Nuwakot (नुवाकोट) is one of the district in midwest Nepal. The city is located on the bank of Trishuli and Tandi Rivers. It is Located just 75 km west from

Kathmandu , pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Prov ...

, known as historic town which was the capital of the Valley in the days before the unification of Nepal by

Prithvi Narayan Shah Maharajadhiraj Prithvi Narayan Shah (1723–1775) ( ne, श्री ५ बडामहाराजाधिराज पृथ्वीनारायण शाह देव) was the last ruler of the Gorkha Kingdom and first monarch of the ...

, and for more than 1,000 years the hilltop had served as a lookout and fort (kot) guarding the western entrance to Kathmandu Valley. Nuwakot served as an important trading hub for the

Malla Malla may refer to: Places ;Bolivia *Malla, Bolivia, a locality *Malla Jawira, a river * Malla Jaqhi, a mountain *Malla Municipality *Malla Qullu, a mountain ;India * Mallapuram, Tamil Nadu *Malla (tribe), an ancient republic, one of the sixte ...

kings of the Valley, and was along a major transit route used for trade between

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...

(via Kerung). Making the Nuwakot hill as main forts including other eight forts: Malakot, Simalkot, Bhairabkot, Belkot, Kalikot, Salyankot, Dhuwankot and Pyaskot in its surrounding area, collectively named as 'Nawakotta'(Nine forts). Because of its significance, the fort was a target for conquest by neighboring kingdoms, including the

Kingdom of Gorkha Gorkha Kingdom ( ne, गोरखा राज्य) was a member of the Chaubisi rajya, a confederation of 24 states on the Indian subcontinent ruled by Khas people. In 1743 CE, the kingdom began a campaign of military expansion, annexing se ...

. The founder of modern Nepal, Prithvi Narayan Shah attacked and finally captured the hill fort in a surprise attack on September 26, 1744. The Malla king

Jaya Prakash Malla Jaya Prakash Malla ( ne, जयप्रकाश मल्ल) (died 1768) was the last king of Yen (यें) or Kantipur (कान्तिपुर) which corresponds to present-day Kathmandu. He ruled from 1736 to 1746, and then from 1750 ...

made one final attempt to get victory over Nuwakot the following year after Malla forces under Kasi Ram Thapa had defeated the

Gorkha The Gurkhas or Gorkhas (), with endonym Gorkhali ), are soldiers native to the Indian Subcontinent, chiefly residing within Nepal and some parts of Northeast India. The Gurkha units are composed of Nepalis and Indian Gorkhas and are recruit ...

army at Naldum. However, the Gorkha army was able to repel the attack and secured Nuwakot as a permanent fort under Gorkha control. Nuwakot would afterwards serve as one of the key staging grounds for the eventual conquest of all three Malla kingdoms in the Kathmandu Valley (Kathmandu, Patan, Bhadgaon), which fell between 1768 and 1769 to Prithvi Narayan Shah. Nuwakot has featured in several prominent moments of Nepali history. Chinese forces under General Fu-k'ang-an nearly captured Nuwakot during the Nepal-China conflict in 1792. It was also the location of the first meeting between the British envoy Captain William J. Kirkpatrick and the acting Regent Bahadur Shah in 1793, shortly after the war with China ended. The current seven-story Nuwakot Durbar and surrounding complex was expanded in the 18th Century by Prithvi Narayan Shah to support the growing trade routes linking Kathmandu with India and Tibet.Nuwakot Palace Complex - UNESCO World Heritage Centre
/ref> Built in the

style, the architecture of the complex is divided into the main palace, the Bhairab Temple, as well as other temples and shrines. In 2008 the site was submitted for consideration as a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

World Heritage Site. Some of the temple complexes and buildings were damaged in the

2015 Nepal earthquake The April 2015 Nepal earthquake (also known as the Gorkha earthquake) killed 8,964 people and injured 21,952 more. It occurred at on Saturday, 25 April 2015, with a magnitude of 7.8Moment magnitude scale, Mw or 8.1Surface wave magnitude, Ms an ...

Gallery

File:Malla Palace.jpg, Malla Style Palace File:Stone Inscription.jpg, Stone Inscription at Durbar File:Bhawani mata.jpg, Taleju Goddess File:Shree Bhawani.jpg, Taleju Bhawani Temple Complex File:Earthquake ruin palace.jpg, Malla Period Palace damaged by Earthquake 2015

References

{{reflist Populated places in Nuwakot District