Itineraries for Your Trip to Kathmandu
3 Days in Kathmandu for First Timers
I’ve spent years of my life living in Kathmandu, but I was a first-timer once: I moved to the city after graduate school, having never been there before, to work with a local South Asian studies journal. What was initially a temporary stint turned into a lifelong love affair with Nepal, and Kathmandu in particular.
Kathmandu is not the serene mountain paradise that many would-be visitors assume it to be. It’s an over-populated, polluted, and challenging modern Asian metropolis. But it’s endlessly fascinating, with thousands of years of culture and history on display in every nook and cranny. First-time visitors are in for a treat as they get to experience it with fresh eyes.
The weather is usually perfect in October and November–clear, warm-but-not-hot, and dry.
If you only have time for one thing, make it Boudhanath Stupa.
The Kathmandu Valley is home to seven UNESCO World Heritage sites. Visit many of them on your first day. Start at the Kathmandu Durbar Square, then take a taxi to the Monkey Temple (Swayambhunath Stupa), a Buddhist stupa on a hill overlooking the city. The views are especially impressive when the Himalayas are visible.
After lunch, take a taxi to Pashupatinath, a Hindu Temple on the banks of the Bagmati River, where cremations are performed. Then walk or take another taxi to Boudhanath Stupa, an ancient Buddhist pilgrimage site best visited in the early evening, when devotees circumambulate clockwise.
Mid-morning, head to the Patan Durbar Square, a beautifully preserved royal complex with several exquisite temples and the excellent Patan Museum inside the old palace building. Take time to look around the museum, and don’t miss the Golden Temple, just around the corner from Durbar Square.
Today, check out the third of Kathmandu’s three ancient kingdoms, Bhaktapur. This historic city is known for its handmade pottery, which you can see drying in squares around the lovely Bhaktapur Durbar Square and impressive, multi-tiered Nayatapola Temple.
End with a fun cooking course, perhaps in a local’s home. Learn to make the national dish, lentil curry with rice (dal bhat) or the ubiquitous momos, a Tibetan-derived snack.
