Bhaktapur, Bagmati Province, Nepal

🇳🇵 Bhaktapur (भक्तपुर), known locally as Khwopa, is a city in the east corner of the Kathmandu Valley in Nepal located about 13 km (8.1 mi) from the capital city, Kathmandu. In terms of area, Bhaktapur is the smallest city of Nepal. Geographically, it is located on a small hill on the eastern part of the Kathmandu Valley and is flanked by the Hanumanté and Khasyāngkhusung rivers in the north south direction. Most of the inhabitants in Bhaktapur are of Newar ethnicity and Nepal Bhasa is spoken predominantly.

Founded in the 12th century by King Ananda Deva, Bhaktapur served as the capital of Nepal during the first half of Malla Dynasty until the kingdom split into three in the 15th century. Bhaktapur was a powerful and wealthy independent Newar kingdom under the Malla kings who ruled Bhaktapur from the 15th century to late 18th century before it was annexed into the Gorkha Kingdom. The Malla era was a golden one for Bhaktapur as it was during their reign that art and architecture flourished in Bhaktapur. After its annexation however Bhaktapur lost most of its importance it had in the time of the Malla and saw a halt in development of arts. Bhaktapur remained isolated form the now capital city of Kathmandu and Patan with minimal migration of people from other ethnic groups allowing it to preserve its medieval ambience and remain a homogeneous Newar city. Compared to other Newar settlements, Bhaktapur is predominantly Hindu and speaks a distinct dialect of Nepal Bhasa.

Bhaktapur is one of the most visited tourist destination of Nepal. As such it is an important tourist destination in Nepal with the medieval city attracting 301,012 tourists in 2014. Bhaktapur is also notable for its pottery and handicraft industries, and for its rich culture. Due to its well preserved medieval nature, UNESCO inscribed Bhaktapur as a World Heritage Site since 1979.