Kathmandu

The city of Kathmandu is named after Kasthamandap temple, which stood in Durbar Square. In Sanskrit Kastha means “wood” and mandap means “covered shelter”.

Kathmandu is the largest metropolis in Nepal with 1.4 billion people living in the city centre and 2.5 billion including the urban surroundings. The city stands at an evaluation of approximately 1400m above sea level in the bowl shaped Kathmandu Valley. The city was the royal capital of the Kingdom of Nepal and hosts palaces, mansions and gardens of the Nepalese aristocracy. Kathmandu is the centre of Nepal’s history, art, culture and economy. Many historic areas were devastated during the earth quake on 25 April 2015. CPN-UML’s Bidya Sundar Shakya is the major of Kathmandu.

History
The History of Kathmandu is mainly the history of the Newar people, the main inhabitants of the Kathmandu-Valley. The foundation of Kathmandu dates back to the 12th century, during the time of the Malla dynasty. The first settlements grew up around the trade route to Tibet (southern half of the old town) and in early pilgrim rest houses such as the Kasthamandap, which later lent its name to the city. Originally known as Kantipur, the city flourished at its time in the Malla dynasty and the vast majority of its temples, buildings and other monuments were built in this era. Initially, Kathmandu was an independent city within the valley, but in the 14th century the valley was united under the Malla king of Bhaktapur. Later on, in the 15th century Nepal was once again divided, this time in three kingdoms, Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur. Rivalries between the three cities led to a series of battles, which left the valley vulnerable to the 1768 invasion of the valley by Prithvi Narayan Shah. The following Shah dynasty unified Nepal and made the city of Kathmandu its capital.

Geography
Kathmandu is the north western part of the Kathmandu Valley to the north of the Bagmati River and covers an area of 50,7km². The city is bounded by several other municipalities of the Kathmandu valley: south of the Bagmati by Lalitpur (Patan), with which it forms one urban area surrounded by the ring road, to the southwest by Kiritpur and to the east by Madyapur Thimi.

Kathmandu is dissected by eight rivers, with Bagmati being the main river and Bishnumati, Dhobi Khola, Manohara Khola, Hanumant Khola and Tukucha Khola as its tributaries.

Kathmandu and its valley are in the Deciduous Monsoon Forest Zone, one of five vegetation zones defined for Nepal.

Climate
Kathmandu valley is in the Warm Temperate Zone, where the climate is fairly temperate, atypical for the region. Parts of the city with lower elevation have humid subtropical climate, whereas those parts with higher elevation have subtropical highland climate. The average summer temperature varies from 28 to 30°C, the average winter temperature is 10,1°C. The city generally has a climate
with warm days followed by cool nights and mornings. The weather is fairly unpredictable and can drop below 1°C during the winter. Rainfall in Kathmandu is mostly monsoon based, with 65% of the precipitation in the months June to August.

Architecture and Sights
The ancient trade route between India and Tibet that passed through Kathmandu enabled a fusion of artistic and architectural traditions from other cultures to be mingled with local art and architecture. The monuments of Kathmandu city have been influenced over the centuries by Hindu and Buddhist religious practices. The architectural treasure of the Kathmandu valley has been categorized under the well-known seven groups of heritage monuments and buildings. In 2006 UNESCO declared these seven groups of monuments as a World Heritage Site. The seven monument zones cover an area of 189 hectares. The Seven Monument Zones inscribed originally in 1979 and with a minor modification in 2006 are Durbar squares of Hanuman Dhoka, Patan and Bhaktapur, Hindu temples of Pashupatinath and Changunarayan, the Buddhist stupas of Swayambhu and Boudhanath.