Pratappur and Anantapur are two tall white temples in the shape of a bullet which is known as shikar style in Nepali. These temples are found on either side of the Swayambhunath stupa. These temples were built by King Pratap Malla in order to celebrate his victory over Tibet in the 17th century and the twin bells in front of the temple have inscriptions of his victory. Anantapur’s name is kept from the name of King Pratap Malla’s queen Ananta priya. These two temples are dedicated to his queen Ananta priya and King Pratap Malla himself. In Anantapur, you can go up from inside where as it is not possible in Pratappur. In Nepali architecture, it is called “Ganthakoot Dewal”.
Pratappur temple was damaged by fire and also by lightning. In 2015 April the temples were partially damaged by a 7.6 magnitude earthquake.
Pratappur temple caught fire
It caught a mysterious fire and collapsed due to heavy rainfall but luckily the technical team made blueprints of Pratappur before it collapsed. It took seven months for around 50 craftsmen and labourers to restore the Pratappur temple working continuously. The total cost of restoring the temple was Nepali rupees Rs. 4.19 million.
Pratappur temple suffered from lightning
On 14 February, at around 5 a.m. it suffered damage from a lightning strike during a sudden thunderstorm. There were cracks in the temple’s east side and the stairway to the south side entrance to the temple was heavily damaged.
Pratappur temple was affected by the earthquake of 2015 in Nepal
There were cracks in Pratappur temple in the earthquake of 2015. It was demolished to avoid the risk to the devotees, tourists visiting the site and later it was restored for the third time.