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Patan is probably one of the oldest Buddhist City in the world. It is believed that the city was founded in the 3rd century A.D. Patan is situated on a plateau across Bagmati River. Another name of Patan, is Lalitpur. This city is known for its finest traditional crafts and rich artistic heritage.

Patan is designed and built after Buddhist Dharma Chakra. It is surrounded by 4Stupas as 4 corners of Patan, one at each corner of its cardinal points. These stupas are said to have been built by the famous Emperor Ashoka in the 3rd century BC. It is also said that the ancient city got its name Lalitpattan after the Lalitadhara forest was cleared by king Biradava. It must be remembered that the name of Patan used by Newars in Yala. It is said that King Yalamber named this city after himself. Before Malla Dynasty ascended the throne in 1480 the Muslim Emperor Sam Suddin Iliyas destroyed the temples and monuments of Patan. When King Siddhi Nar Singh Malla ascended the throne in 1618, he started to rebuild the city and Shrinivas and Yog Narendra Malla made further contributions to it. These days one can see the beautiful palace complex and squares built during the Malla period.