The hill valley settlement phenomenonPatan town islocated in the Kathmandu valley in Nepal, south of the bend of river Bagmati in geographical setting that can be described as valley and moderate hilly condition. See figure 1, which shows the location of the Patan town with respect to the topography conditions and surrounding water bodies. Patan town is a characterized by Durbar square nearly at the center of the town, numerous temples, viharas, public places in form of open squares, water fountains, Pati (semi covered shelter), Stupa and Chaitya. Traditional houses in wood and brick are linear with double bays running parallel along the street and gable part of the house joining with the next. The houses are about always organized around a shared courtyard. The courtyards often connect with each other and also serve as primary movement spaces. Patan has had layers of history with written records, sculpture and fragmentary architectural remains scattered throughout the city attest to the Licchavi period settlement (Slusser 1997: 96). The main settlement was concentrated around the Durbar square and Mangal bazaar area. During the Malla period it was a city-state, which competed with Kathamandu and Bhaktapur. Patan has been a predominantly Buddhist town with about 150 viharas.

 

To better understand the form of the Patan town it might be worthwhile to also look at generic patterns of the settlement in the surrounding areas. The settlements in the Himalayas in general and for most hill settlements have developed a certain pattern in countering and using the natural resources to ones advantage. This is obvious if one were to observe how communities have used topography, water resources and forest produce to ones advantage over centuries. The settlement patterns seen in this part is also a result of such an attitude towards natural landscape. On closely observing settlement patterns in and around Kathmandu valley, the following key physical attributes can be observed