The Newars, the indigenous inhabitants Valley, were renowned for their craftsmanship. It is they who built the numerous pagoda temples and shrines, stone sculptures, metalwork and lavish carvings that you see everywhere. Their workmanship was of such high perfection that the Kathmandu Valley today boasts of seven World Heritage Sites.

The architecture of the Newar towns and villages is very appealing. Their red-brick houses have intricately carved wooden windows and doors and sloping tiled roofs. However, in the name of modernization, these beautiful houses and monuments are coming down fast and are being replaced by multi-storied concrete buildings.