Na Pukhu
At roughly 431 by 250 feet, Bhaktapur's second-largest historic pond — a Malla-era reservoir set in Dudhpati beside the Buddhist Thathubahi courtyard, and folklore's holder of the 'tail' of the cosmic snake Basuki Naag.
- Altitude
- 1,401 m
- Coordinates
- 27.675°, 85.427°
Current Weather
Na Pukhu is the second-largest pond in Bhaktapur after Siddha Pokhari, measuring about 431 feet by 250 feet and occupying much of the northern quarter of Dudhpati. It was excavated in 289 Nepal Sambat, during the Malla period, and for much of that history served as a gated entry point into the walled city — old stone gate-remnants are still visible on the eastern and western sides.
The southern bank of the pond abuts the courtyard of Thathubahi, a Buddhist bahal whose monuments and votive plinths sit right at the water's edge, giving Na Pukhu an unusual dual identity as both a civic reservoir and a semi-monastic precinct. This pairing of pond-and-bahal is characteristic of Bhaktapur's Buddhist quarters but is rarely seen at this scale.
Local folklore links the three largest ponds of the city as the body of Basuki Naag, the serpent king: Rani Pokhari holds the head, Siddha Pokhari the body, and Na Pukhu the tail. Visitors can walk freely around the full perimeter; northern benches offer long views towards the Himalayan foothills on clear winter mornings. Free to enter, reachable on foot from Bhaktapur Hospital in under ten minutes.
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