CHAPTER V
THE CITIES OF THE VALLEY
Katmandu—Legendary Plan—History—The Durbar—Bhim Sen's Tower—Bhatgaon—The Durbar Square—The Golden Gate—Nyatpola Deval or the Temple of the Five Stages—The Taumari Tol—Patau—Its Decay—The Durbar Square—Principal Buildings of Patau—Kirtipur.
The three main cities of Nepal are Katmandu, Bhatgaon, and Patan, all situated in the valley, and each within a few miles of one another. When the country consisted of several principalities, each of these was a capital in itself, self-governed and self-contained, but since the Gurkha conquest in 1767 Katmandu has been retained as the seat of the present Government of the State. Owing to this turn of events, the two ancient cities of Bhatgaon and Patan have fallen gradually into partial decay, but all these capitals, whether ancient or modern, are picturesque in the
