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Older man seated on a cushion at the corner of a weathered brick building, hands folded on his knee

Lalitpur

Rebuilding the City of Beauty - Lalitpur, Nepal

April 2016

Patan Durbar Square stands within the historic center of Lalitpur, also widely known as Patan. It is one of seven Monument Zones forming the UNESCO Kathmandu Valley World Heritage property, inscribed in 1979.

The square contains a former royal palace, courtyards, temples, shrines, guardian sculptures, and public spaces developed over several centuries. Its brick buildings, carved timber windows and roof supports, stone sculpture, and metalwork reflect Newar urban design and craftsmanship, which reached a major period of development between approximately 1500 and 1800.

On April 25, 2015, the magnitude 7.8 Gorkha earthquake struck central Nepal. The earthquake and subsequent aftershocks damaged monuments, traditional residences, and historic streets throughout the Kathmandu Valley. Patan Durbar Square and its surrounding urban fabric were among the affected areas. Some structures collapsed, while others required temporary stabilization, documentation, salvage, repair, or reconstruction.

The photographs made on April 22–23, 2016, document Lalitpur during the early recovery period. Stone guardian lions, carved doors, decorative brickwork, temples, courtyards, and active public spaces remained integral to daily life. Nearby photographs record damaged houses, exposed structural timbers, steel supports, and piles of masonry awaiting removal or reuse. Together, the images preserve evidence of both the earthquake’s continuing physical effects and the community’s continued occupation of the historic city.

Current Context

Recovery has continued for more than a decade. By late 2025, UNESCO reported that 170 earthquake-damaged heritage structures had been restored or rebuilt across the Kathmandu Valley World Heritage property, while approximately 11 percent of the affected monuments still required completion.

Current priorities extend beyond individual buildings to include disaster preparedness, traditional materials and craftsmanship, archaeological monitoring, heritage-impact assessment, and management of development within the living historic city.

Field Documentation: April 22–23, 2016

Carved stone guardian lion beside a temple, two men resting on the steps behind it
Tiered stone temple with pillared galleries and a domed spire above Patan Durbar Square
Sunlight falling across carved timber columns, lattice windows and wooden doors
Shrine statue wrapped in saffron and yellow cloth beside a carved doorway in a brick wall
People crossing the brick-paved square past temple roofs, with stone lions guarding a doorway
Two carved sun faces dusted with orange powder on ornate wooden temple doors
Stone reliefs of a multi-armed deity and attendants set above a temple arch in a brick wall
Men sitting and talking on a low wooden bench against a brick wall, two elders in topi caps
Weathered stone lion on a plinth, women seated behind it beside piles of salvaged brick
Girl in a school uniform watching a procession of women in red and gold saris down a street
Vermilion-covered deity figure draped in saffron cloth and marigold garlands against carved wood
Stone guardian lion in profile, jaws open beneath a temple roof, in black and white
Pale knotted cord strung across a carved wooden temple arch crowded with deities
Elderly man in a cloth headwrap resting on a plinth against a brick wall with a latticed window
Older man seated on a cushion at the corner of a weathered brick building, hands folded on his knee
Two carved stone lions facing a street of brick buildings in Lalitpur
Girl in a face mask beside a green bicycle as people walk across the brick-paved square
Two boys with lollipops perched under a stone elephant sculpture, temples behind them
Padlocked timber door framed by carved posts in a patched brick house front
Wooden props and wire fencing bracing a damaged brick temple on the square
Iron rod clamped across carved wooden columns supporting a temple doorway
Stone lion seated before a brick wall painted with a wrathful deity holding a sword
Woman in a green kurta and patterned face mask walking past stone guardian lions in Patan
Elderly men in Nepali topi caps resting by a stone guardian lion and temple bell
Narrow Patan street tangled with overhead wires, shopfronts and a sign for "Everest Tea Shop"
Weathered stone guardian lion with deeply carved mane and collar outside a temple
Gutted brick house with collapsed walls and exposed timber framing, propped by wooden beams
Mound of broken bricks and rubble heaped beside a brick house, children standing nearby
Bare concrete storeys rising above low brick houses with carved wooden posts and shuttered doors
Two boys walking arm over shoulder past shuttered wooden shopfronts
Small boy in a blue T-shirt at a brick wall as a loaded cart is pushed up the lane
A man pushes a cycle cart of loaded crates past a fruit stall of melons and bananas
Stone elephants on plinths flanking temple steps in Patan, tiered pagoda roofs behind

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