The old, timeless and traditionally intact town of Bhaktapur. The lack of traffic makes walking through the old town a particular pleasure. The town's cultural life is also vibrant, with strong communities of potters, woodcarvers and weavers. Perhaps most entrancing of all is Bhaktapur's effortless blending of the modern and medieval. Bhaktapur was the capital of the Kathmandu Valley during the 14th to 16th centuries. Much of the town's great architecture dates from the end of the 17th century. It's continued charm is due largely to the German- funded Bhaktapur Development Project, which restored buildings, paved dirt streets and established sewerage and waste water management facilities in the 1970s.