A Complete Guide to Exploring Kathmandu

Kathmandu can overwhelm on arrival — the traffic, the dust, the sheer density of it — but it repays patience like few cities in Asia. Here is a practical guide to making sense of the capital: where to base yourself, what not to miss, and how to pace a first visit.

Where to start

Most first-time visitors base themselves in Thamel, the tourist hub, dense with hotels, trekking shops, restaurants and agencies — convenient, if not exactly tranquil. For a quieter, more atmospheric base, consider Patan (Lalitpur) across the river, with its superb Durbar Square and artisan quarters, or Boudha, centred on the great stupa and its Tibetan community. All are a short taxi ride apart.

The essential sites

• Kathmandu Durbar Square — the old royal heart of the city, and home to the Kumari, the living goddess.
• Patan Durbar Square — for many the finest of the three, with an excellent museum.
• Bhaktapur Durbar Square — the best-preserved of the old cities, a short trip east, worth a full day.
• Swayambhunath (the “Monkey Temple”) — a hilltop stupa with panoramic valley views.
• Boudhanath — one of the largest stupas in the world and the centre of Tibetan Buddhist life in the valley.
• Pashupatinath — the sacred Hindu temple complex on the Bagmati, moving and confronting in equal measure.

Several sites charge a foreign-visitor entry fee, and the Durbar Squares have separate tickets. Carry cash for these.

How to pace it

Budget at least three full days for the valley’s highlights and resist the urge to cram. A workable rhythm: one day for Kathmandu Durbar Square and Swayambhunath; one for Patan; one for Bhaktapur; and Boudha and Pashupatinath (which sit near each other) folded into a spare afternoon. Mornings are best for the big religious sites, before the heat and crowds.

Day trips and getting out

When the city starts to wear on you, the valley rim is close: the hill viewpoints of Nagarkot for sunrise over the Himalaya, the temple town of Changu Narayan, or a short trek in the surrounding hills. And of course Kathmandu is the staging post for almost everything else in Nepal — the place you sort permits, buy gear and catch the flight or bus to the mountains. Give it a few days at the start, and it stops being an obstacle and becomes part of the trip.