Bahal, the daily rituals are performed by a boy from the community, usually under the age of twelve, who serves as priest for a month at a time before the duty passes to another boy.

Wikipedia: Hiranya Varna Mahavihar

Untold Nepal, region by region

Experiences

Four ways to spend a day in Patan

Heritage
Patan4 hours

Patan Durbar Square and the palace museum

A morning with a guide in Patan's palace square and its museum. We read the Krishna Mandir's carved friezes, visit …
Spiritual
Patan3 hours

Golden Temple and Patan's hidden bahals

A morning walk through Patan's Buddhist courtyards: the gilded Kwa Bahal, the terracotta Mahabouddha, Uku Bahal's crowded shrines and Kumbheshwar's …
Craft
Patan2.5 hours

Lost-wax bronze casting with Patan's metalworkers

A visit to family workshops in the lanes round Mahabouddha and Nag Bahal, where Buddhas and Taras are modelled in …
Food
Patan3.5 hours

Cook a Newar meal in a Patan family kitchen

A hands-on session in a Newar home in Patan's old town: buy vegetables in the local market, then cook bara, …

Getting there

How to reach Patan

Road

Patan is 5 km south of Thamel. A taxi or ride-hailing car takes 20 to 30 minutes to Mangal Bazaar or Patan Dhoka, depending on traffic over the Bagmati bridges. Microbuses run from Ratnapark to Lagankhel and Patan Dhoka. From the airport, allow 30 to 45 minutes.

On foot

You can walk from Kathmandu's Durbar Square or Thapathali over the Bagmati in about 45 minutes, entering Patan by the old Patan Dhoka gate. Once in the old town, everything is within 15 minutes' walk.

Where to stay

Staying in Patan's old town puts you minutes from the Durbar Square before the day visitors arrive. Small heritage guesthouses in restored Newar houses lie in the lanes north and east of the square, and a few boutique hotels sit in restored courtyards near Kwa Bahal and Nag Bahal. Jhamsikhel and Sanepa, 15 minutes' walk west, have mid-range hotels and good cafes. For larger luxury properties, most travellers stay in Kathmandu and visit Patan for a day.

Local tips

  • Buy your Durbar Square ticket once and keep it; it is also checked when you enter the Patan Museum.
  • Visit the Golden Temple before 9 am, when the boy priest is performing morning rituals and the courtyard is quiet.
  • Ask before photographing inside workshops; most casters are happy to show their work if you are polite.
  • Bronze statues for sale should come with a receipt; genuinely old pieces cannot legally leave Nepal without clearance from the Department of Archaeology.
  • During the Rato Machhindranath chariot weeks, roads round Pulchowk, Gabahal and Lagankhel close at short notice, so walk.

On the map

Patan and what is near it

Map of Patan, Kathmandu, Bungamati, Kirtipur, PharpingIndiaChinaNepalGandakiPatan1PatanKathmandu2KathmanduBungamati3BungamatiKirtipur4KirtipurPharping5Pharping50 kmN
  1. 1Patan
  2. 2Kathmandu
  3. 3Bungamati
  4. 4Kirtipur
  5. 5Pharping
Drawn by Book Nepal Trip from Natural Earth outlines (public domain). International borders as depicted by Nepal. Rivers: Karnali, Gandaki and Koshi systems. Not for navigation.

Trips

Trips that stop in Patan

Kathmandu Valleymax 1,401 m
4 nightsEasyculture

Makers of the valley: metal, clay, wood, masks

Four nights in the workshops of the Kathmandu Valley's craft families. Watch bronze cast by the lost-wax method in Patan, carvers at …

fromUSD 650See the days

Festivals here

Kathmandu Valley
Patanरातो मच्छिन्द्रनाथ जात्रा

Rato Machhindranath Jatra

Late April to June, starting in the month of Baisakh

Routes

Patan to Bungamati

Nearby

Pair Patan with

Kathmandu Kathmandu Valley1,400 m
cityPahadकाठमाडौं

Kathmandu

Yen of the Newars: a capital built round one wooden pavilion

Mar – Apr · Oct – Nov
Bungamati Kathmandu Valley1,350 m
villagePahadबुङ्गमती

Bungamati

Home village of the red rain god, and of the valley's woodcarvers

Oct – Apr
Kirtipur Kathmandu Valley1,400 m
hill townPahadकीर्तिपुर

Kirtipur

Kipu, the ridge town that held off the Gorkha army three times

Oct – Apr
Pharping Kathmandu Valley1,450 m
pilgrimage sitePahadफर्पिङ

Pharping

Guru Rinpoche's caves and the gorge of Dakshinkali on the southern rim

Oct – Apr

Questions

Patan: what travellers ask

Is Patan the same as Lalitpur?

Yes. Lalitpur is the official name of the city and district; Patan is the common name, especially for the old town; and Yala is the Newar name in Nepal Bhasa. Signs, maps and taxi drivers use all three. The old city is separated from Kathmandu only by the Bagmati River.

Is Patan worth visiting if I have seen Kathmandu Durbar Square?

Yes. Patan's Durbar Square is more compact and less traffic-filled, its museum is far better, and its Buddhist courtyards and casting workshops have no real equal in Kathmandu. Many travellers say it is their favourite of the three cities. Give it at least half a day.

How do I get from Thamel to Patan?

A taxi or ride-hailing car takes 20 to 30 minutes for about 5 km; ask for Patan Durbar Square or Mangal Bazaar. Microbuses run from Ratnapark to Lagankhel and Patan Dhoka. You can also walk via Thapathali bridge in about 45 minutes from Kathmandu Durbar Square.

What is the entry fee for Patan Durbar Square?

Foreign visitors have paid about NPR 1,000, with lower fees for SAARC nationals. The ticket also covers the Patan Museum. Tickets are checked at entry points around the square. Fees change, so check current status before you travel and carry rupees in cash.

Should I stay overnight in Patan?

If you love heritage, yes. Staying in a guesthouse in the old town lets you see the square at dawn, when locals do puja and before day-trippers arrive, and in the evening when lamps are lit. It is also quieter than Thamel and well placed for Bungamati, Kirtipur and Pharping.

What is Patan famous for?

Patan is known for its Durbar Square and museum, its Buddhist bahal courtyards, the Golden Temple, and its metalworkers, who cast bronze statues by the lost-wax method. It is also home to Rato Machhindranath, whose spring chariot festival is one of the longest in Nepal.

When is the Rato Machhindranath chariot festival in Patan?

It begins in the Nepali month of Baisakh, usually late April or May, and the chariot moves through Patan over several weeks, ending at Jawalakhel with the Bhoto Jatra, sometimes in June. Dates follow the lunar calendar and can shift, so check current status before you travel.

Is Patan good for shopping?

Yes, for crafts. Look for bronze statues from the casting lanes, Tibetan carpets from Jawalakhel, Newar woodcarving, paubha paintings and fair-trade textiles in shops round Kopundol and Kumaripati. Bargain politely at street stalls; fixed-price fair-trade shops are a good benchmark for quality.

Can I walk around Patan at night?

Yes. The old town is lived in and generally safe, and the Durbar Square is pleasant after sunset when the temples are lit. Lanes can be dark and uneven, so carry a phone torch. Restaurants round the square and in Jhamsikhel stay open until about 9 or 10 pm.

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