Bhaktapur is an ancient Newari town about 12km east of Kathmandu. Founded in the 12th century, Bhaktapur rose to be the greatest of the Malla Kingdoms in the 15th century. Today it's Nepal's third largest city and famous for culture, temples and craft work. Bhaktapur literally translates to 'City of Devotees', and lives up to this name as it has more temples than either Kathmandu or Patan. Bhaktapur is like a living museum. It is a pleasant place to walk as the cobbled streets are free of traffic and full of temples, courtyards, squares, wells and courtyards. Tradition is alive in Bhaktapur; you can watch craftsmen producing their century old arts of pottery and wood carving. It's a great place to buy souvenirs to take home. The old ways of life can be seen on every corner of the town - rice being sun dried, collecting water from communal taps. Bhaktapur Durbar Square is famous for the 55-Window Palace, which served as the seat of royalty prior to 1769. The windows and doors are elaborately carved and houses The National Art Gallery, with Buddhist Paubha scroll paintings, palm leaf manuscripts, and stone carvings. The Golden Gate of the palace opens onto the Taleju Temple, built in 1756, and the bell which has been rung to pay homage to the Goddess Taleju for centuries, and the Royal Bath, with its Golden Faucet. The five-storey Nyatapola Temple is the tallest pagoda temple in Nepal. Dedicated to the Goddess Lakshmi in 1702, its struts, doors, windows, and tympanums are decorated with carvings of divine figures, including a pair of two- meter high stone statues of elephants, lions, griffons and a pair of tantric goddesses.