Kathmandu travel guides – honest planning

Guides & tips

Plan your trip like a local

Honest answers to the questions travellers ask us most.

A red cable car cabin on its cable above a steep, forested ridge, with hazy valley land far below

Chandragiri cable car or a Shivapuri hike: two ways above the Kathmandu Valley

The Chandragiri Hills cable car with Swayambhunath against a Shivapuri National Park day hike: three tours compared, what the pages include, what costs extra and when the views are best.

Read the guide →

A one-horned rhinoceros walking down a dirt track, with an open jeep full of visitors behind it among trees

Chitwan safari from Kathmandu: 2, 3 or 4 days, and which package to book

Four Chitwan jungle safari packages from Kathmandu compared: how you travel, what the nights include, which option has a jungle tower, who the pages call unsuitable and the best months.

Read the guide →

Snow-covered Himalayan peaks and a glacier seen from the air, with cloud drifting between the ridges

Everest scenic flight from Kathmandu: duration, window seat and weather

How long the Everest mountain flight really takes, what the guaranteed window seat means, and what happens when cloud cancels the morning flight.

Read the guide →

Pagoda-style roofs and golden pinnacles of the Pashupatinath temple complex under a golden sunset sky

Can you see all seven UNESCO sites in Kathmandu in one day?

Yes, with a car and a guide, but it takes most of the day. Compare the seven-site and four-site tours by route, tickets, group type and who should skip them.

Read the guide →

A bright green tourist coach parked in a yard with a snow-capped peak rising behind the buildings

Kathmandu to Pokhara by tourist bus: four tickets compared and what the day looks like

Four Kathmandu to Pokhara tourist bus tickets compared: departure points, morning or night service, journey times on the pages, what is included and who the tickets are not suited to.

Read the guide →

A brass thali with a dome of white rice, three curries, greens, sliced cucumber and a bowl of curd on a white tablecloth

Momos and dal bhat in Kathmandu: cooking class or food walk?

Cook momo and dal bhat with local chefs, or taste your way through Asan Bazaar and Thamel? Meeting points, what is included, group size and who each suits.

Read the guide →

Visitors holding up phones to photograph a red-orange sunrise over a hazy horizon

Nagarkot sunrise and the hike to Changu Narayan: which tour and what to expect

Four Nagarkot sunrise tours compared: pickup times, the three-hour hike down to Changu Narayan, what is not included and why the mountains may stay hidden.

Read the guide →

Priests in orange robes holding flaming lamps at the evening aarati on the Bagmati riverbank, with onlookers behind

Pashupatinath at night: the evening aarati, the cremations and what non-Hindus can see

What a guided evening at Pashupatinath involves: where the aarati takes place, what non-Hindus can enter, how the cremation ghats fit in and which tour to book.

Read the guide →

Brick palace facade with carved wooden windows, a stone column and a tiered shikhara temple on a sunny Bhaktapur square with visitors

Patan and Bhaktapur: guided tour or on your own?

Two former royal cities, two ways to see them. Compare the private Patan and Bhaktapur tour and the Bhaktapur and Nagarkot day trip, with entrance fees and who should go alone.

Read the guide →

A red and gold monastery with tiered roofs rising out of a bank of low cloud, a forested ridge behind

Swayambhunath and Boudhanath: how to visit Kathmandu's great stupas with a guide

Three stupa tours compared: a walk up to Swayambhunath, a Boudhanath and Kopan monastery trip, and a Boudhanath plus Pashupatinath day. What the pages include, who they are not suited to and what to ask.

Read the guide →