Nepal earthquake: The pictures taken by you then and now

Basantapur Palace, 26 April 2015

One year after a massive earthquake hit Kathmandu and its surrounding areas, we return to some of those we spoke to at the time.

Thousands of people were killed and many of the country's historic sites were destroyed in the 7.8-magnitude earthquake and a number of aftershocks.

At the time, many people affected by the quake got in touch with the BBC via social media, email and WhatsApp.

Kashish Das Shrestha

Kashish says his main memory of the immediate aftermath of the quake was the sense of trauma on the street. It seemed people were not able to process what was going on, he says.

He wanted to get the word out about what was happening and let his family and friends know he was alive, so he started tweeting.

He also took his camera with him and went to Kathmandu's old city.

"I'm a fourth generation photographer - my family have always extensively documented Kathmandu. I wanted to capture what had happened - I knew it was an historic moment," he says.

Here are a few photos Kashish took showing Durbar Square in Kathmandu's old city - before the quake, in the immediate aftermath and from 2016.

Unesco has described Durbar Square as the "social, religious and urban focal point" of the Nepalese capital.

Durbar Square, Kathmandu 2012

Durbar Square, Kathmandu the night of 25 April 2015

Durbar Square, Kathmandu 25 April 2015

Durbar Square, March 2016

Kashish says people have moved on since last year and have started to rebuild.

A great deal of Kathmandu's "tangible" heritage has been destroyed by the quake and is yet to be rebuilt. But, he says, Nepal's "intangible" heritage has survived.

"Major structures are missing - but people are returning to the sites of destroyed temples and rituals and cultural activities are taking place in those places again."

Nitish Raj

When the quake struck, Nitish emailed us saying that people were terrified and "unwilling to return at their homes" in case there was a large aftershock.

He says that same fear remains today.

Nepal still experiences tremors and people "panic" when they feel the earth move, with many leaving their buildings anticipating another major quake.

Maju Deval in Durbar Square, Kathmandu 2015

Maju Deval in Durbar Square 2016

Nitish sent us the photo above showing the destruction of the Maju Deval temple in Durbar Square in Kathmandu's old city - with only the steps remaining.

As you can see from the second photo taken this year, the site appears to have hardly changed.

He shared several other pictures with us, showing how the scars of the 2015 earthquake remain.

Below you can see scaffolding covering other historic buildings in Durbar Square.

Durbar Square, Kathmandu 2016

Durbar Square, Kathmandu 2016

Durbar Square, Kathmandu 2016

Durbar Square, Kathmandu 2016

Here is a photo Nitish took of what remains of the Dharahara tower along with an agency photo of how it appeared before the earthquake.

Dharahara tower before the quake and today

This landmark was built by Nepal's first prime minister in 1832. The site, also known as the Bhimsen Tower, was popular among tourists.

Prashant Khanal

Prashant was climbing the hills of Mudkhu to the west of Kathmandu when the earthquake began. He remembers seeing people coming the other way, telling him that the roads ahead had been destroyed.

He returned to Kathmandu three hours later, after several aftershocks.

He told us that many buildings in the area were reduced to rubble. The photos below, sent by Prashant, show destruction in the villages of Sitapaila and Ramkot.

Sitapaila, west of Kathmandu in 2015

Ramkot, west of Kathmandu in 2015

Sitapaila, west of Kathmandu in 2015

He returned to the area recently and says the remote areas still lie in ruins. He sent us some photos showing people still living in makeshift housing in an area to the west of Sitapaila.

Chatre Deurali, west of Kathmandu 2016

Chatre Deurali, west of Kathmandu 2016

Chatre Deurali, west of Kathamndu 2016