Banepa () is a
municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality' ...
and historical town in a valley situated at about above
sea level
Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...
in central
Nepal
Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...
which is at about east from
Kathmandu
Kathmandu () is the capital and largest city of Nepal, situated in the central part of the country within the Kathmandu Valley. As per the 2021 Nepal census, it has a population of 845,767 residing in 105,649 households, with approximately 4 mi ...
. At the time of the 2021 Nepal
census
A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
, it has a
population
Population is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area. Governments conduct a census to quantify the resident population size within a given jurisdiction. The term is also applied to non-human animals, microorganisms, and pl ...
of 67,690. The main attraction of Banepa is the temple of
Chandeshwori, located approximately northeast of the town along the
Rudramati River. The
Dhaneshwor Temple is 1 kilometre south of the town. Banepa is also known for its eight different temples of
Ganesh
Ganesha or Ganesh (, , ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped Deva (Hinduism), deities in the Hindu deities, Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in the Ganapatya sect. His depictions ...
, Narayanthan (the temple of
Narayan), Bhimshenthan (the temple of Bhimshen), and eight different ponds.
History
Some of the ancient names of Banepa were Banepur, Baniyapur, Banipur. As it had trade relationship with Tibet from ancient period, Banepa is also known as "Bhont", "Bhonta", "Bhon dey (भोंदेय्)". Banepa is the combination of two words i.e. "Bane" means '
Business
Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or Trade, buying and selling Product (business), products (such as goods and Service (economics), services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for ...
' and "Pa" means 'Place'. Therefore, "Banepa" means 'Place of Business'.
It is believed that when entire Kathmandu Valley was covered with lake, there was a settlement in Banepa.
By early Lichchavi period (5th-8th century), settlements existed at Sanga (Sangagrama), Banepa, Nala, Panauti, Khopasi, Palanchowk, Dumja and probably Dolakha, Lele (Lembatidrangga), Chitlang valley and even up to Gorkha. (Slusser, 1982).
Thakuri period (879 – 1200 A.D.) : Bhaktapur and Banepa was the core political area.
Malla Period (1200–1769 A.D.) : King Anandedeva Malla united the scattered villages and made modern Banepa surrounded by eight gates with a statue of Ganesh at each of the gates in eight different directions in Kaligat Year 4197 (around 1153 B.S.). He also built a temple of
Chandeshwari Temple and arranged a trust fund for the goddess.
After having had the favours and directions of goddess
Chandeshwori, King Anandadeva
Malla founded seven villages:
* Banepa near
Chandeshwori Pitha
*
Shreekhandapur near
Dhaneshwor
*
Panauti near Prayaga Tirtha of Nepal
*
Nala
Nala () is a legendary king of ancient Nishadha kingdom and the central protagonist of the '' Nalopakhyana'', a sub-narrative within the Indian epic '' Mahabharata'', found in its third book, '' Vana Parva'' (Book of the Forest). He is renown ...
near Nala
Bhagawati
*
Dhulikhel near
Narayana
Narayana (, ) is one of the forms and epithets of Vishnu. In this form, the deity is depicted in yogic slumber under the celestial waters, symbolising the masculine principle and associated with his role of creation. He is also known as Pu ...
* Chaukot near the resident of Chaukora Rishi
*
Sanga, near Nasika Pitha.
Old town

This old town is located at the central part of the city. It is surrounded by 8 ganesh temples with 8 adjacent ponds and Phalchaa (फल्चा).
The name of the Ganesh temples are:
*Tukampwo (तुकम्प्वो) Ganesh at South (Temple of Tukampwo Ganesh was established first of all other Ganesh Temple by King Anandadeva Malla after forming new Kingdom of Banepa. It is also the major temple of Banepa.)
*Kobha (कोभः) Ganesh at Southeast
*Waku (वकु) Ganesh at East
*Thachhu (थाछु) Ganesh at North
*Kanthu (कांथु) Ganesh at Northeast
*Kwonla (क्वोंला) Ganesh at Southwest
*Talapukhu (तलाःपुखु) Ganesh at West
*Jyasanani (ज्यासःननी) Ganesh at Northwest
These Ganesh temples are said to be the boundaries of old Banepa. The main temple of Banepa city was Chandeswori Temple along the Rudramati River.
Along with this, King Ananda Dev Malla also built wells and taps for providing the people of Banepa with the good source of water. But many of those ponds have been used for public uses and some 'Phalchaa' do not have any existence today.
Festivals

A lot of festivals are celebrated in Banepa as follows:
#
Chandeshwori Jatra from
Baisakh Purnima to next two days.
#
Kanya Puja (worshipping of the young girls) during
Gunla,
Krishna Janmashtami
Krishna Janmashtami (), also known simply as Krishnashtami, Janmashtami, or Gokulashtami, is an annual Hindu festival that celebrates the birth of Krishna, the eighth avatar of Vishnu. In certain Hindu texts, such as the '' Gita Govinda ...
#
Navadurga Jatra
#
Tukampo Ganesh Jatra during
Vijaya Dashami
#
भीमसेन जात्रा Bhimsen Jatra
# Jaaludyo Jatra (जालुद्याे जात्रा) on the day of Ashwin Krishna Pratipada, the next day of
Indra Jatra
Indra Jātrā, also known as Yenyā Punhi is the biggest religious street festival in Kathmandu, Nepal. "Ye" means the old Newar people, Newari name for "Kathmandu", "Ya" means “Celebration”, and "Puhni" means full moon so together means the ...
.
# Naradevi Shvetkali Naach (नरदेवी श्वेतकाली नाच, once in twelve years. It was re-continued after about after 38 years.
#
Krishna Janmashtami
Krishna Janmashtami (), also known simply as Krishnashtami, Janmashtami, or Gokulashtami, is an annual Hindu festival that celebrates the birth of Krishna, the eighth avatar of Vishnu. In certain Hindu texts, such as the '' Gita Govinda ...
Forgotten Festivals of Banepa
Above mentioned festivals are still in practice. But there were many other besides these which had been discontinued due to various reasons. Some of those festivals are listed as follows:
* Kumari Nritya (कुमारी नृत्य) had been discontinued about 108 years ago.
*Narayan and Bhimsen; Bokakhah Jatra(बाेकखः जात्रा) on Axaya Tritiya (अक्षयतृतीया), Karunamaya Jatra were also had been discontinued about 103 years ago. Many other festivals were also discontinued which were forgotten.
Present situation
Punyamata River, which was the major source of drinking water, irrigation and many other activities, is being polluted day by day. The bank of Punyamata River has been a place where solid wastage has been disposed. The sewage has been connected directly to the river without any treatment and in an unmanaged way has adversely affected the river water. Waste materials produced from local industry have turned the river water black. The surrounding countryside is also being polluted.
Although Banepa is a small place of an area of , it has got the population density of . Due to the connection of Banepa with other places through roadways, about 300 buses, minibuses, cars, trucks, motorcycles altogether are helping in the transportation in a day. Along with this, the gases emitted from those vehicles have polluted the environment of Banepa. Also dust pollution and mishandling of plastic waste have made Banepa highly polluted.
In the boundary of three municipalities of
Kavrepalanchowk District, namely; Banepa,
Dhulikhel and
Panauti, the country's only IT Park is being constructed. All the three cities have been declared as the 'Cyber City'.
Demographics
At the time of the
2011 Nepal census
Nepal conducted a widespread national census in 2011 by the Nepal Central Bureau of Statistics. Working in cooperation with the 58 municipalities and the 3,915 Village Development Committees at a district level, they recorded data from all the m ...
, Banepa Municipality had a population of 57,076. Of these, 57.0% spoke
Nepali, 30.6%
Newar
Newar (; , endonym: Newa; , Pracalit script: ), or Nepami, are primarily inhabitants in Kathmandu Valley of Nepal and its surrounding areas, and the creators of its historic heritage and civilisation. Page 15. Newars are a distinct linguisti ...
, 9.6%
Tamang, 0.6%
Bhojpuri
Bhojpuri may refer to:
* Bhojpuri language, an Indo-Aryan language of India and Nepal
* Bhojpuri grammar, grammatical rules of the language
* Bhojpuri nouns, nouns of the language
* Bhojpuri people, people who speak the language
* Bhojpuri region ...
, 0.6%
Maithili, 0.3%
Hindi
Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...
, 0.3%
Magar, 0.2%
Gurung
Gurung (exonym; ) or Tamu (endonym; Gurung language, Gurung: ) are a Tibetan people, Tibetan ethnic group living in the hills and mountains of Gandaki Province of Nepal. Gurungs speak Tamu kyi which is a Sino-Tibetan language derived from the ...
, 0.2%
Rai, 0.1%
Limbu, 0.1%
Tharu, and 0.1% other languages as their first language.
In terms of ethnicity/caste, 32.6% were
Hill Brahmin, 24.8%
Newar
Newar (; , endonym: Newa; , Pracalit script: ), or Nepami, are primarily inhabitants in Kathmandu Valley of Nepal and its surrounding areas, and the creators of its historic heritage and civilisation. Page 15. Newars are a distinct linguisti ...
, 20.5%
Chhetri
Chhetri (Kshetri, Kshettri, Kshetry or Chhettri), ( ; IAST: ''Kṣetrī'') historically called Kshettriya or Kshetriya or Khas are Nepali language, Nepali speaking people historically associated with the warrior class and administration, some of ...
, 10.0%
Tamang, 2.2%
Magar, 1.7%
Sarki, 1.4% Gharti/
Bhujel, 1.4%
Kami
are the Deity, deities, Divinity, divinities, Spirit (supernatural entity), spirits, mythological, spiritual, or natural phenomena that are venerated in the traditional Shinto religion of Japan. ''Kami'' can be elements of the landscape, forc ...
, 1.1%
Damai
Damai ( ; IAST: ''Damāĩ'') is an occupational caste found among indigenous people comprising 45 subgroups. Their surnames take after the subgroup they belong to. People belonging to this caste are traditionally tailors and musicians capable o ...
/Dholi, 0.7% Sanyasi/Dasnami, 0.5%
Rai, 0.4% other
Dalit
Dalit ( from meaning "broken/scattered") is a term used for untouchables and outcasts, who represented the lowest stratum of the castes in the Indian subcontinent. They are also called Harijans. Dalits were excluded from the fourfold var ...
, 0.4%
Gurung
Gurung (exonym; ) or Tamu (endonym; Gurung language, Gurung: ) are a Tibetan people, Tibetan ethnic group living in the hills and mountains of Gandaki Province of Nepal. Gurungs speak Tamu kyi which is a Sino-Tibetan language derived from the ...
, 0.3% other Terai, 0.2%
Musalman
Musalman may refer to:
*Mussulman, variant of an archaic term for "Muslim
Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, th ...
, 0.2%
Teli, 0.2%
Thakuri
The Thakuri (Nepali: ठकुरी) . This term is Nepalese title ""Thakuri"", which translates to 'master of the estate'. The term denotes the royal descendants of kings of Baise Rajya and Chaubisi Rajya.
During the height of their influence ...
, 0.2%
Tharu, 0.1% Danuwar, 0.1%
Kalwar, 0.1%
Limbu, 0.1% Majhi, 0.1%
Yadav
Yadavs are a grouping of non-elite, peasant-pastoral Quote: "The Yadavs were traditionally a low-to-middle-ranking cluster of pastoral-peasant castes that have become a significant political force in Uttar Pradesh (and other northern states l ...
and 0.1% others.
In terms of religion, 82.8% were
Hindu
Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
, 13.8%
Buddhist
Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
, 2.9%
Christian
A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
, 0.2%
Muslim
Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
, 0.1% Irreligion and 0.1% others.
In terms of literacy, 81.3% could read and write, 1.6% could only read and 17.0% could neither read nor write.
Healthcare
Banepa has a
Seventh-day Adventist
The Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA) is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sabbat ...
hospital called Scheer Memorial Hospital, which was established in 1957. This hospital has been expanded as a medical college associated with
Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...
in the US and
Kathmandu University. Many students enroll in the B.Sc. Nursing programs at this hospital. Banepa is also the location of the
Hospital and Rehabilitation Centre for Disabled Children,
Spinal Injury Rehabilitation Centre and
Reiyukai Eiko Masunaga Eye Hospital.
Transportation
Banepa is a major trade route to Tibet, with the
Arniko Highway, the only highway that connects Nepal and China (Tibet), running through this town. Furthermore,
BP Highway also passes through Banepa. Despite being a small town, Banepa is highly developed and serves as the major economic center east of
Kathmandu
Kathmandu () is the capital and largest city of Nepal, situated in the central part of the country within the Kathmandu Valley. As per the 2021 Nepal census, it has a population of 845,767 residing in 105,649 households, with approximately 4 mi ...
.
Media
To promote local culture, Banepa has two
FM radio
Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...
stations:
Radio ABC, which is a
Community Radio Station and
Prime Fm. This area also has a
Television Channel named as
Araniko Television.
Education
Banepa is home to several notable educational institutions and a teaching hospitals. The
National Defence University is the only defence University in whole
Nepal
Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...
.
The
Scheer Memorial Hospital offers a Bachelor of Science in Nursing program. The town also houses the
Nepal Banepa Polytechnic Institute (NBPI) and the Kavre Deaf School, which is a dedicated school for deaf students.
Banepa boasts two public multi-campus institutions affiliated with
Tribhuvan University
Tribhuvan University (TU; ) is a public university located in Kirtipur, Kathmandu Valley, Kathmandu, Nepal. Established in 1959, TU is the oldest and the largest university in Nepal. It offers 1,000 undergraduate and 500 postgraduate programs a ...
. Additionally, there are around 40 schools in the area, with 25 being privately owned and 15 being public schools. Some of the prestigious schools in Banepa include Banepa Valley School (now known as
Baylor International Academy), and Vidhya Sagar Secondary School. The
Nepal Police School in Sanga is particularly renowned for its educational standards.
International relations and organizations
Twin towns – sister cities
Banepa is
twinned with:
*
Shigatse
Shigatse, officially known as Xigazê () or Rikaze ( zh, s=日喀则, p=Rìkāzé), is a prefecture-level city of the Tibet Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. Its area of jurisdiction, with an area of , corresponds to the histo ...
, China
Gallery
File:Chandeshwori Temple, Banepa, Nepal.jpg, Entrance Gate of Chandeshwori Temple
File:Bhairab painting of Chandeswori temple.jpg, Bhairab painting of Chandeswori temple, one of the major attraction of Banepa
File:Narayan than banepa bhot marga.JPG, Narayanthan of Banepa, believed to be established during the reign of King Ranajit Malla
File:Pond banepa karuna marga.jpg, Pond of Talapukhu Ganesh Temple
File:Pond banepa chandani chowk.JPG, Pond of Kobha Ganesh Temple
File:Wood carved roof decoration on the Chandeshwari Temple..jpg, Wood carved roof decoration on the Chandeshwari Temple.
File:Malla king and queen doing Namaste (the ritual greeting) in front of the Chandeshwari Temple..jpg, Malla king and queen doing Namaste
''Namaste'' (, Devanagari: नमस्ते), sometimes called ''namaskār'' and ''namaskāram'', is a customary Hindu manner of respectfully greeting and honouring a person or group, used at any time of day. It is used worldwide among the ...
(the ritual greeting) in front of the Chandeshwari Temple.
File:Dhaneshwor Temple.jpg, Dhaneshwor Temple
Sports
Notable people
*Mukesh Kayastha
:Living Martyr
Politics
*
Kanchan Chandra Bade
References
External links
{{Kavrepalanchok District
Populated places in Kavrepalanchok District
Newar
Municipalities in Bagmati Province
Nepal municipalities established in 1982