Kathmandu Durbar Square

Kathmandu Durbar Square, also called Hanuman Dhoka after the palace gate guarded by a stone Hanuman, is the historic centre of the city and the place where its kings were crowned. It is not one square but a chain of open spaces: Basantapur, a wide plaza in the south lined with souvenir sellers; the main square with tiered temples on high plinths; and the palace complex with its many courtyards, towers and museum rooms.

Among the buildings to look for are the Kumari Ghar, the three-storey residence of the Kumari with its carved windows and courtyard; the Taleju temple, the tallest in the square on a twelve-stage plinth; the Jagannath temple with its carved roof struts; the huge stone Kal Bhairav image; the Shiva Parvati temple, where carved figures of the couple look out from an upper window; and the nine-storey Basantapur tower built after the unification of Nepal. The Kasthamandap, the wooden rest house from which the city's name derives, collapsed in the 2015 earthquake and has since been rebuilt.

The square is a 20-30 minute walk south of Thamel through the bazaars of Asan and Indra Chowk, and Freak Street, the old hippie-era lane, runs off Basantapur. Allow at least half a day, including time in the Hanuman Dhoka palace museum and the courtyards that have reopened after earthquake restoration.