Kirtipur is one of the oldest Human settlements in the Kathmandu Valley. This tiny town is recorded as an ancient capital of Nepal. Kirtipur means “a famed town” in Nepali language is also known as “kipu” and “kyapu”. The location of this small town is different from the other main towns of the valley in the same that occupies the top of a steep rocky hill. This city of glory is inhabited and also dominiated by Newars which are the earliest settlers in the Valley with their own language and cultural norms and values
Kirtipur Municipality is part of the Kathmandu District and only 5 Km away from Kathmandu and lies in the hilly region. Geographically, Kirtipur lies in between longitude 27˚ 38’ 30” and 27˚ 41’ 30” E and latitude 85˚ 13’ and 85˚ 19’ N, at altitudes ranging from 1284m to 1524m above mean sea level. The general decline of elevation is from south-west to north-east. The Kathmandu Metropolitan City lies in the northern side, while the Bagmati River separates the Lalitpur District with the Lalitpur Sub-Metropolitan City on the eastern side. Chalnakhel VDC borders Kirtipur Municipality in the south and Macchegaun VDC in the west.
Originally a Newari foundation, it is no doubt that Kirtipur is still a centre of Newari culture. It has been merged with surrounding villages to form the municipality of Kirtipur . However now a days people of differest casts and religion stay in this place. So it consists of many temples, Gumbas and Churches as well.
In 1826 B.S. it was annexed to the Gorkhali kingdom of Nepal by King Prithvi Narayan shah on his third attempt, after bribing the doorman of the city. After he did this, to spite the city of Kirtipur, he cut off the noses of all the men in the city.
The History behind Kirtipur
The history of the village goes back to the 12th century when it was an outpost of the Patan but later became a separate kingdom This was the site of an inspirational peaceful demonstration of the people in the 2006 mass uprising that overthrew the powers of the king. It is considered to be an anti-monarchy city due to its bitter history against the Shah dynasty whose modern founder conquered the city insultingly, which was followed by negligence of the administration and development by subsequent rulers
Beside the village visit there are also some interesting temples such as Bag Bhairav, Chlanchu Vihar etc. Further form Kirtipur the temple of Goddess Dakshinakali is situated which is an important pilgrimage for Nepalese people. A visit to Kirtipur can be combined with the visit to Chovar and Panga as well.
How to Reach
It is only 45 Minutes drive from Kathmandu city and Many public buses come here from the Kathmandu. The bus stops at the Tribhuvwan university and from there one should walk up the hill to the town. It is more comfortable to get here by taxi from Kathmandu.
Biking from Kathmandu to Kirtipur is another spactacular way to visit Kirtipur and it takes about 1½ hours to get to Kirtipur from Kathmandu. It is a long steep ride up the hill to here. You take the Ring Road Bridge across the Bagmati River and then take the first left onto the Dakshinkali road. After around 1km past the bridge you turn right onto the road that has two brick gatehouses on either side of the road. You go about 1km up the hill and then take the left fork where the minibuses stop near the university. |
