Kathmandu

Kathmandu is where every trip to Nepal starts, and most people give it a day before flying out to the mountains. That is a mistake, and not for sentimental reasons: the valley holds three of the seven monument zones that make up the Kathmandu Valley World Heritage Site, and almost everything you will see on a trek (the prayer flags, the mani walls, the shrines at the passes), makes more sense once you have spent a few days in the place those traditions come from.

It is also genuinely hard work. The traffic is bad, the air in winter is worse, and the old city is a maze. This page is the practical version: what to see, how long it takes, what it costs and how not to waste your first two days.

What Kathmandu actually is

A valley, not a city. Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur were three separate kingdoms until 1769, each with its own royal square, and each competed with the others by building, which is why an area smaller than Greater London holds this much carved wood and gilt bronze. The Newar people who built it are still the majority in the old towns, and the festivals, the food and the language are theirs rather than generically Nepali.

The 2015 earthquake killed nearly 9,000 people and brought down a good deal of what you have seen in photographs. Most of the major monuments have been rebuilt or are being rebuilt; some are still scaffolded. It is worth knowing that before you arrive so the scaffolding reads as recovery rather than neglect.

Kathmandu Durbar Square

The old royal complex, and the densest concentration of temples in the country. Entry NPR 1,000, valid for the day, and the ticket office will extend it to the length of your visa for free if you bring your passport and a photo, worth doing if you are staying more than a couple of days.

What to actually look at: the nine-storey Basantapur tower, the erotic carvings on the roof struts of Jaishideval, and the Kumari Ghar, home of the living goddess. A young girl selected from the Newar Shakya caste who appears at a first-floor window a few times a day. Photographing her is not allowed.

Give it two hours minimum. Most tours allow forty minutes, which is enough to walk through and see nothing. The square is a working marketplace as much as a monument. The interesting part is watching the puja happen around you.

Boudhanath

One of the largest stupas in the world, and the centre of Tibetan Buddhist life in Nepal since refugees settled here from 1959. Entry NPR 400.

Walk the kora (clockwise, always clockwise) with everyone else, at least once at dawn and once at dusk. The monasteries around the rim hold puja in the early morning and late afternoon and most will let you sit at the back if you are quiet and take your shoes off. The rooftop cafés on the circuit are the best place in Kathmandu to sit still for an hour.

Pashupatinath

The most sacred Hindu site in Nepal, on the Bagmati, and a working cremation ground. Entry NPR 1,000 per person per entry. Non-Hindus cannot enter the main temple but the complex around it is open and is where most of what matters happens.

The evening aarati begins at around 6pm and moves with the season, fire, bells, and a crowd on the far bank. Arrive an hour early for a place to sit.

This is the one place to be careful. Families are cremating their dead a few metres away. Photographing a burning pyre is the single most reliable way to mark yourself out as a tourist who has not thought about where they are. Sit on the terraces opposite, keep your voice down, and leave the camera in the bag.

Swayambhunath

The hilltop stupa west of the city, up 365 steps, with the best view over the valley. Entry NPR 200. The monkeys are genuine thieves. Nothing loose in your hands, and do not feed them. Go for sunrise if you can face the steps in the dark, or late afternoon.

Getting around

Nothing in the valley is far and everything takes an hour. Ride-hailing apps (Pathao and inDrive) work and are much cheaper than a hailed taxi; hailed taxis do not use the meter and the fare is agreed before you get in. For the old city, walk. Most of it is too narrow for a car anyway, and getting lost in the courtyards between Durbar Square and Asan is the best thing you will do here.

Where to base yourself

Thamel is the traveller district: gear shops, bakeries, bars, and everything you forgot to pack. It is loud, convenient and not remotely representative of the city.

Patan, across the Bagmati, is quieter, has its own Durbar Square and museum, and is where a lot of people wish they had stayed instead.

Boudhanath suits anyone who wants mornings on the kora rather than in traffic. It is 40 minutes from the old city, which is the trade.

What to eat

Newari food is the reason to be here and almost nobody tries it. Ask for bara (a lentil pancake, often with egg), chatamari (the thin rice crêpe people call Newari pizza), choila (grilled spiced buffalo) and yomari in winter. Buffalo is normal, cows are not eaten. Momos are everywhere and the steamed buff ones in the old city are better than anything in Thamel.

Tap water is not drinkable. Refill from filtered stations rather than buying cases of bottles.

Common mistakes

• Booking one night. Two is the minimum to see the three main sites without sprinting; three or four lets the valley towns in.
• Flying out the same day as a trek ends. Domestic flights from Lukla and Jomsom are weather-dependent and cancellations run to days, not hours. Leave a buffer before an international flight.
• Not carrying cash. Cards work in hotels and better restaurants and nowhere else. ATMs dispense NPR 10,000 to 35,000 per transaction with a fee.
• Underestimating winter air. January and February can be genuinely poor. If you are asthmatic, bring what you need.