Tusha Hiti (Royal Bath)

Sunken royal bath inside the Sundari Chowk of the Patan palace

Tucked inside the Sundari Chowk courtyard of the old royal palace, the Tusha Hiti is a small sunken stone basin where the Malla kings bathed before performing rituals. It is shaped like a yoni, lined with figures of deities, and fed by a brass spout that catches the eye even when the water has stopped.

The carvings around the bath are extraordinary in their density: rows of gods, goddesses, nagas, and sages cover every surface, and a stone Garuda perches in front. The chowk and its bath survived the 2015 quake reasonably well. You enter through the Patan Museum complex, and it is easy to miss if you don't know to look.

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