Durga riding a lion

I am not sure but I think it IS Hindu goddess Durga because the figure is dressed in a sari and riding a lion. The lion represents power, will and determination. Durga riding the lion symbolizes her mastery over all these qualities. This suggests to the devotee that one has to possess all these qualities to get over the demon of ego. This lovely sculpture decorates one of the houses in Kathmandu. Have you noticed a lamp in the lion's mouth? Cool...

A red house

Many houses in Kathmandu feature colonial hangover motifs with arches, paneled windows and all painted fantastically bright colours.

Peacock motif

Peacock window of the Kumari house, Basantapur

I like ancient Hindus' description of peacock, it is precise and witty: "it has the feathers of an angel, the voice of the devil and the walk of a thief". You can see peacock image in so many places here in Kathmandu: it is a popular motif on windows and doors, it is a fashionable jewelry theme, it is a decoration item at weddings. Such popularity comes not only from the bird's beautiful look. In Hindu-Buddhist culture the peacock is viewed as a general symbol of good luck and prosperity.

Kirtipur, the defeated kingdom

Not far away from Kathmandu (just 5 km) there is a small town named Kirtipur which once was the forth kingdom of the valley. Today it is the only one that remains relatively untouched by tourism or development.
History of the town goes back to the 12th century when it was established as a kind of outpost of Patan becoming an independent kingdom later and falling to king Prithvi Narayan Shah in 1769 after a prolonged and terrible siege. The Gorkha army lost 400 men then including their general Kalu Pandey. The vengeful Shah king had the noses and lips of all the men in the town cut off. However, there is another version as well. After defeat the Kirtipuris were ahsamed. They used the phrase "Nakh katnu" which expresses shame. But literally translated it means "to cut one's nose". So, in some opinions British explorers recording the history of the Gorkha army's conquest of the Kathmandu valley took the words literally and in reality there was no mutilation.

Red-skinned god and sinners in hell

There is a temple in Patan with unpronounceable name Ratomachhendranath. It is dedicated to Machhendra - the god of rain and harvest who for unknown to me reason is redskinned (hence the prefix "Rato" meaning "red"). Interestingly, this Hindu Machhendra revered by Buddhists as Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara so the temple looks like Hindu-Buddhist - with many-armed demons on the friezes of the temple and with Buddhist rotating prayer drums around the perimeter of the building.
The temple is a typical example of Nepalese architecture, it is three-storied pagoda. It was built back in 1673.

Changu Narayan, the oldest temple of the Kathmandu Valley

Changu Narayan is the oldest temple in the Kathmandu Valley and also one of the most interesting ensembles. The temple itself is dedicated to Vishnu (most often called Narayan in Nepal) and stands in a spacious courtyard littered with priceless stone sculptures from the 4th to 9th centuries AD. Especially worth mentioning are the lion-headed Vishnu Narasimha, dismembering the king of the demons; Vishnu with ten heads and ten arms going through the different layers of the universe; Vishnu Vikrantha, a dwarf with six arms. The oldest piece is Garuda, the mythical half-bird half-man, Narayan’s mount which dates back to the 5th century (Changu is one of Garuda names).

Wood carvings of Bhaktapur

Woodcarving is the main decoration of houses and temples of medieval  Bhaktapur .
It decorates the rafters, columns, cornices, balconies, windows, doors and walls of temples and traditional houses. The tradition of woodcarving in Nepal goes back to12 century. Since then, the carvers have achieved great skill by passing secrets from generation to generation and acquiring and sharing new techniques. In the Newar community, to which wood carvers mostly belong to, medieval texts are still kept – instructions and rules for wood carving, which are used in practice until now. For example, the masters still do not use any nails or glue to create their works.
The most well-known in Bhaktapur are the windows of the former royal palace "55 windows" and “peacock window”. But not less interesting are and other works.

Bhaktapur, the most medieval town of Nepal

The picturesque town of Bhaktapur situated 16 km from Kathmandu is called the most medieval town of Nepal. It's not just that the city was founded in the 9th century, but also that it managed to retain its medieval appearance. Bhaktapur amazes with its unique architecture, temples, statues and works of wood carving. Right at the main entrance to the Durbar Square you are greeted by two statues of 18th century - 18-armed goddess Durga and 12-armed god Bhairav that used to guard the now lost part of the royal palace. Strong earthquake of 1934 destroyed many temples in this part of the town. Nevertheless, there is much to admire.

Temple wood carving in Patan

As well as two other ancient capitals of the Kathmandu Valley, Patan can offer excellent examples of wood carving. Most of them date back to 17-18 century, some are "younger" as many temples damaged during the earthquake of 1934 had to be restored. There are 55 temples and 136 monasteries in total in Patan, which are traditionally decorated with carvings. So there is something to see. Frequent "heroes" of the decorated beams and rafters - all sorts of demons and multi-handed gods.

A house for Shiva and Parvati

This is the 18th-century house built by King Rana Bahadur Shah and dedicated to Hindu Gods Shiva and Parvati. In the heavily ornamented top floor there are carved and painted wooden images of Shiva and Parvati in mortal form. They rest on the window rail, looking out over the passing people and over the passing events. They have witnessed numerous coronations, festivals and processions and might be curious "what's next?"