Overview
The Kathmandu Valley World Heritage site, located amid the Himalayan foothills, has seven Monument Zones. These monument zones include the Durbar squares or urban centers of Kathmandu (Hanuman Dhoka), Patan, and Bhaktapur, as well as the religious ensembles of Swayambhu, Bauddhanath, Pashupati, and Changu Narayan, each with its palace, temple, and public space.ย The valley was formerly known as the “Nepal Mandala” and was home to the Newar people, a cosmopolitan urban culture in the Himalayan foothills. The city served as the royal capital of the Kingdom of Nepal, and the Nepali aristocracy built palaces, residences, and gardens there. Since 1985, it has served as the headquarters for the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). Today, it serves as the government capital of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, which was created in 2008 and is located in Bagmati Province.