bungamati & khokana village: believed to have been founded in 6th century, bungamati sits on top of a hillock opposite the bagmati river. it is another typical newari town about 11 km south of kathmandu. during the visit here, visitors would notice that many of locals here are traditional wood carvers and there are lot of places here where you can buy local handicrafts at a bargain price. the bungamati village is located at a distance of 6 km from jawalakhel.

near bungamati, there is another beautiful newari village called khokana, where an important temple of durga is situated. it lies 5 km south-east of lalitpur’s, jwalakhel and is an attractive spot for the tourists. the place is well-suited to observe and study the original lifestyle, tradition, art and culture of the newar community. the temples of the hindus, ponds along with tightly packed rows of ancient mud houses are the highlights of khokana. the locals here have succeeded in preserving the tradition of their ancestors. the place is a treasure for traditional crafts. key places of interest around here include:

• rato machindranath temple: it is believed that bungamati is birth place of lord machindranath. there is large shikhar styled temple dedicated to him inside the village. the idol of machindranath is traditionally placed at bungamati for 6 months and at patan’s tabahal for 6 months. machindranath is taken from lalitpur to bungamati every year along with a chariot procession. the deity is again returned to patan towards the start of the winter season at the auspicious hour as advised by the astrologers. however the temple got damaged during last earthquake in 2015.
• karya binayak: the famous karnavinayak temple located at the bungamati village of lalitpur is among the 4 major temples of lord ganesh in the valley that has been in existence from ancient time. as per belief this temple was established before the establishment of the machindranath nearby. devotees assemble in a large number every tuesday and saturday to offer worship.
• rudrayani temple: this three storied temple dedicated to goddess durga is located in chwe lachi square of khokana. it was built during the reign of king amar mall in 16^th