Bhajya Pukhu
A 12th-century pond in Dudhpati — said to be around 500 years older than Kathmandu's Rani Pokhari — once centred on a Shikhara temple destroyed in the 1681 earthquake, and now being rebuilt in traditional mud, brick and timber.
- Altitude
- 1,401 m
- Coordinates
- 27.671°, 85.419°
Current Weather
Bhajya Pukhu sits in the Dudhpati quarter a short walk south of Siddha Pokhari, and is one of the oldest surviving ponds in the Kathmandu Valley. Historians date its first construction to the 12th century, making it roughly five hundred years older than Kathmandu's more famous Rani Pokhari. The layout and Vastu orientation of the two ponds are strikingly similar, which has led some scholars to treat Bhajya Pukhu as a possible model rather than merely a contemporary.
At the centre of the tank once stood a Shikhara-style temple, destroyed in the great earthquake of 1737 Bikram Sambat (1681 AD) and never rebuilt during the Malla or Shah periods. For most of the twentieth century the pond itself lay dry: a sunken field that served as a running track for early-morning joggers, with only the two levels of stone walkways hinting at its original form.
A community-led restoration began tentatively in 2048 BS and was paused for years when local elections lapsed. Archaeological excavation under an expert committee led by Dr Purushottam Lochan Shrestha uncovered 12th- and 13th-century artefacts and produced a detailed reconstruction brief that Bhaktapur Municipality adopted in 2018. The current rebuild deliberately uses only traditional materials — mud, brick, lime, surkhi, wood and stone — and aims to restore both the water body and the central Shikhara temple. It is one of the most instructive live heritage-restoration sites in the valley, and entry is free.
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