Origins of Kathmandu

Kathmandu lies in a fertile valley in the Himalayan foothills, along the trade routes between India and Tibet, and the early settlement of the area grew out of the Licchavi period. Tradition credits King Gunakamadeva with founding the city of Kantipur in the eighth century, though the evidence is mixed. The name Kathmandu comes from Kasthamandap, an old wooden pavilion in the city centre. Under the Malla kings in the later Middle Ages, the valley's cities were centres of art, architecture and Newar culture, with elaborate temples and palaces. In 1768 the Gorkha king Prithvi Narayan Shah conquered the valley and made Kathmandu the capital of a unified Nepal.

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