From dawn until late the junction of Asan Tole is jammed with buyers, sellers and passers-by, making it the busiest square in the city. Every day, produce is carried to this popular marketplace from all over the valley so it is fitting that the three-storey Annapuma Temple is dedicated to the goddess of abundance. Annapurna is represented by a purana bowl full of grain.

At most times, but especially Sundays, you’ll see locals walk around the shrine, touch a coin to their heads, throw it into the temple and ring the bell above them. Nearby the two-storey Ganesh shrine is coated in bathroom tiles. South is the Yita Chapal (Southern Pavilion) which was once used for festival dances (the dance platform out front is still visible). Cat Stevens wrote his hippie-era song Kathntandu in a smoky teahouse in Asan Tole. On the western side of the square are spice shops. Near the centre of the square is a small Narayar shrine (Narayan is a form of Vishnu).