Itineraries for Your Trip to Kathmandu
3 Days in Kathmandu for Foodies
Years ago, before I ever lived in Kathmandu, some Australian friends who had traveled through Nepal told me that Nepali food is just like Indian food. Well, I don’t know where they ate (Indian restaurants?), but the similarities between the two cuisines are only surface-level. Yes, a lot of Nepali cuisine is based around curries and rice, but typical Nepali curries are very different from typical Indian curries. The vegetables used often are different, and Nepali cuisine features a lot more meat, as few Nepalis are fully vegetarian.
Nepal’s plains, hills, and mountain regions all feature regional culinary variations, which food-oriented travelers may be excited to explore. Here’s how to spend three days in Kathmandu focused on experiencing the city’s food.
Kathmandu is hot, humid, and often flooded between May and September, so avoid these months if possible.
If you only have time for one thing, make it dinner at a high-end Nepali restaurant.
Kick off your three days in Kathmandu with a food-focused walking tour of the central city area, around the Kathmandu Durbar Square. See the city sights—such as hidden temples and stupas—while sampling a range of street foods. The narrow lanes can be hard to navigate independently, so join a guided tour to find the best places to eat.
Relax in the afternoon with good-value cocktails at a bar around Thamel, before catching a taxi to the five-star Dwarika’s Hotel. There, the upmarket Krishnarpan Restaurant serves high-end, multicourse meals featuring dishes from around Nepal.
Learn to cook some of the dishes you’ve tasted during a cooking class, perhaps in a local home. Try making the popular lentil curry with rice (dal bhat) or Tibetan-style dumplings (momos).
In the afternoon, take a taxi out to Bhaktapur, in the east Kathmandu Valley. This ancient city is renowned for its king curd (juju dhau). The thick, creamy curd is made in handcrafted clay pots, and you can eat it straight from the pot as you walk around the city. You also can see where Bhaktapur’s famous pottery is made and laid out to dry in the sun.
This morning, visit Boudha, where Kathmandu’s Tibetan refugee population lives. At the center of the neighborhood is Boudhanath Stupa, an enormous Buddhist stupa that has been a pilgrimage site for centuries. Boudha is an ideal place to sample Tibetan food, from momos and noodle soup (thukpa) to rich, warming Tibetan butter tea.
On your last evening in Kathmandu, enjoy a cultural show over dinner. Watch a Newari music and dance performance while sampling Newari food. This ethnic group indigenous to the Kathmandu Valley has a distinct cuisine that all visitors to Kathmandu should try.
