WoodCrafts in Nepal

One of the reason tourists visits Kathmandu is the breathtaking architecture of medieval palaces and temples in three traditional Durbar squares located in three different cities Kathmandu, Bhaktapur, and Lalitpur. These three culturally distinctive piazzas contain wooden and brick temples, so delicately designed and elegantly morphed together.

Legend has it that the name of the city, Kathmandu is derived from the Kasthamandap, the oldest known wooden temple built during Lichhavi, which was then formed by two words, Kastha means wood (a chief material from which a temple is made) and mandon ( temple or an edifice).

With the start of the holy month of Shrawan, Kathmandu’s streets are swarming with excited women and girls buying green and yellow bangles, materials to apply henna tattoo and beads. Devotees mark the sacred month by wearing special clothes and adorning their bodies, and sales of festival paraphernalia soar this time of the year. “We see the highest sales during the start of the festive season in Shrawan,” said Alsha Prajapati, a cosmetics shop owner at Asan. “More than 40 percent of our annual sales happen during the months of Shrawan, Bhadra and Ashwin.” According to Prajapati, prices of glass bangles range from Rs30 per dozen to Rs.300 per dozen while metal bangles cost from Rs.150 per dozen to Rs.1,000 per dozen.