Dharahara

Not to be confused with Dharhara.
Dharahara
धरहरा (Nepali)
Dharahara after reconstruction in 2021
Dharahara is located in Kathmandu
Dharahara
Location in Kathmandu valley
Dharahara is located in Bagmati Province
Dharahara
Location in Bagmati
Dharahara is located in Nepal
Dharahara
Location in Nepal
Alternative namesBhimsen Tower
General information
StatusComplete (reconstructed)
Architectural styleMughal and neoclassical style
LocationSundhara, Kathmandu, Nepal
CountryNepal
Coordinates27°42′03″N 85°18′43″E / 27.7007°N 85.3119°E / 27.7007; 85.3119
Completed1832 (1832) or later
Destroyed
  • 15 January 1934 (1934-01-15) (1934 earthquake; two of the original nine storeys remained)
  • 25 April 2015 (2015-04-25) (2015 earthquake; a 10-metre-tall (33 ft) stump of the base remained)
Height72 metres (236 ft)
Design and construction
Architect(s)Debendra Nepal
Website
https://dharahara.gov.np/

Dharahara or Bhimsen Stambha (Nepali: धरहरा; pronounced [dʱʌɾʌɦʌɾa] or [dʱʌɾʌːɾa]), is a 72-metre-tall (236 ft)[1] tower at the centre of Sundhara, Kathmandu, Nepal.[2] It was first built in 1832 by Mukhtiyar (equivalent to Prime Minister) Bhimsen Thapa under the commission of Queen Lalit Tripurasundari and was a part of the architecture of Kathmandu recognized by UNESCO.[3] It has been damaged and reconstructed several times.

The tower had a spiral staircase containing 213 steps. The eighth floor held a circular balcony for observers that provided a panoramic view of the Kathmandu valley. It also had a 5.2-metre (17 ft) bronze mast on the roof.[2]

Most of the tower collapsed in the 25 April 2015 Nepal earthquake, but the base remains.[4][5] A total of 180 bodies were retrieved from the debris of tower after earthquake.[6] Reconstruction of the tower commenced in October 2018, and it was officially opened on 24 April 2021, one day before the sixth anniversary of the earthquake.[7]

  1. ^ "In pictures: Earthquake in Nepal demolishes Darahara Tower". DNA. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
  2. ^ a b "Bhimsen Tower on LonelyPlanet Guide". The Lonely Planet. Retrieved 2011-12-14.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference ForSale was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Deepak Nagpal (25 April 2015). "LIVE: Two major quakes rattle Nepal; historic Dharahara Tower collapses, deaths reported in India". Zee News. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
  5. ^ "Historic Dharahara tower collapses in Kathmandu after earthquake". DNA India. 25 April 2015. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
  6. ^ "180 bodies retrieved from debris of Dharhara tower". The Hindu. PTI. 2015-04-25. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2021-06-28.
  7. ^ "Nepal opens replica Dharahara Tower in Kathmandu". BBC News. 2021-04-24. Retrieved 2021-04-25.