Basantapur Durbar/ Nau-talle Durbar

A couple of hundred steps ahead from the Juddha statue on the right, the beautiful sight of an ancient palace, The Basantapur Durbar also known as the Nau-talle Durbar (Nine-storeyed Palace), stands high and is one of the tallest structures of Durbar Square.

The Durbar is a brilliant epitome of Nepali architecture—modeled of brick and wood and designed with rows of artistic windows, multiple roofs, intricately carved struts and a finial.

The palace – also referred to as the Kathmandu Tower – was built in the eighteenth century by King Prithvi Narayan Shah soon after he conquered the valley along with three other towers named after three other ancient cities of the valley – the Kirtipur Tower, the Bhaktapur Tower and the Lalitpur Tower.

An interesting fact: all the floors of the palace are of different heights.