Anyway back to the walk - go straight ahead and on your right you have the Old Royal Palace - with four pagoda pillars representing each of the four cities, on the left is Freak Street - once home to the guesthouses and cafes that marked the end of the hippy trail. This is adjacent to a wide open area which usually has a range of craft stalls catering for tourists. At the end of the open area is the Kumari house - home to the living goddess of Nepal - the current Kumari is five years old. As you approach the Kumari House then the square opens up before you and its no surprise that cameras are always out and about here - the place is really impressive - even moreso if this is your first experience of temple architecture in the city.

In the square is a whole array of buildings, including Kathmandsap - the building that gave the city its name, Large drums - and we are talking big here - to ward off evil spirits, various other bells, Hindu temples galore and an array of local people that’s a travellers dream - you know that you've arrived in a different culture that’s for sure.

Most of the tourist touts seem to hang about on the north side of the square so by entering from a southerly direction you are likely to get less hassle as you'll be leaving by the time you meet them. The reason that they are here is that a few minutes to the North is Thamel - the main district where tourist accommodation and shops are, so is where most tourists enter the square.

Also in the square is the Old Royal Palace - the big white building where there's a museum which is hidden away past a series of armed guards, making you think you shouldnt be there or that you're walking into some army barracks!

The wooden carvings, too, to my mind were more accessible. We spent 20-30 minutes in the first courtyard we came to (Mul Chowk) admiring each intricately carved roof strut, depicting Hindu characters such as a two-foot eight-armed Ganesh, in turn.

Plagued by a few would-be-guides, and with no temples accessible to non-Hindus to climb out of the way, we found a rooftop bar overlooking the square watching the dusk fall against the twinkling temple lights below.

Point made, at least in our own minds, we returned to Durbar Square a few days later. Our first true tourist attraction in Nepal, we were amazed at the constant stream of young men persistently insisting that we needed a guide. Sadly we began to get a little cynical of anyone striking up conversation, as invariably a pleasant chat would end up being a guiding proposal. Rather wearingly, we couldn’t stand or sit still in the square without someone petitioning us. Some may have been genuinely knowledgeable, but how would you tell?

We found a relatively guide-free refuge at the top of Maju Deval temple, from where we could see out over the array of temples, and watch the local people come and go. Later, at sunset this was a great vantage point to watch the people reclaim their square from the tourists, setting up vegetable and flower garland stalls on the temple steps and platforms.

Originally a separate entity, Patan is now a suburb of the ever expanding metropolis of Kathmandu and is easily reached by bicycle or tempo/taxi - a good day's outing.

Many tourists prefer to stay in Patan as it is quieter and less congested than Kathmandu.

Enclosed by magnificent medieval, multi-tiered, pagoda-style temples with intricately carved, erotic, temple-struts it is a World Heritage Site and a mandatory first stop on any visit to Kathmandu.

Kumari - the "Living Goddess" resides in one of the temples.

The Old Royal Palace forms one side of the square and is now a large museum open to the public.

The adjacent square of Basantapur is an extensive open air "antiques" and curio / souvenir market.

Freak Street, the old haunt of the original hippies, is at the far end of Basantapur from Durbar Square.

Sitting on the temple terraces is an ideal place for meeting other tourists and trekkers. First time visitors can expect to be beseiged by rikshaw drivers, shoe-repair boys, khukri ( the famous large curved knife of the renowned Gurkha soldiers ) and jewellery sellers, freelance guides and students practising their English ( and looking for sponsors to pay for their education).

Regrettably the Kathmandu Municipality have recently introduced entrance charges for tourists to Durbar Square.