After the 2015 earthquake: the valley rebuilt

At 11.56 on a Saturday morning, the weekly holiday, the ground under central Nepal moved. The earthquake, magnitude 7.8, started in Gorkha district north-west of Kathmandu, near the village of Barpak, and the rupture ran east beneath the Kathmandu Valley. The shaking lasted close to a minute. A large aftershock of magnitude 7.3 followed on 12 May, centred further east near Dolakha.

Nearly 9,000 people died across Nepal and hundreds of thousands of homes were destroyed, most of them in the hill districts around the valley, such as Sindhupalchok, Gorkha and Nuwakot. Because it was a Saturday, schools were empty, which almost certainly saved many children. In the valley, people slept in tents and open ground for weeks, and the old towns, built of brick and timber on narrow lanes, were among the worst hit.

For visitors arriving now, more than a decade later, the most visible part of that day is in the heritage squares. The temples that fell are mostly standing again, and the way they were rebuilt is one of the quieter stories of modern Nepal.

In Kathmandu Durbar Square, the earthquake brought down Kasthamandap, the ancient timber pavilion that legend says gave the city its name, and several tall temples on the square's stepped plinths, including the Maju Dega. The nine-storey Basantapur tower of the old palace was badly cracked. Nearby, the white Dharahara tower, built in 1832 and rebuilt after the 1934 earthquake, collapsed with people inside it.

In Patan, a number of temples on the Durbar Square fell, including the Hari Shankar temple, while the stone Krishna Mandir survived. In Bhaktapur, the stone Vatsala Durga temple and the Fasidega on its high plinth were destroyed, but the five-storey Nyatapola, which had also survived the great earthquake of 1934, stood untouched. At Swayambhu, one of the two tall shikhara towers beside the stupa collapsed. At Boudhanath, the dome cracked and the spire had to be taken down. Changu Narayan was damaged and later strengthened.

Beyond the listed zones, old Newar towns such as Sankhu, Bungamati and Khokana lost much of their housing, and Bungamati's temple of Rato Machhindranath, the god whose chariot is pulled through Patan each year, came down.

Rebuilding was slow, and at times bitterly argued over. The government created a National Reconstruction Authority to manage housing and heritage work, while the Department of Archaeology set standards for the monuments. Foreign governments, trusts and local communities each took on particular buildings. In Patan, the Kathmandu Valley Preservation Trust, which had restored temples there since the 1990s, led the rebuilding of several Durbar Square temples, including Hari Shankar. A Chinese-funded team restored the Basantapur palace complex.

Two arguments shaped the work. One was about materials. When the Kathmandu city authorities began rebuilding the temple in Rani Pokhari, the pond near Ratna Park, with concrete, residents and heritage campaigners protested, and the work was restarted with traditional brick and lime. The other was about who should do the work. At Kasthamandap, after a slow start under a contractor, the local community took charge of the rebuilding, raising money and volunteers and insisting on traditional methods. Boudhanath's spire was rebuilt in about eighteen months with donations from Buddhist communities and reconsecrated in November 2016.

The Dharahara was not restored but replaced: a new, taller tower opened beside the old site in April 2021.

Much of the hands-on work was done by Newar craftsmen: woodcarvers from Bhaktapur and Bungamati, brick makers and masons who had learned from their fathers. For many younger carvers, the rebuilding was the first time they had worked on a major temple, and the years of work kept old skills alive that might otherwise have faded.

Once you know what to look for, the rebuilding shows itself everywhere. These are the clues our guides point out.

• Colour of the wood: new sal and other timber is pale gold or reddish; the original carved struts, windows and doors are dark brown, almost black, from centuries of smoke and oil.
• Mixed carvings: many original pieces were numbered, stored and put back, so you often see a dark old strut beside a pale new one carved by today's craftsmen to match.
• Bricks and mortar: traditional rebuilding uses fired brick with mud or lime mortar and carved brick cornices; concrete, where used, is usually hidden in foundations.
• Inscriptions: new stone or metal plates record the rebuilding, often with the Nepali Bikram Sambat year, which is about 57 years ahead of the Gregorian.
• Empty plinths: a few platforms still stand bare or carry temporary shrines, especially in smaller squares and villages.

This table summarises what happened to some of the best-known monuments. Work continues in places, so check current status before you travel.

The Kathmandu Valley sits on the soft sediments of an ancient lake, which amplify shaking, in one of the most active earthquake zones on earth, where the Indian plate pushes under Asia. The great earthquake of 1934, known in Nepal as the 1990 earthquake after its Bikram Sambat year, destroyed much of Bhaktapur and toppled the first Dharahara. Older people in the valley still told stories of it when 2015 struck.

Newar builders had learned some lessons over the centuries. Many temples rest on stepped brick plinths, with timber bands tying walls together and roofs that can flex. The temples that survived best, like Nyatapola, often had sound foundations and careful maintenance; many that fell had been weakened by earlier repairs, damp and neglect. Rebuilding has added hidden strengthening in some places, while trying to keep the old look and methods.

Seismologists expect more large earthquakes in central Nepal in the future, and building codes, school safety and public drills have improved since 2015, though old houses remain a concern.

Ask your guide to show you before-and-after photographs on the spot; many carry them on their phones, and the comparison is powerful. In Patan, look closely at the temples in front of the palace and at the craftsmen's lanes, where many of the new carvings were made. In Bhaktapur, compare Vatsala Durga's crisp new stone with the weathered stone of its neighbours. At Kasthamandap, notice the inscriptions about the community effort.

Spend an hour in Bungamati or Sankhu if you can. These Newar towns were hit hard and rebuilt more slowly than the famous squares, and they show the human side of recovery: families in new houses, old courtyards half restored, and temples rising again with village money. Buying from local woodcarvers and staying in homestays helps those communities directly.

If you feel an earthquake while you are in Nepal, move away from buildings, walls and power lines to open ground if you can do so safely; if not, drop, cover and hold on under a sturdy table. Most quakes are small and pass in seconds.