Bhaktapur - Mul Chowk / Kumari Chowk

At one time the vast palace precinct is reputed to have comprised 99 courtyards. Six of these survive, though for security and religious reasons the majority are closed to visitors. From Sundhoka a path winds round Bhairava Chowk to a carved wooden entrance gate, the only access to Mul Chowk. This oldest and most central of the palace courts is dedicated to the goddess Taleju.

With a little persuasion visitors may be allowed to look into the court, catching a glimpse of the main temple, to the left, together with statues of Ganga and Jamuna, even more ornate than their counterparts in Patan. On the far (west) side is a triple temple portal, the central opening giving access not to the devotional images but into Kumari Chowk. Both