The process that joined the villages into cities continues merging the old cities into a conurbation; and many of the conurbation’s primary facts were established by the Licchavis, stretching back in an unbroken thread over a millennium and a half. The principal Buddhist shrines—the great white domes at Swayambhu and Bouddha—were built by them, one on its hill to the west, and the other on the north-east trade route. They have been restored so many times they’re layered like onions inside. The festivals are managed by hereditary trusts called guthis (from the Licchavi gosthi), and in Kathmandu
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Licchavis, Swayambu, Boudha
