Lalitpur ललितपुर

Lalitpur is the Kathmandu Valley's district of arts and fine craftsmanship, centred on Patan — a city separated from Kathmandu only by the Bagmati river but with its own distinct identity and Newar cultural fabric. Patan Durbar Square holds the Krishna Mandir (an all-stone Shikhara temple built in 1637), the three-tiered Hiranya Varna Mahavihar — the 12th-century Golden Temple clad in gilt metalwork — and the Mahabouddha Temple, a terra-cotta tower each of whose bricks carries a miniature Buddha image. Streets to the south and east of the square are the address of the valley's finest metal-casters, whose studios produce bronze figures exported to monasteries across Asia.

Rato Machhindranath, the rain god of the valley, is headquartered in Patan, and his chariot festival — a month-long procession through the city's streets beginning in April or May — is the longest chariot festival in Nepal. The Patan Museum, housed in the restored Malla palace, is widely regarded as one of the finest museums in South Asia. Beyond the city, the district climbs south through forested Mahabharat foothills toward Godavari Botanical Garden and the edge of the Phulchoki ridge. Patan is 5 km from central Kathmandu, reachable in 15–20 minutes.