| Official Name: | Banepa City |
| Other Name: | Bandikapur, Bhonta, Bhon Deya |
| Native Name: | Nepali: बनेपा Nepal Bhasa; Newari: भोंत/भोंदेय् |
| Settlement Type: | Municipality |
| Pushpin Map: | Nepal |
| Pushpin Label Position: | bottom |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in Nepal |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | Nepal |
| Subdivision Type1: | Province |
| Subdivision Name1: | Bagmati |
| Subdivision Type2: | District |
| Subdivision Name2: | Kavrepalanchok |
| Parts Type: | No. of Wards |
| Parts: | 14 |
| Government Type: | Mayor–council government |
| Governing Body: | Banepa Municipal Government |
| Leader Title: | Mayor |
| Leader Name: | Mr. Shanti Ratna Shakya |
| Leader Title1: | Deputy Mayor |
| Leader Name1: | Ms. Bimala Sapkota Dahal |
| Leader Title2: | Executive officer |
| Leader Name2: | Mr. Shiva Prasad Humagain |
| Area Total Km2: | 54.59 |
| Population As Of: | 2021 |
| Population Total: | 67,629 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Population Blank1 Title: | Ethnicities: Newar Peoples, Tamang, Brahmin Chhetri |
| Population Blank2 Title: | Religions |
| Timezone: | NST |
| Utc Offset: | +5:45 |
| Coordinates: | 27.6297°N 85.5203°W |
| Elevation M: | 1500 |
| Postal Code Type: | Post code |
| Postal Code: | 45210 |
| Area Code: | 011 |
| Website: | www.banepamun.gov.np |
| Banepa | |
Banepa (Nepali: बनेपा) is a municipality and historical town in a valley situated at about above sea level in central Nepal which is at about east from Kathmandu. At the time of the 2011 Nepal census, it has a population of 67,690. The main attraction of Banepa is the temple of Chandeshwori, located approximately northeast of the town along the Rudramati River. The Dhaneshwor Temple is 1 KM south of the town. Banepa is also known for its eight different temples of Lord Ganesh, Narayanthan (the temple of Lord Narayan), Bhimshenthan (the temple of Lord Bhimshen) and eight different ponds.
Some of the ancient names of Banepa were Banepur, Baniyapur, Banipur. As it had trade relationship with Tibet from ancient period, Banepa is also known as "Bhont", "Bhonta", "Bhon dey (भोंदेय्)". Banepa is the combination of two words i.e. "Bane" means 'Business' and "Pa" means 'Place'. Therefore, "Banepa" means 'Place of Business'.[1]
It is believed that when entire Kathmandu Valley was covered with lake, there was a settlement in Banepa.
By early Lichchavi period (5th-8th century), settlements existed at Sanga (Sangagrama), Banepa (Ninaapa), Nala, Panauti, Khopasi, Palanchowk, Dumja and probably Dolakha, Lele (Lembatidrangga), Chitlang valley and even up to Gorkha. (Slusser, 1982).
Thakuri period (879 – 1200 A.D.) : Bhaktapur and Banepa was the core political area.
Malla Period (1200–1769 A.D.) : King Anandedeva Malla united the scattered villages and made modern Banepa surrounded by eight gates with a Ganesh (the elephant-headed god of good omen) at each of the gates in eight different directions in Kaligat Year 4197 (around 1153 B.S.). He also built a temple of Chandeshwori and arranged a trust fund for the goddess.
After having had the favours and directions of goddess Chandeshwori, King Anandadeva Malla founded seven villages (सात गाँउ), viz,
The old Newa: town is located at the central part of the city. It is surrounded by 8 ganesh temples with 8 adjacent ponds and Phalchaa (फल्चा).The name of the Ganesh temples are:
These Ganesh temples are said to be the boundaries of old Banepa. The main temple of Banepa city was Chandeswori Temple along the Rudramati River.
Along with this, King Ananda Dev Malla also built wells and taps for providing the people of Banepa with the good source of water. But many of those ponds have been used for public uses and some 'Phalchaa' do not have any existence today.[2]
A lot of festivals are celebrated in Banepa as follows:
Above mentioned festivals are still in practice. But there were many other besides these which had been discontinued due to various reasons. Some of those festivals are listed as follows:
Punyamata River, which was the major source of drinking water, irrigation and many other activities, is being polluted day by day. The bank of Punyamata River has been a place where solid wastage has been disposed. The sewage has been connected directly to the river without any treatment and in an unmanaged way has adversely affected the river water. Waste materials produced from local industry have turned the river water black. The surrounding countryside is also being polluted.
Although Banepa is a small place of an area of, it has got the population density of . Due to the connection of Banepa with other places through roadways, about 300 buses, minibuses, cars, trucks, motorcycles altogether are helping in the transportation in a day. Along with this, the gases emitted from those vehicles have polluted the environment of Banepa.
In the boundary of three municipalities of Kavrepalanchowk District, namely; Banepa, Dhulikhel and Panauti, the country's only IT Park is being constructed. All the three cities have been declared as the 'Cyber City'.
At the time of the 2011 Nepal census, Banepa Municipality had a population of 57,076. Of these, 57.0% spoke Nepali, 30.6% Newar, 9.6% Tamang, 0.6% Bhojpuri, 0.6% Maithili, 0.3% Hindi, 0.3% Magar, 0.2% Gurung, 0.2% Rai, 0.1% Limbu, 0.1% Tharu, and 0.1% other languages as their first language.[4]
In terms of ethnicity/caste, 32.6% were Newar, 24.8% Hill Brahmin, 20.5% Chhetri, 10.0% Tamang, 2.2% Magar, 1.7% Sarki, 1.4% Gharti/Bhujel, 1.4% Kami, 1.1% Damai/Dholi, 0.7% Sanyasi/Dasnami, 0.5% Rai, 0.4% other Dalit, 0.4% Gurung, 0.3% other Terai, 0.2% Musalman, 0.2% Teli, 0.2% Thakuri, 0.2% Tharu, 0.1% Danuwar, 0.1% Kalwar, 0.1% Limbu, 0.1% Majhi, 0.1% Yadav and 0.1% others.[5]
In terms of religion, 82.8% were Hindu, 13.8% Buddhist, 2.9% Christian, 0.2% Muslim and 0.2% others.[6]
In terms of literacy, 81.3% could read and write, 1.6% could only read and 17.0% could neither read nor write.[7]
Banepa has a Seventh-day Adventist hospital called Scheer Memorial Hospital, which was established in 1957.[8] This hospital has been expanded as a medical college associated with Vanderbilt University in the US and Kathmandu University. Many students enroll in the B.Sc. Nursing programs at this hospital. Banepa is also the location of the Hospital and Rehabilitation Centre for Disabled Children, Spinal Injury Rehabilitation Centre and Reiyukai Eiko Masunaga Eye Hospital.
Banepa is a major trade route to Tibet, with the Arniko Rajmarg, the only highway that connects Nepal and China (Tibet), running through this town. Furthermore, B.P. Koirala Highway also passes through Banepa. Though it is a small town, but it is well devolved and Banepa is the major economic center east of Kathmandu.
To promote local culture, Banepa has two FM radio stations: Radio ABC, which is a Community Radio Station and Prime Fm. This area also has a Television Channel named as Araniko Television.
Schools in Banepa include Spring Hill English Boarding School, Himalaya Secondary School, Banepa Valley School (currently known as Baylor International Academy), Vidhya Sagar Secondary School, Bagmati English Boarding School, Rambhakta Memorial School and Kshitij English Boarding School, Bal Batika Vidya Mandir Secondary School. And the most famous school in Sanga, Banepa is Nepal Police School.