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Voykit pocket guide · Nepal

Kathmandu

काठमाडौँ

Kathmandu is a dawn-and-dusk city: do the temple squares and the stupa before 10:00, leave the afternoon for cafés and rest, and never plan a transfer on a strike day.

Kathmandu's sights are old, close together and crowded, and the streets between them are dusty, narrow and shared with motorbikes. The trips that go wrong drag suitcases through Thamel at night, walk at noon in the smoke haze, or book a flight out on the morning of a festival or strike. Four clusters cover a first visit: Thamel to sleep and eat, Durbar Square, Boudhanath and Patan. Bhaktapur and the valley rim are trips from one kept bed.

ThamelKathmandu Durbar SquareBoudhanathPatan Durbar SquareBoudhaThamel1 kmpins: sleep areas · dots: places
Sketch, not to navigate by: shapes follow this guide’s areas and places, not official boundaries. North is up.
Country
Nepal
Local name
काठमाडौँ
Best months
Jan · Feb · Mar · Oct · Nov · Dec
Time zone
Asia/Kathmandu
Stay
2 days: Durbar Square morning + Thamel evening

Checked 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change; anything marked (check) is not confirmed.

Essentials

Currency
NPR
Money
Keep NPR 3,000 in small notes; use ATMs inside banks, hotels or malls in daylight, not on dark lanes.
Daily spend
Budget NPR 2,000–4,000 excl. bed · Mid NPR 4,000–9,000 excl. bed · High NPR 9,000+ excl. bed (estimate; check)
SIM and data
Nepal Telecom (NTC) and Ncell sell tourist SIMs at Kathmandu airport and in town with passport and a photo.
Emergency
Police 100 · Tourist Police 1144 · Ambulance 102 · Fire 101 · CIWEC travel clinic (Kathmandu) +977 1 4524111
Plugs
Types C, D, M · 230 V · 50 Hz · Round-pin sockets; a universal adapter covers them. Treks charge for device charging.
Tipping
Trekking guide: About 10–15% of the guide's total fee, at the end.; Porter: US$5–10 a day, at the end, in person.; Restaurant: Round up if 10% service is added; 5–10% if not.; Driver day: Rs 500–1,000.; Hotel staff: Rs 100–200.
Water
Not drinkable from the tap. Use filtered refill stations (Rs 50–100 a litre) or purification tablets; buying plastic bottles on treks leaves rubbish in the mountains.
Toilets
Western toilets in hotels; squat toilets with a water jug elsewhere. Carry tissue; on treks toilets are outside and freeze in winter.

Get in

By air

Tribhuvan International Airport (KTM)
KTM to Thamel: a pre-booked hotel pickup or a prepaid airport taxi, 30–60 minutes for about 6 km; the delay is the visa desk and baggage hall, not the road.

Get around

Walk inside a cluster; taxi or ride-hailing between clusters (agree the fare or check the app price first).

Passes
No pass. Short taxi rides inside the valley are cheap; agree the fare before you get in.
Late at night
No rail: taxis and ride-hailing are thinner after dark and in heavy rain. Ask your hotel to book the late ride.

See and do

  1. 01Boudhanath Stupaबौद्ध स्तूप

    Go at dawn or after 16:00, when pilgrims walk the circuit; 60 minutes for one to two rounds and tea; midday is hot and shadeless.

  2. 02Kathmandu Durbar Squareकाठमाडौँ दरबार क्षेत्र

    Go at opening, before the tour groups; 75 minutes among old palace courtyards and temples, some still fenced after the 2015 earthquake.

Hours and prices are desk estimates (checked 2026-09); anything marked (check) is not confirmed. Coordinates open in any map app.

Eat

Fire and Ice Pizzeria
Sit-down pizza and pasta near Thamel; a reliable dinner after a dusty day, best before 19:00 or booked.

Sleep

Boudha
Quieter nights near the stupa and 15 minutes from the airport; pick this if you land late and want a short ride and a calmer morning.
Thamel
First-timers: cafés, gear shops and taxis are a short walk away, but pick a hotel with a night desk and a door the car can reach, not a guesthouse that locks the gate.

Language

Nepali is the national language and a lingua franca for more than 120 ethnic languages. English is widely spoken in Kathmandu, Pokhara and on trekking routes; Hindi is understood by many thanks to Indian TV.

  • Namaste with palms together works everywhere; add 'dai' (older brother) or 'didi' (older sister) for politeness.
  • Street addresses are vague; share a map pin or a nearby landmark.

Etiquette, safety and scams

Etiquette

  • Greeting: Namaste with palms together; a handshake between men in business; avoid: Hugging or kissing in public
  • Temples and stupas: Walk clockwise, spin prayer wheels clockwise, shoes off at shrines; avoid: Touching offerings; entering Hindu-only areas
  • Food: Right hand, accept refills gracefully; avoid: Sharing food you have bitten; stepping over food
  • Feet and heads: Keep feet flat and away from people and altars; avoid: Touching anyone's head
  • Photos: Ask first; offer to show the picture; avoid: Photographing cremations or rituals without permission
  • On the trail: Pass mani walls and chortens on the left (keeping them on your right); give way to yaks on the mountain side; avoid: Standing on the drop side when animals pass

Red lines

  • Inside Hindu and Buddhist shrines: remove shoes where marked and walk clockwise around stupas.
  • Leather items and shoes are refused at some temple entrances; ask at the gate.
  • Do not photograph people at prayer or cremation ghats without asking.

Scams (Nepal page)

  • Unlicensed trekking 'guides': Book through a registered agency (TAAN or NTB membership); ask for the guide's licence card.
  • Helicopter rescue fraud: Some operators push unnecessary evacuations billed to insurers; call your insurer before accepting a helicopter unless it is a clear emergency.
  • Milk-for-baby request: The milk powder is resold to the shop; give to a registered charity instead.
  • Fake sadhus and 'blessings': Photos with sadhus cost money; agree the amount or decline.
  • Gem and singing-bowl 'investments': Buy for yourself only; there is no resale profit abroad.
  • Orphanage tourism: Many 'orphans' have parents; visits fuel trafficking. Do not visit or volunteer.

One and two days

1 day

The first day of the timed plan.

Day 1 — Durbar Square morning, a 12:30 lunch table

  1. 07:30Kathmandu Durbar Square
  2. kumari ghar (optional)
  3. 12:30Lunch table 12:30 (Thamel)
  4. Hotel or a café 13:00–16:00; Thamel lanes at dusk if energy allows.

2 days

The first two days of the timed plan.

Day 1 — Durbar Square morning, a 12:30 lunch table

  1. 07:30Kathmandu Durbar Square
  2. kumari ghar (optional)
  3. 12:30Lunch table 12:30 (Thamel)
  4. Hotel or a café 13:00–16:00; Thamel lanes at dusk if energy allows.

Day 2 — Boudhanath at dawn, dinner in Thamel

  1. 06:30Boudhanath Stupa
  2. boudha kora (optional)
  3. Fire and Ice Pizzeria
  4. Evening: Thamel cafés and shops; carry a torch for dark lanes.

Sources

Written by Voykit; facts cross-checked against these sources, last desk check 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change: check on the day.

Pocket card

Cut along the border and keep it in your wallet. Show the local-script lines to a driver.

Kathmanduकाठमाडौँ

My hotel (write the name and address in the local script)

Take me to

  • बौद्ध स्तूपBoudhanath Stupa
  • काठमाडौँ दरबार क्षेत्रKathmandu Durbar Square

Voykit · checked 2026-09

Printed from Voykit (/kathmandu). Written by Voykit; checked 2026-09. Estimates only: confirm prices, hours and entry rules on the day.