The Durbar squares are the historic cores of the 3 major towns within the Kathmandu Valley . Durbar means ‘royal’ and the squares developed around the former royal palaces and a series of important temples and shrines, linked together by an open public space. They were, and still are, the center of public life in the cities. In the western corner of the city, Bhaktapur Durbar Square is relatively unintegrated into daily life. This spectacular square, the capital of the Malla kingdom till 1769, is an open museum in itself .Victorian illustrations show that it was once packed with monasteries, temples and artistic buildings, almost one third of which were devastated in the great earthquake of 1934 and is former self, with odd blank spaces ruining the once masterful composition. This square however, still holds mesmerizing palaces, pagodas, Shikhara style temples as well as Buddhists monasteries exclusively architectures. Layaku (Bhaktapur durbar square) is Bhaktapur’s monumental gem. It is one of the seven UNESCO world heritage sites. One can get to feel the touch of mediaeval excellence.

The durbar square of Bhaktapur is smaller than those of Patan and Kathmandu . Approaching durbar square through the huge white gate, one can notice on the left, a pair of lion statues guarding supposedly one of the entrances to the royal complex .between them lies two master pieces of stone sculptures, Bhairab the fierce from of Shiva and Durga a fearsome manifestation of goddess parvati, which dates back to 1701A.D. it is believed that the unfortunate sculpture had his hands cut off afterwards, to prevent him from duplicating his masterpieces. In front of these statues of Bhairab and Durga or when entering the durbar square from the main gate, there is a group of temples on the right(south), which represent the four highest Hindu pilgrimage sites; Jagannath, Kedarnath, Rameshwar and Badrinath. These temples are constructed by the Malla kings for those who could not afford to visit the original sites. Another pair of lion status and stone sculptures of Hanuman (worshipped for strength and devotion) and Narsingh (an incarnation of lord Vishnu) can be seen at the entrance of the National Art Gallery , which is situated on the middle north side of the square. The gallery is worth visiting for its exclusive collation of Buddhist Paubha paintings, palm leaf manuscripts as well as metal and stones. The whole block on the north side of the square is the main palace complex. It consisted of 99 different courtyards within (out of which still remain) the main entrance to this palace complex is the master piece of Bhaktapur .through this golden gate you may enter to discover the courtyard of the Taleju temple, the royal bath and what used to be the residence of the Malla kings. Next to the golden gate is the most talked about 55 windows palace of King Bhupatindra Malla . This palace, which is being completely renovated by the department of Archaeology and the Bhaktapur Municipality , is one of the main parts of the palace complex. Right in front of the golden gate you can see the impressive statue of King Bhupatindra Malla on a high stone column. The gold gilded statue in the position of worship is the center of appraisal for every visitor. In front of the palace lies a large bell erected by king Ranjit Malla in 1337A.D. beside the big bell stands the Shikhara style Durga temple, completely built out of stones in 1727 A.D. by Jaya Ranjit Malla. on the lower flank of this Vatsala temples lies another small bell erected by king Bhupatindra Malla it is popularly known as the ‘Khicha kho gan’ which means dogs crying bell because dogs cry and bark whine at its sound. Unfortunately it is now broken