The word Kirtipur is derive from two Sanskrit words i.e. “Kirti” and “Pur”. Kirti means glory and Pur denotes for city/place. Kirtipur is one of the municipality cities among five of Kathmandu, Bhaktapur, Lalitpur and Madhyapur Thimi. This city is term as Kipoo. It is ancient city with full of natural beauties, cultures, respect, and religious heritages. It is centre of Newari culture. The city was list UNESCO site in 2008. Kirtipur has many temples and Gumbas to visit.
Geography and Climate
Kirtipur was a part of Lalitpur. In 1767 it was annexe by Prithivi Narayan Shah. The history goes back to 1099 A.D. Tribhuvan University of Kirtipur; this city has been more popular for students of out of the town and professors. They rent house and they are major contributors of the economy for local people living there. The ancient township was like brick shape streets line with red brick house. House is made up of tiled roofs. There are many temple squares and a natural forest. There are many major attractions here in this city. It is surrounded by hills and south by Champa Devi hill which is very famous for hiking. People in New Year hikes here from bottom of Kirtipur
The climate is mild and generally warm in temperature. There is less rain fall in winter. The average year temperature measured is 17.7 degree Celsius and average rainfall is 1479millimeter yearly. Summer starts from November and ends nearly to May. The rainy season starts after this and winter appears.
How to Reach Kirtipur?
Kirtipur is 5km far from Kathmandu valley. It lies on rocky hills. This city can view from Swayambunath Monkey temple. It takes just 25 minute to reach from Kathmandu Valley. We can hire taxi for nearly 400 NPR. It’s a great place to visit. It takes about half a day to visit the place properly.
Places of Interest to visit
Bagh Bhairab
Bagh Bhairab temple is the oldest shrine in Kirtipur. It is called guardian deity which means Bhairab in form of Tiger. The main statue is made up of clay and silver mask. The mask was offered by Chaturman Dware when Chandra Shumsher Reign. There are many small temples in Bagh Bhairab complex including this. Bagh Bhairab temple has some unique features itself. The God of this temple is regarded as the guardian of Kirtipur.
Taudaha Lake
The word is make from the combination of Newari word “Ta” and “Daha” which means snake and lake. It lies in Kirtipur city of Kathmandu district. Taudaha Lake is one of the important places for bird watching. Huge species of birds roam and visits the lake for different time. 40 species of bird has been record. This lake is very beautiful and developed recently. it has its own natural beauty with lots of fish.
Culture of Kirtipur
As we know Kirtipur is Centre of Newari Culture. Every Newari cultures are visible in this site. Festivals like Dashain, Tihar, Jatra and concerts are mainly following by people living here. Newari food can be experience here of different varieties and tastes. Restaurants like “Sasa Restaurant” and “Lahana Restaurant” are famous over here. People living here follow Buddhism and Hinduism, Christianity and Muslim religions.
Hotels in Kirtipur
Kirtipur offers wide varieties of accommodation facilities from different hotels and lodges Some famous hotels in Kirtipur with best accommodations are:
- The Dwarika’s Hotel
- Kirtipur Hillside Hotel and Resort
