Located south of Kathmandu, with nearly 200,000 inhabitants, Patan is considered a suburb of the capital of Nepal. However, also known as Lalitpur "City of Beauty", in ancient times it was an independent city state, which acquired great relevance in the confines of the valley. Its beginnings date back to 299 AD, making it one of the oldest cities in the entire country. The passage of time and its strategic location, right on the trade route between India and Tibet, turned it into a melting pot of cultures and customs influenced by the two predominant religions in Central Asia, Buddhism and Hinduism. In its possessions, countless temples and palaces proliferated, to the point of becoming the most precious architectural treasure in Nepal. Because of the heritage it holds and what it once represented, its ochre streets, temples, palaces and other monuments in the old town form part of one of the most valuable architectural complexes in Asia, a repository of world-class art and architecture.
