Nepalese religious architecture

Nepalese religious architecture is another art medium that is an important part of the country's cultural heritage. There are three broad styles - the Pagoda style, the Stupa style and the Shikhara style.The Pagoda Style : This style refers to multi-roofed structures with wide eaves supported by carved wooden struts. Windows, either latticed or grilled, are usually projecting, while triangular spires enclosing and inverted bell of stucco or burnished gold generally top off the roof. The pagoda style shows the architectural genius of Nepal.A young architect-sculptor-painter named baibhau (or Arniko as the Chinese call him), led a delegation of 80 Nepalese artists to Tibet during the late thirteenth century at the invitation of the Chinese Emperor Kublai KhanThe Pagoda style was soon adopted in China and from there spread to other Asian Countries. The best example of the pagoda style in the Kathmandu Valley is Kasthamandap, a wooden pagoda built in the Malla period and from which the name of the capital city is said to be derived. The nine-storey Basantpur Palace built by King Prithvi Narayan Shah is another outstanding pagoda specimen. The Pashupati, Taleju and Changu Narayan temples are also notable examples