Courtyard were and are still homes to a significant number of people. In Patan, there is an area that had three consecutive courtyard complexes, connected by a tunnel such as this one. A little doorway to a tiny tunnel, into the next spacious ground – no bigger than necessary, and still just as faithfully effective today.
This doorway is under a three-story sagging brick building. It could easily have been missed in a shadowy corner. Looking through, it’s like a secret garden. Walking through, there is an impressively open communal space complete with temples and stupas and wells fed by a complex underground sewage system. It is all contained by intimate homes making up the three to four story enclosure.