The capital of Nepal is the Asian Florence

A small kingdom, tightly sandwiched betweenwith mighty China and India, with almost all conceivable landscapes, eight of the fourteen highest world peaks, beautiful tracks leading to Everest and Annapurna, ancient settlements, mountain villages, clean lakes, green plains - that's what Nepal is. The capital of this small state - Kathmandu - has the second name - Asian Florence. This is truly a treasure trove of Buddhist art. They say that the capital of Nepal is as many temples as there are houses. In Kathmandu, there are many cultural monuments that UNESCO has added to the World Heritage List.

Although the capital of Nepal is a city withhalf a million population, it at first sight seems very small. In the city, only a few two-way streets, through which pass a few cars. The rest of Kathmandu is the narrow labyrinths of alleys along which rickshaws and motorcyclists sweep.

For many centuries of its development, the capital of Nepal has created its own distinctive architectural style with individual features. It has become a kind of museum.

Suffice it to say that Kathmandu survivedmore than a thousand temples and tens of thousands of structures that are masterpieces of Asian architecture. These are old houses, covered with the finest carving on wood, on the untidy and dilapidated external facade of which you can observe magnificent wooden bars, decorated with sculptures bay windows, luxuriously encrusted doors. Some ancient palaces and temples are built in the form of multi-storey pagodas, reminding of the Chinese influence.

The capital of Nepal stretches along the Bagmati River.It was founded in the eighth century and was originally called Kantipur. Recalling a large anthill, the city is crowded in a mountain bowl. In clear weather, without leaving it, one can observe the highest mountains on the planet.

There is a legend that once on the site of the Kathmandu valley there was a large lake, but one day the yogi with his magic sword cut through the pass through the Chobhar gorge, through which the water left.

The capital of Nepal resembles a chaotic market:Here trade is boiling everywhere: on trays, on the first floors of multi-storey houses, built on narrow streets, in remote stalls, on sidewalks, on the steps of churches. Despite the fact that there are several large shopping malls in the city, the main trade turnover is private.

The abundance of Hindu and Buddhist stupas, temples and pagodas is characterized by the capital. Nepal is literally stuffed with various shrines.

Built about two millennia agoSwayambhunath, the Buddhist temple, which is a giant dome, is also called the "all-seeing eye" of the Buddha. There are 365 steps to it, along which monkeys jump, meeting and seeing off numerous tourists.

One of the most famous sculptures in Kathmandu is the statue of the god Vishnu, reclining on a snake's bed.

The real center of the capital of Nepal is the squareDarbar, which is completely built up with palaces, sanctuaries and temples. It is the royal palace of the middle of the sixteenth century, guarded by Hanuman, the monkey king.

Here, the most beautiful in the city Taledzhu pagoda, and the temple of Kastamandal, according to tradition made from the trunk of one tree, and the palace of the living goddess of the Nepalese kingdom - Kumari, also rise.

In general, the capital of Nepal is a city where legends are interwoven with history.