Nuwakot () is a town in central

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

, serving as the namesake of the district of the same name. The town is located on the bank of

Trishuli Tirsuli is a Himalayan mountain peak in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand, India. It is part of the complex of mountains, including Tirsuli West, Hardeol, Dunagiri (mountain), Dunagiri, Changabang, and Kalanka, which make up the northeast wa ...

and Tandi Rivers. It is located around 60 kilometres west of

Kathmandu Kathmandu () is the capital and largest city of Nepal, situated in the central part of the country within the Kathmandu Valley. As per the 2021 Nepal census, it has a population of 845,767 residing in 105,649 households, with approximately 4 mi ...

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

Prithvi Narayan Shah Prithvi Narayan Shah (; 7 January 1723 – 11 January 1775), was the last king of the Gorkha Kingdom and first king of the Kingdom of Nepal (also called the ''Kingdom of Gorkha''). Prithvi Narayan Shah started the unification of Nepal. He is a ...

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

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ), or Greater Tibet, is a region in the western part of East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are other ethnic groups s ...

(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. 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 made one final attempt to get victory over Nuwakot the following year after Malla forces under Kasi Ram Thapa Magar (Chief Commander of Kantipur and Nuwakot) had defeated the Gorkha 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 Malla 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 (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

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 8,962 people and injured 21,952 across the countries of Nepal, India, China and Bangladesh. It occurred at on Saturday 25 April 2015, with a magnitude of Moment magni ...

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 2015 earthquake File:1-IMG 2204 copy.jpg, alt=Lam Pati, Patan Durbar

References

{{reflist Populated places in Nuwakot District