Kathmandu (Before 2015 earthquake)
Note: After the 2015 earthquake most of the sights may have disappeared
Overview
The capital of Nepal is a big
city full of cars, people, pollution and dust, a lot of dust. However, it
is interesting enough and it has enough places to see to keep you busy for 3
or 4 days, not more. If you are short of time, the unavoidable sights must
be Durbar Square and Pasupatinath Temple, at least.
You are likely to be based in Thamel, the main backpacker hub and where you have most of the guesthouses, restaurants and shops, many shops. From there, you are within walking distance to Durbar Square and to Jamal and Ratna Park, the places where you take tuk-tuks or buses to the surrounding sights.
You are likely to be based in Thamel, the main backpacker hub and where you have most of the guesthouses, restaurants and shops, many shops. From there, you are within walking distance to Durbar Square and to Jamal and Ratna Park, the places where you take tuk-tuks or buses to the surrounding sights.
Sightseeing
-Durbar Square: The most famous sight of Kathmandu. Every important city in Nepal has its Durbar Square and the capital has the biggets one. It is a big square full of pagoda-style Hindu temples, a museum and palaces. Besides, it is really lively and full of people at all times, tourists and locals alike. Locals visit it to pray, basically. There are also quite a lot of shops in where to buy souvenirs and locals selling fruits and vegetables, too.
The square is subdivided into 3 squares: two of them full of temples (especially nice is the one where the Shiva Statue is) and another one (Basantapur) is the biggest one and from where you can go to Freak Street (it used to be the hippie place in the 70s and 80s but not anymore). In Basantapur you have toilets, too.
To enter Durbar Square foreigners have to pay an entrance fee of 750 rupees. This is a common thing in Nepal: to visit whatever you have to pay a lot as a foreigner, while Nepalis have it for free. However, you can always (yes, ALWAYS) skip the entrance fee and sneak in everywhere. I strongly encourage everyone to sneak in and avoid the entrance fees in Nepal. I can understand you have to pay to enter some places, but not public squares like Durbar, and still, even if they make you pay it is unacceptable to pay a Western price while Nepalis don’t pay anything. So, in Durbar, just walk around a few alleys and try to enter the square from the riverside, you will skip the entrance ticket booth and you’ll be free to wander around.
-Pashupatinath Temple: The most important Hindu Temple in Nepal. It is really a must and probably the best place to see in Kathmandu. If you happen to be in Kathmandu around mid February, then the experience is even better, as they celebrate the annual Hindu Festival and the place gets crowded with people and sadhus and there are a lot of celebrations.
The temple itself is a big complex full of small temples, shrines and monkeys, a lot of monkeys (however, they are not aggressive at all). You cannot enter neither the main temple nor the smaller ones unless you are Hindu, but the reason to visit Pashupatinath is not the architecture but the rituals that take place in there.
Same as Varanasi in India, Pashupatinath is a holy place for Hindus and they carry on the cremation ceremonies here. If you have never seen it before, it is an unforgettable experience. There are a few ghats (stairs leading to the river) where people bring the dead relative and do all the ceremony: they bring the corpse down to the river to clean it, they put flowers on it, mourn, and then bring it to another ghat where they start burning it. It is a really impressive ceremony to see, but be aware that you will fully see the corpse and the cremation process, as well as the sadness of the whole family.
The entrance fee to Pashupatinath is 1000 rupees, but you can sneak in by walking around the mountain to the left of the main entrance and entering the complex through the forest.
To get to Pashupatinath, go to Jamal or Ratna Park and take a minivan or tuk-tuk going there (just ask the driver) for 20 rupees.
-Swayambhunath (Monkey Temple): A Buddhist and Hindu temple. Yes, quite weird, but this temple is sacred for both religions. It is set in a hilltop 20 minutes walk from Thamel and from where you get really nice views of all Kathmandu. To get there you have to climb some hundreds of steps and once on the top the place is filled with Hindu and Buddhist Temples, being the most impressive construction the white stupa with the Buddha eyes.
There are too many shops that quite spoil the place, but more than for the temple itself, it is a reccomendable visit for the views it offers of the city. Even if called Monkey Temple, you are not likely to find a lot of apes, you will see some, not aggressive ones, so don’t worry about that. Actually, there are many more monkeys in Pashupatinath Temple than in Swayambhunath.
There is a Kora surrounding the hill full of prayer wheels, although almost nobody follows it. If you want to skip the entrance fee (only 200 rupees this time), follow the kora to your left from the main entrance until you reach some steps to the right. Climb them up and you’ll be inside the complex without paying.
-Thamel: The main tourist area in Kathmandu. It is a neighbourhood some 10 or 15 minutes walk from Durbar Square full of souvenir shops, trekking shops, restaurants (most of them Western ones), bars, cafés and hotels. The location is quite good in terms of visiting all the important sights of Kathmandu. As well, it is the perfect place to buy all kinds of stuff (faked) if you’re planning to go trekking and to have some Western food if you are tired of Mo:mo and Dal Bhat or if you have been on the road for several months.
Other than that, it is just a neighbourhood for tourists, with people trying to sell you all kinds of stuff at all times (drugs, tiger balsam, music instruments, tours, etc), which is quite annoying.
In terms of sights, if you look carefully among all the shops, people and restaurants, you can still find some Hindu Temples (really small ones), a really nice square with a big white stupa in the middle and a Tibetan Temple) and a square with two pagoda-style temples and a small stupa which are worth a look.
-Walking Tours: If you have the Lonely Planet, there are two walking tours described: one north of Durbar Square and one South. Rather than follow the tours, just adapt them to yourself, don’t follow them exactly because what you will see id not that unmissable. If you don’t have the Lonely Planet, just walk south of Thamel towards Durbar Square and take any alley you fancy, get lost and you will discover the real Kathmandu: food shops, sarees shops, local people shopping, small squares and temples (Hindu Temples are quite nice from the outside but really tiny from the inside, unlike Buddhist ones, and they all look similar), etc.
If you get really lost, just ask for Basantapur, Thamel, Durbar or wherever you want to go, most Nepalis speak English and they will help you reach your destination.
Accomodation
We stayed in several places in Kathmandu, all of them in Thamel and all of them quite similar, both in terms of price, facilities and wifi. The average price for a double room should be around 1000 rupees for a decent place. This means with breakfast included, with hot water and with solar panels to fight the loadshedding. Loadshedding is the power cuts whole Nepal suffers. The government is so stupid that they sell their electricity to India, so in Nepal, they have power cuts of up to 11 hours per day in some months. Crazy. Some hotels have generators, others solar panels that at least let you have one light even if there’s no electricity at all.
In terms of wifi Internet, Nepal has probably one of the worst connections in the world. Slow, just working sometimes… so no matter where you stay don’t expect to have a normal wifi connection.
-Avalon House: probably the best place we stayed in in Kathmandu. Just a street away from Thamel, 1100 rupees per night, hot water, really helpful staff, rooftop and breakfast included. The only downside is the Internet connection, just working sometimes or not working at all, a usual thing everywhere in Nepal.
Highly recommended.
-Potala Tourist Home: The worst place we stayed in in Kathmandu. Set in an alley in Thamel next to the Garden of Dreams A bit cheaper than Avalon but with worse wifi connection, no hot water (even if they say they have), shitty room and staff charging you a way lot more for any trip you want (say, for example a taxi ride). Besides, even if breakfast is included, the waiter they have is totally useless and he is unable of getting an order right.
Avoid this place.
-Yumbu Hotel: The most expensive place but the most Western standard, too. Set really close to Avalon House. Nice room, hot water, wifi working quite ok, breakfast included and nice staff, even if sometimes too nice. Too nice means one of the managers sitting with you to have breakfast and asking you about anything. A bit annoying. 2000 rupees per room.
Recomendable if you want to have something better than the Thamel standard, but not really worth the price.
-Zen Bed and Breakfast: A reccomendable place, but not really special. Set in a quiet alley in Thamel. Breakfast included, rooftop, Internet working from time to time, helpful staff and a really big room. The Thamel standard at 1400 rupees, so a bit expensive. Better options around.
-Stupa Guesthouse: 1000 rupees per night in a really spacious room but with a hard rock bed. The owner is really helpful and nice. Internet works sometimes, there’s hot water in a common bathroom, but no rooftop and no breakfast included. The location, though, is unbeatable: right next to a beautiful square (stupa square), 5 minutes walk to Durbar Square and 5 minutes walk to Jamal, Ratna Park and where the long-distance buses depart to the rest of Nepal.
Reccomendable.
In terms of wifi Internet, Nepal has probably one of the worst connections in the world. Slow, just working sometimes… so no matter where you stay don’t expect to have a normal wifi connection.
-Avalon House: probably the best place we stayed in in Kathmandu. Just a street away from Thamel, 1100 rupees per night, hot water, really helpful staff, rooftop and breakfast included. The only downside is the Internet connection, just working sometimes or not working at all, a usual thing everywhere in Nepal.
Highly recommended.
-Potala Tourist Home: The worst place we stayed in in Kathmandu. Set in an alley in Thamel next to the Garden of Dreams A bit cheaper than Avalon but with worse wifi connection, no hot water (even if they say they have), shitty room and staff charging you a way lot more for any trip you want (say, for example a taxi ride). Besides, even if breakfast is included, the waiter they have is totally useless and he is unable of getting an order right.
Avoid this place.
-Yumbu Hotel: The most expensive place but the most Western standard, too. Set really close to Avalon House. Nice room, hot water, wifi working quite ok, breakfast included and nice staff, even if sometimes too nice. Too nice means one of the managers sitting with you to have breakfast and asking you about anything. A bit annoying. 2000 rupees per room.
Recomendable if you want to have something better than the Thamel standard, but not really worth the price.
-Zen Bed and Breakfast: A reccomendable place, but not really special. Set in a quiet alley in Thamel. Breakfast included, rooftop, Internet working from time to time, helpful staff and a really big room. The Thamel standard at 1400 rupees, so a bit expensive. Better options around.
-Stupa Guesthouse: 1000 rupees per night in a really spacious room but with a hard rock bed. The owner is really helpful and nice. Internet works sometimes, there’s hot water in a common bathroom, but no rooftop and no breakfast included. The location, though, is unbeatable: right next to a beautiful square (stupa square), 5 minutes walk to Durbar Square and 5 minutes walk to Jamal, Ratna Park and where the long-distance buses depart to the rest of Nepal.
Reccomendable.
Food & Drink
You have millions of options to eat and drink in Kathmandu, especially in Thamel. Whether you want Nepali, Indian, Japanese, Italian, Western… you can find almost any type of food here, although expect Western prices for Western fancy places.
Most of Nepali restaurants have the same menu: nepali dishes like mo:mo or dal bhat, Indian ones with curry dishes, paneers etc. and Western ones with pizzas and burgers, among others. Take into consideration that most of the restaurants charge a 10% service charge and some even a 13% VAT tax. Avoid the last ones if you don’t want a surprise in your final bill.
For both Indian and Western good and cheap food a reccomendable place is McDonald Restaurant, in one of Thamel’s main streets, just crossing the street from Avalon House.
A similar place is Mo:mo Star, off an alley down the same street.
If you want a real Indian restaurant, go for a Tandoori restaurant, you will distinguish them by the tandoori oven outside the restaurant. They are really cheap and good.
For a really good pasta for 300 rupees and no service charge and no VAT, go to Moon Café.
A nice and cheap place to eat is a tiny small restaurant in the stupa square (next to Stupa Guesthouse). They have a terrace from where you have really nice views and they serve both Nepali and Western food.
Besides that, you will see plenty of other places all over Kathmandu, the further you go from Thamel, the cheaper, but all of them offering pretty much the same menu.
Expect to pay around 300-400 rupees per person for a complete meal with a main dish and a drink, although you can eat in some places for as little as 100 rupees per person.
If you are the typical one in search for major food chains, you have a KFC and a Pizza Hut outside Thamel, on the main commercial street, but they are overpriced and they charge 10% plus 13%, so better avoid them.
As to drinks, besides Coke, Fanta and Sprite (around 50 rupees) a really must to try is Lassi. It is like a yoghurt drink which can be plain, sweet, salty or flavoured (chocolate, mango, banana…) You can find them in almost every restaurant for around 80 rupees, but the best one I have tried is in one small place going down to Durbar Square from the stupa square. It is on the left hand side of the street before reaching the crossing. Small lassi: 35 rupees. Big one: 60. They are the best ever! Don’t miss that place!
For beer or alcohol lovers, Nepal is a complete disappointment. The alcohol taxes are really high and expect to pay the same or even more for a beer than what you pay back home. A half liter bottle is around 350-400 rupees, or even more depending on the place. Some places offer happy hours all day long with beers at 250 rupees. You can find Nepali beers like Everest, Gorkha or Nepal Ice. About European ones, only Tuborg and Carlsberg (Danish but brewed in Nepal, so it means worse taste) and San Miguel (also brewed in Nepal).
In a supermarket, the cheapest I could find a beer was 180 rupees for a Nepali one.
Most of Nepali restaurants have the same menu: nepali dishes like mo:mo or dal bhat, Indian ones with curry dishes, paneers etc. and Western ones with pizzas and burgers, among others. Take into consideration that most of the restaurants charge a 10% service charge and some even a 13% VAT tax. Avoid the last ones if you don’t want a surprise in your final bill.
For both Indian and Western good and cheap food a reccomendable place is McDonald Restaurant, in one of Thamel’s main streets, just crossing the street from Avalon House.
A similar place is Mo:mo Star, off an alley down the same street.
If you want a real Indian restaurant, go for a Tandoori restaurant, you will distinguish them by the tandoori oven outside the restaurant. They are really cheap and good.
For a really good pasta for 300 rupees and no service charge and no VAT, go to Moon Café.
A nice and cheap place to eat is a tiny small restaurant in the stupa square (next to Stupa Guesthouse). They have a terrace from where you have really nice views and they serve both Nepali and Western food.
Besides that, you will see plenty of other places all over Kathmandu, the further you go from Thamel, the cheaper, but all of them offering pretty much the same menu.
Expect to pay around 300-400 rupees per person for a complete meal with a main dish and a drink, although you can eat in some places for as little as 100 rupees per person.
If you are the typical one in search for major food chains, you have a KFC and a Pizza Hut outside Thamel, on the main commercial street, but they are overpriced and they charge 10% plus 13%, so better avoid them.
As to drinks, besides Coke, Fanta and Sprite (around 50 rupees) a really must to try is Lassi. It is like a yoghurt drink which can be plain, sweet, salty or flavoured (chocolate, mango, banana…) You can find them in almost every restaurant for around 80 rupees, but the best one I have tried is in one small place going down to Durbar Square from the stupa square. It is on the left hand side of the street before reaching the crossing. Small lassi: 35 rupees. Big one: 60. They are the best ever! Don’t miss that place!
For beer or alcohol lovers, Nepal is a complete disappointment. The alcohol taxes are really high and expect to pay the same or even more for a beer than what you pay back home. A half liter bottle is around 350-400 rupees, or even more depending on the place. Some places offer happy hours all day long with beers at 250 rupees. You can find Nepali beers like Everest, Gorkha or Nepal Ice. About European ones, only Tuborg and Carlsberg (Danish but brewed in Nepal, so it means worse taste) and San Miguel (also brewed in Nepal).
In a supermarket, the cheapest I could find a beer was 180 rupees for a Nepali one.
Transportation
The only way to move around Nepal is by bus, as they don’t have railway network. This is a pain in the ass as Nepali roads are terrible and you can spend as much as 7 hours to complete 120 km. But there’s nothing you can do about that. Try always to ride on Tourist buses, which are more comfortable and spacious than Local buses and make less stops.
-Kodari (Tibetan Border) - Kathmandu: 6 hours to Kathmandu by local bus. 350 rupees. It has been by far the worst trip in Nepal. Hundreds of stops, crowded, hot, with no space for legs… a complete disaster. You take the bus in the small station down the road in Kodari and it drops you in Ratna Park.
-Kathmandu - Chitwan: 6 hours by Tourist bus including stops for breakfast and lunch. The bus departs at 7 in the morning from right next to Avalon House. We booked the ticket for 400 rupees in Avalon House. It drops you at Sauraha bus station, from where your guesthouse in Chitwan can pick you up. Otherwise, is some 20 minutes walking to the guesthouses area.
-Chitwan – Kathmandu: 7 hours in Tourist bus from Sauraha bus station. It departs at around 8 in the morning. You’ll be taken there by your guesthouse in Chitwan. 500 rupees though you can get it cheaper.
-Kathmandu – Pokhara: 6 or 7 hours for 600 rupees if you book it straight from the bus office in Kantipath. The bus departs at 7 in the morning from Kantipath street. Stops on the way for breakfast, lunch and toilet. The bus drops you at the tourist bus park in Pokhara, 15-20 minutes walk from the Lakeside. The road, as all in Nepal, is terrible, but in a clear day you can have beautiful views of Manaslu and Annapurna.
-Pokhara – Kathmandu: 7 hours minimum. Bus at 7 in the morning from the tourist bus station. 700 rupees booking the ticket from your guesthouse, though you can buy it at the bus station. In Kathmandu, the bus drops you near Thamel. Several stops on the way.
To get around to Pashupatinath Temple and to the cities of the Kathmandu valley (Bouddha, Patan), just go to Jamal or Ratna Park and ask the tuk-tuk or minivan drivers, you’ll pay 15 or 20 rupees for the trip.
For Bhaktapur, jump on a bus early morning in Ratna Park, pay 40 rupees and in 40 minutes you’ll be there.
All the sights in Kathmandu can be explored on foot from Thamel.
-Kodari (Tibetan Border) - Kathmandu: 6 hours to Kathmandu by local bus. 350 rupees. It has been by far the worst trip in Nepal. Hundreds of stops, crowded, hot, with no space for legs… a complete disaster. You take the bus in the small station down the road in Kodari and it drops you in Ratna Park.
-Kathmandu - Chitwan: 6 hours by Tourist bus including stops for breakfast and lunch. The bus departs at 7 in the morning from right next to Avalon House. We booked the ticket for 400 rupees in Avalon House. It drops you at Sauraha bus station, from where your guesthouse in Chitwan can pick you up. Otherwise, is some 20 minutes walking to the guesthouses area.
-Chitwan – Kathmandu: 7 hours in Tourist bus from Sauraha bus station. It departs at around 8 in the morning. You’ll be taken there by your guesthouse in Chitwan. 500 rupees though you can get it cheaper.
-Kathmandu – Pokhara: 6 or 7 hours for 600 rupees if you book it straight from the bus office in Kantipath. The bus departs at 7 in the morning from Kantipath street. Stops on the way for breakfast, lunch and toilet. The bus drops you at the tourist bus park in Pokhara, 15-20 minutes walk from the Lakeside. The road, as all in Nepal, is terrible, but in a clear day you can have beautiful views of Manaslu and Annapurna.
-Pokhara – Kathmandu: 7 hours minimum. Bus at 7 in the morning from the tourist bus station. 700 rupees booking the ticket from your guesthouse, though you can buy it at the bus station. In Kathmandu, the bus drops you near Thamel. Several stops on the way.
To get around to Pashupatinath Temple and to the cities of the Kathmandu valley (Bouddha, Patan), just go to Jamal or Ratna Park and ask the tuk-tuk or minivan drivers, you’ll pay 15 or 20 rupees for the trip.
For Bhaktapur, jump on a bus early morning in Ratna Park, pay 40 rupees and in 40 minutes you’ll be there.
All the sights in Kathmandu can be explored on foot from Thamel.
Safety
Kathmandu is a totally safe city in terms of crime. However it is a really polluted city and it’s full of dust. If you plan to stay for a long time, get yourself a facemask not to breathe dust all the time.
Another annoyance are the hundreds of stray dogs wandering around the city. Some of them can be aggressive, so try to stay away from them, you don't want to get bitten by one of these beasts for sure!
A lot of roads and streets are unpaved, traffic is heavy and potentially dangerous to cross the street. The whole city is noisy and you will get stressed for sure. Besides, street vendors will try to sell you everything from drugs to tiger balsam to music instruments and so on. Just take it easy!
Another annoyance are the hundreds of stray dogs wandering around the city. Some of them can be aggressive, so try to stay away from them, you don't want to get bitten by one of these beasts for sure!
A lot of roads and streets are unpaved, traffic is heavy and potentially dangerous to cross the street. The whole city is noisy and you will get stressed for sure. Besides, street vendors will try to sell you everything from drugs to tiger balsam to music instruments and so on. Just take it easy!
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