Nagbahal is one of the largest open courtyards in Patan, a broad rectangular space ringed by old Newar houses, Buddhist shrines, and a chaitya at its centre. It is the spiritual and social heart of the Sakya Buddhist community in Patan, and the Bara Bahil — the courtyard's main monastery building — has been continuously inhabited by monks since the 12th century.
Every year on the full moon of Bhadra (August or September), the Samyak festival sees enormous gilt statues of the Dipankara Buddha carried here from monasteries all over Patan. The square fills up with worshippers giving alms to the monks. Outside festival days it is quiet, a good place to sit on a stone bench and watch local life pass through.