The Newar artisans of the Kathmandu Valley shaped much of Himalayan art. Look up at almost any temple and you'll see carved wooden struts, latticed windows and gilded roof ornaments — Bhaktapur's famous Peacock Window is a masterpiece of the form.
Patan has been a centre of metalwork for centuries; workshops still cast bronze statues using the lost-wax method and hammer intricate repoussé. The Patan Museum, inside the old palace, is one of the best places in Asia to understand the craft.
Paubha — the Newar tradition of painted religious scrolls, related to Tibetan thangka — is still practised in small studios. Buy from workshops where you can watch the artists, and you'll take home something made the old way.
