swyambhunath  stupa known as monkey tempmle                      

                                         NO WHERE ELSE                                          

Swayamhbu Stupa

According to Swayambhu Puran, the Kathmandu Valley was once a lake, deemed by scientists asPaleo Kathmandu Lake. The hill where the Swayambu Stupa rests had lotus plants with beautiful lotus flowers abloom. One story says that the god Manjusri cut a gorge at a place called Kashapaal (later called Chobhar) with a sword called Chandrahrasha and drained away the waters in order to establish a habitable land.

According to Gopal Banshawali, Krishna cut the gorge with his Sudarshana Chakra to let the water out. He then handed the drained valley to the Gopal Vansi people, who were nomadic cow herders.

Geography

The valley is made up of the Kathmandu District, Lalitpur District and Bhaktapur District covering an area of 220 square miles (almost the area of Singapore). The valley consists of the municipal areas of Kathmandu Metropolitan City, Lalitpur Submetropolitan City, Bhaktapur Municipality, Kirtipur Municipality and Madhyapur Thimi Municipality; the remaining area is made up of a number of Village Development Committees. The valley is a cultural and political hub of Nepal. The Kathmandu valley was accorded the status of a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in the year 1979.

The major river flowing through the Kathmandu Valley is the Bagmati