Sankhu

Sankhu
साँखु
Sankhu seen from Bajrayogini
Sankhu valley seen from Nagarkot
Sakwo(सक्व/𑐳𑐎𑐸𑐰)
Sankhu is located in Nepal
Sankhu
Sankhu
Location in Nepal
Coordinates: 27°43′0″N 85°27′0″E / 27.71667°N 85.45000°E / 27.71667; 85.45000
Country   Nepal
ZoneBagmati Zone
DistrictKathmandu District
Population
 (2011)
 • Total3,788
 • Ethnicities
Newars
Time zoneUTC+5:45 (Nepal Time)
Sankhu an ancient town near Kathmandu, Nepal

Sankhu (Nepal Bhasa: साँखु, alternative name: Sakwa (Nepal Bhasa: 𑐳𑐎𑑂𑐰‎/सक्व)) is the ancient Newar town located in the north-eastern corner of Kathmandu Valley which is about 17 km from the city center of Kathmandu. Sankhu was formerly divided into three Village Development Committee, namely, Pukhulachhi, Suntol and Bajrayogini. Recently the town of Sankhu has been declared as Shankharapur Municipality merging three above-mentioned VDCs and other neighbouring VDCs. At the time of the 2011 Nepal census it had a population of 4333 living in 928 individual households.[1] Sankhu lies between river Salinakhu (also Salinadi) in east and Asakhu in the west.

It is believed that the name Sakwa has two parts- Samdesh (Meaning Tibet) and Kvay (Meaning Below), in total it means a town below Tibet.[2]

  1. ^ "VDC-Municipality in detail". cbs.gov.np. Central Bureau of Statistics. Archived from the original on 11 May 2014. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
  2. ^ Shrestha, Bal Gopal (2012). The sacred town of Sankhu. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. p. 42. ISBN 978-1443837705.