Kathmandu has become a great point of reference for all those travelers who decide to travel through Nepal. The city opened its borders to foreigners in the 1950s. The first visitors were geographers and mountaineers who came with the idea of climbing some of the highest mountains in the world, although tourism soon became more hippie. Travelers keep coming to Kathmandu in search of divine enlightenment.
In Kathmandu, Internet cafes, shops and restaurants are next to the ancient temples and the great statues. This can be clearly seen in the old town, which stretches from Durbar Square to Thamel , the main gathering place for hikers and backpackers. Many of Kathmandu’s impressive temples and palaces were built during the Malla Dynasty period that lasted from the 13th to the 18th centuries.
During all those years, Kathmandu competed with its most direct rivals , Patan and Bhaktapur, to see who was capable of building the most luxurious civil monuments. The three kingdoms were finally united under the rule of the same dynasty, that of the Shah in 1768. In response to widespread corruption, the Maoist wing of the Communist Party of Nepal declared a people’s war against the government and the monarchy in 1996.
Following the assassination of King Birendra and nine other members of the Royal Family by Crown Prince Dipendra in 2001, the new King, Gyanendra, assumed direct control. This led the people to mobilize in different mass riots. Democracy was restored in 2006 and the Maoists declared a unilateral ceasefire. Kathmandu now awaits a new future as the capital of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal.