Kathmandu
Kathmandu is Nepal’s capital and largest city, situated in the Kathmandu Valley. It is the country’s political, cultural, and economic center.
Kathmandu Durbar Square: A historic square in central Kathmandu, known for royal palaces, temples, and traditional Newar architecture. Its palace complex records the city’s history as a seat of Malla and Shah power.
Kathmandu Valley: A bowl-shaped basin in central Nepal containing Kathmandu, Lalitpur, and Bhaktapur. Kathmandu occupies the valley’s largest urban area and shares its historical landscape.
Malla dynasty: A succession of rulers who governed the Kathmandu Valley, especially from the twelfth through eighteenth centuries. Malla patronage produced many of the valley’s temples, palaces, and urban traditions.
Federal Parliament of Nepal: Nepal’s bicameral national legislature, comprising the House of Representatives and the National Assembly. Its seat in Kathmandu reflects the city’s role as the country’s political center.
Lalitpur: A major city in the Kathmandu Valley, immediately south of Kathmandu and historically known as Patan. Its separate municipal identity and historic center distinguish it from the capital across the valley’s urban sprawl.
Swayambhunath: A hilltop Buddhist stupa complex in Kathmandu, revered by Buddhists and Hindus. The stupa’s hilltop position makes it a landmark within the city’s sacred landscape.
Newar people: An Indigenous people of the Kathmandu Valley with distinctive languages, religious practices, and arts. Newar communities shaped the city’s historic neighborhoods, festivals, and built environment.
Prithvi Narayan Shah: The Gorkha ruler who conquered the Kathmandu Valley and founded the Shah dynasty’s kingdom of Nepal. His conquest in 1768 made Kathmandu the capital of a newly unified kingdom.
Kathmandu Metropolitan City: The local government area governing much of central Kathmandu. Its administration addresses the services and planning demands of the capital’s urban core.
Bhaktapur: A historic city in the Kathmandu Valley, east of Kathmandu, renowned for its preserved Newar architecture. Its compact heritage core contrasts with Kathmandu’s larger, more extensively developed urban center.