Nepal
Kathmandu
Three medieval royal cities, the Himalaya's front door and one of the world's great stupas, all inside one smoggy, spellbinding valley.
Kathmandu is a dense, dust-and-incense valley capital where medieval Newar cities sit inside a modern sprawl of motorbikes and concrete. Three royal Durbar Squares - Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur - hold pagoda temples and carved courtyards within an hour of each other, and the great white dome of Boudhanath anchors a Tibetan quarter that circles it every evening. It is also the staging post for the Himalaya: trekking permits, gear shops and mountain flights all start here. Loud, worn and endlessly interesting, it rewards anyone willing to walk its lanes.
Suggested stay
3–5 days
Language
Nepali
Currency
NPR
Timezone
UTC+5:45
Why you'll love Kathmandu
The Durbar Squares Three royal plazas of tiered pagodas, brick palaces and carved struts, each the heart of a separate medieval kingdom, all within an hour of the others.
Boudha at dusk Butter lamps, monks and pilgrims turning the great stupa clockwise while prayer flags snap overhead - the most atmospheric hour in the valley.
Trek staging Every Himalayan route starts here, with permits, porters, secondhand down jackets and dawn flights to the mountain strips giving the city a restless, purposeful energy.
Food Momos on every corner, Newari feasts of grilled buffalo and beaten rice, and Thamel's long habit of feeding trekkers everything they have been missing.
Best time to visit
Feb-Apr, Oct-Nov
Mild & dry · 22-29° days
27.641° N, 85.364° E
UTC+5:45 · Asia/Kathmandu
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Weather & when to go to Kathmandu
Month by month: typical highs and lows, rainfall and rain days.
✓ Best Feb-Apr, Oct-Nov
Conditions Jan Cold nights · Feb Mild & dry · Mar Spring blooms · Apr Warm spring · May Hot & hazy · Jun Monsoon starts · Jul Monsoon peak · Aug Monsoon · Sep Rains easing · Oct Golden month · Nov Clear & crisp · Dec Cold & clear
Watch for Dec-Feb smog risk · Mar-Apr haze risk · Jul-Aug monsoon flooding risk
Cards tinted by verified verdict · big number = typical daily high, small = low · hover for conditions
When to avoid Kathmandu
June to August is the monsoon: heavy afternoon rain, mud, leeches on the hill trails and mountains hidden behind cloud for days. The valley also traps its own air - winter mornings sit under a smoggy inversion, and pre-monsoon field burning hazes the spring skies - so the crispest Himalayan views come in late autumn.
Top things to do in Kathmandu
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Kathmandu Durbar Square - Hanuman Dhoka and the Kumari's house
history culture arts 👍 PopularThe old royal square in front of the palace, crowded with tiered pagodas, the huge Kal Bhairav relief and the rebuilt Kasthamandap, the wooden pavilion that gave the city its name. The Kumari Ghar houses the living goddess, a young girl who appears briefly at a carved window. Rebuilding after 2015 is still visible.
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Boudhanath - the evening kora around the great stupa
culture arts history 👍 PopularOne of the largest stupas anywhere, painted eyes on all four sides, ringed by monasteries and rooftop cafes. At dusk the whole Tibetan quarter walks clockwise around it, spinning the prayer wheels, and the crowd hums with muttered mantra. The dome cracked in the 2015 earthquake and was rebuilt by the community.
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Swayambhunath - the Monkey Temple steps and the valley view
culture arts scenic 👍 PopularA hilltop stupa reached by a long stone stairway through the trees, with rhesus macaques on the railings the whole way up. The top is a working shrine shared by Buddhists and Hindus, thick with juniper smoke and pigeons, and it holds the clearest view over the whole valley.
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Pashupatinath - the cremation ghats on the Bagmati
culture arts historyNepal's holiest Hindu temple, closed to non-Hindus inside but open all around it: cremations burn on the riverside ghats in full view from the terraces opposite, with sadhus, monkeys and pilgrim families among the shrines. Confronting, and treated here as ordinary life. Photograph with care, or not at all.
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Patan Durbar Square - the Patan Museum and the Golden Temple
history culture arts ⭐ Highly recommendedThe most complete of the three royal squares, and the museum inside its old palace is the best in the country, explaining Newar bronze-casting and iconography in rooms around a courtyard. A few lanes away, the Golden Temple's gilded facade and resident tortoises are worth the detour.
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Asan and Indra Chowk - the old bazaar lanes
shopping culture artsThe working heart of the old city: a six-way junction where spice, brass, cloth and marigold sellers spill into lanes barely wide enough for a motorbike. Best in the early morning, when the produce carts arrive and the little shrines get their first offerings.
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Everest mountain flight - the Himalaya at eye level
scenic adventure ⭐ Highly recommendedAn hour-long dawn flight east along the range and back, with a window seat for every passenger and a turn at the cockpit doorway. Weather cancels it often, so book it early in your stay and keep a spare morning in reserve.
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Thamel - gear shops, bookshops and the trekking machine
shopping nightlife musicWhere every trek begins: agencies, permit help, secondhand down jackets and convincing copies of every outdoor brand, plus bakeries, bars and a few long-running bookshops. Loud, touty and unavoidable, and genuinely useful for the two days before you leave.
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Garden of Dreams - a walled garden beside Thamel
culture arts wellnessA Rana general's neoclassical pleasure garden, restored into pavilions, ponds and lawns behind a high wall. It is the one spot in central Kathmandu where the traffic noise drops away, and half of Thamel comes here to sit and read.
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Kopan Monastery - the hill above Boudha
wellness culture artsA Tibetan Buddhist monastery on a ridge north of Boudhanath, known since the 1970s for its long residential meditation courses. Day visitors can walk the gardens, look down over the valley and sit quietly at the back of the prayer hall while young monks debate.
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Newari kitchens - momos, choila and samay baji
foodThe valley's own cooking, distinct from the dal bhat served everywhere else: bara lentil pancakes, choila of grilled spiced buffalo, beaten rice, and samay baji platters washed down with tongba millet beer. Best hunted in Patan and the old town's courtyard restaurants.
Best areas to stay in Kathmandu
$ Budget $$ Mid-range $$$ Premium
Thamel
Trekkers & first-timers $Loud backpacker warren of gear shops
Explore hotels in Thamel →
Durbar Marg and Lazimpat
Comfort & quiet $$$Broad boulevards, embassies, older grand hotels
Explore hotels in Durbar Marg and Lazimpat →
Patan (Jhamsikhel and Pulchowk)
Food & repeat visits $$Newar old town with a cafe belt
Explore hotels in Patan (Jhamsikhel and Pulchowk) →
Boudha
Monasteries & calm $$Tibetan quarter circling the great stupa
Explore hotels in Boudha →
Live nightly prices from Booking.com, Agoda and others, centred on Kathmandu
Getting to & around Kathmandu
Getting there
Fly into Tribhuvan (KTM), then 30-45 minutes by taxi into Thamel.
Flight
Tribhuvan International Airport (KTM)
Only about 6 km east of Thamel, but the road is slow: allow 30-45 minutes by taxi, longer in the afternoon crush. Prepaid taxi counters sit in the arrivals hall and most hotels will send a car. There is no train or airport bus.
Coach
Kantipath and Sorhakhutte
Tourist coaches from Pokhara and Chitwan run 6-8 hours on the Prithvi Highway; local long-distance buses use Gongabu bus park instead.
Flight
Domestic terminal, Tribhuvan
Domestic flights from Pokhara, Bharatpur, Biratnagar and the mountain strips land beside the international terminal.
Drive
Roads climb in from Pokhara and from the Indian border crossings. Slow, winding, and prone to landslide closures in the monsoon.
Getting around
Taxi
Everywhere, and metered in theory only - agree the fare before you get in.
TBC
Ride-hailing apps
Pathao and inDrive run cars and motorbike pillion rides, with the fare settled in the app.
TBC
Walking
The old city is best on foot; expect dust, no footpaths and constant motorbikes.
Free
Microbuses and tempos
Cheap, crowded and cryptic - routes are shouted from the door rather than signed.
TBC
Cycle rickshaw
Useful only in the bazaar lanes around Asan, and always negotiated first.
TBC
Day trips from Kathmandu
Bhaktapur
Full dayMedieval Newar city
The best-preserved of the three royal cities and largely car-free: brick lanes, the five-tiered Nyatapola temple, potters drying rows of clay in the sun, and the thick king curd it is known for. Worth staying a night to have it after the day crowds go.
Getting there
car | bus | tour
About 45-60 min by taxi or local bus, 13 km east
Nagarkot
1-2 daysHimalayan sunrise ridge
A ridge village on the valley rim that people visit for one thing: the dawn line of Himalayan peaks above the mist. Stay overnight to be there for it, then walk the ridge trail down towards Changu Narayan or Dhulikhel.
Getting there
car | bus | tour
About 1.5-2 hr by taxi or local bus, 30 km east
Dhulikhel and Namobuddha
Full dayRim town and hilltop monastery
A Newar hill town with an old core and a long mountain panorama, then an hour on foot or a short drive to Namobuddha, one of the holiest Buddhist sites in the country, where a large monastery sits along the ridge.
Getting there
car | bus
About 1.5 hr by car or bus on the Arniko Highway
Chandragiri Hills
Half dayCable car to the rim
A gondola lifts you off the valley floor to a ridge above 2,500 m with a temple, a viewing deck and, on a clear morning, the Himalaya spread across the northern horizon. The easiest big view within reach of the city.
Getting there
car | tour
About 1 hr by taxi to the base, then the cable car up
Shivapuri Nagarjun National Park
Full dayForest ridge hikes
The forested rim directly north of the city. Trails climb from Budhanilkantha past Nagi Gompa to the Shivapuri summit through oak and rhododendron, with langurs and good birding. The classic overnight carries on down to Chisapani.
Getting there
car | walk
About 45 min by taxi to Budhanilkantha, then on foot
A little history of Kathmandu
The Kathmandu Valley has been a bowl of rice fields and cities on the trade road between India and Tibet for well over two thousand years. Its Licchavi rulers left the oldest stone sculpture and inscriptions; the Malla kings who followed made temple-building an act of statecraft. When the valley split into three rival kingdoms in the fifteenth century, Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur competed by out-building each other, which is why one small valley holds three royal squares of pagodas, palaces and courtyards rather than one.
Prithvi Narayan Shah of Gorkha took the valley in 1769 and made Kathmandu the capital of a unified Nepal. A palace coup in 1846 handed real power to the Rana family, who sealed the country off for a century and built themselves white neoclassical palaces. Nepal opened to outsiders in the 1950s, and the city became first a hippie-trail terminus and then the world's trekking depot. A Maoist insurgency, the killing of the royal family in 2001 and the end of the monarchy reshaped it again, and the 2015 earthquake brought down monuments that are still being pieced back together.
Licchavi rulers leave the valley's earliest inscriptions and stone sculpture
The Malla dynasty takes the valley and begins its great temple-building era
After Yaksha Malla the valley splits into rival kingdoms of Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur
Prithvi Narayan Shah of Gorkha conquers the valley and unifies Nepal
The Kot massacre brings the Ranas to power and a century of isolation
Rana rule ends and Nepal opens to foreign visitors
Ten members of the royal family are killed at Narayanhiti Palace
The monarchy is abolished and Nepal becomes a republic
A magnitude 7.8 earthquake kills thousands and topples valley monuments
Know before you go
Payment
Cash preferred
English
Widely spoken
Wifi
Workable
Power
Type C / D / M
230 V, 50 Hz
Dialing
+977
Smog risk in this window; check current conditions before you go.
Haze risk in this window; check current conditions before you go.
Monsoon flooding risk in this window; check current conditions before you go.
The months our climate read flags to avoid: the wettest, lowest-rated weather of the year.
Mobile network & SIM card
Get an eSIM before you fly
A Nepal eSIM installs in minutes and works the moment you switch off flight mode. No SIM swap, no roaming bill.
FAQs about Kathmandu
▸ When is the best time to visit Kathmandu?
October and November are the prize: dry, clear and crisp, with the Himalaya visible from the valley rim. February to April is the other good window, warmer and greener, though spring skies haze over. June to August is the monsoon, wet and grey. December and January stay dry but cold at night, with smoggy mornings.
▸ How many days do you need in Kathmandu?
Three days covers Kathmandu Durbar Square, Swayambhunath, Boudhanath and Patan without rushing. Five lets you add Bhaktapur, a rim viewpoint and a slow morning in the bazaar lanes, and gives you a buffer if a mountain flight or a trek departure gets weathered out.
▸ Can you see Everest from Kathmandu?
Not from the city itself. On clear autumn and winter mornings you can see Himalayan peaks from the rim at Nagarkot, Chandragiri or Dhulikhel, but Everest is hundreds of kilometres off and a faint notch at best. The reliable way to see it is the dawn mountain flight.
▸ Do you need trekking permits, and where do you get them?
Yes. National park or conservation-area permits and TIMS cards are issued in Kathmandu, and any trekking agency will handle them for you. Bring spare passport photos. Rules on trekking without a guide have tightened in recent years, and restricted areas always need an agency-arranged permit, so check the current requirement.
▸ Is Kathmandu safe for travellers?
Broadly yes, and violent crime against visitors is rare. The real risks are traffic, dust and pickpockets in crowded bazaars, and political strikes can close roads at short notice. Solo women generally report few problems but tend to dress conservatively. Do not drink the tap water.
▸ Do you need a visa for Nepal?
Most nationalities are issued a tourist visa on arrival at Tribhuvan: fill in the kiosk form, queue to pay in cash, then queue again at immigration. Applying online beforehand shortens the first queue. A few nationalities must apply in advance, so check before you fly.
▸ Is Kathmandu expensive?
It is one of the cheaper capitals in Asia: guesthouses, local eating and buses cost very little. Where the money actually goes is the trekking - permits, guides, porters and above all the flights into the mountains, which are priced for foreigners.
▸ What should you eat in Kathmandu?
Momos, in every register from street steamer to restaurant plate. Dal bhat is the staple, refilled until you stop. Newari cooking is the valley's own contribution: bara, choila, beaten rice and tongba millet beer. Thamel also does a very decent post-trek burger, which is its own institution.
More in Nepal
Everest Base Camp (Namche Bazaar)
A fortnight on foot to the foot of Everest - no roads, no wheels, and a dawn on Kala Patthar that shows the whole mountain.
✓ best Mar-May, Oct-NovPokhara
Nepal's lakeside base camp - rowboats on Phewa, an eight-thousander skyline over the roofs, and the Annapurna trails starting an hour up the road.
✓ best Oct-Apr