Kathmandu is the capital city of Nepal and most probably it would be the place where you will reach first as the international airport is in Kathmandu. In this post I will share you about the places to visit in Kathmandu. Those places you can cover in 2-3 days.
How to Reach Kathmandu:
By road :
Though I mentioned that Kathmandu is the place where you will land up first in the Nepal but if you are going from India, you can cross the border by road from 4 places.
- Northeast India to Nepal via Karkarbhitta
- Bihar to Nepal via Birgunj
- Uttar Pradesh to Nepal via Sunauli or Nepalgunj
- Uttrakhand to Nepal via Bhimdatta.
By air:
I booked my ticket from www.skyscanner.co.in well ahead of time and from Mumbai to Kathmandu to and fro coated me 19k. There is no direct flight from Mumbai, for most of the flights there is stop at Delhi. If you have no time constraints you can reach by road as mentioned.
Where to stay in Kathmandu:
There are two main places where most of people stays in Kathmandu. One is Thamel area, which is the most popular a d populated place for tourist. If you want to go for trekking and want to do last minute shopping of travel essentials then staying at Thamel area would be better. In Thamel area you will get lots of option of Hostels, hotels of various range from 300 NPR-2500 NPR/day.
The second option is near Airport/Pashupatinath temple area. If you want to stay near airport then this area is best option. While coming back from Pokhara, my return flight was in morning and to save the Taxi fare I stayed in this area in the second time while returning to India.
For other details please read Top things to know before visiting Nepal.
Places to visit near Kathmandu:
Generally 2-3 days are sufficient to move around Kathmandu and see all the place to visit.
Monkey temple / Swayambhunath Stupa:
Swayambhunath stupa is a well known place in Kathmandu from where you can see the whole Kathmandu valley. It is approximately 5-6 km from Thamel. I discussed with my hotel manager for the most affordable way to reach the temple. On his suggestion I took local auto (They call it Micro). It took only 10 NPR (1.5 NPR= 1 INR) to drop me near Swayambhunath temple. I have reached the destination while interacting with one local young boy. That’s the benefit of using local transport in a different country but at the same time Micros are extremely crowded so if you are travelling with family or kids it is not advisable to use micro.
Swayambhunath stupa is considered one of the holiest Buddhist stupa in Nepal. You need to take many steps to reach the top. The ticket for ASIAN countries is 50 NPR. To avoid the stairs you can take the alternative road which is at the back side of the temple.
Pashupatinath temple
From Monkey temple my next destination was Pashupatinath temple which is 8 km away. To reach Pashupatinath I decided to try another public transport – Bus.
In Kathmandu buses run extremely slow. For covering this 8 km, that bus took almost 45-50 mins.
My main interest was to witness the evening aarti at Pashupatinath temple. You must attend this. I have heard that two times the aarti happens every day. Once in morning and once in evening.
Pashupatinath is the temple for Lord Shiva. Situated beside Bagmati river, this temple is considered one of the holiest place. Only Hindus are allowed in the temple and no photos are allowed inside the temple. The Bagmati river devides the temple area in to two parts. The aarti takes place inside the temple and as well as beside the river ghat. You need to spend at least 2 hours to witness the full aarti and bhajan.
Durbar Square, Kathmandu:
From my Thamel hotel, durbar square was just 700, meters so I decided to walk from hotel. Next day morning after brushing my teeth and having some biscuits, I started for durbar square. With the help of Google maps, within 20 mins I reached Durbar square.
In front of durbar square there was local market. The market and the crowd are almost similar to any Indian city market. Even you will get lot of Indian people who stays in Nepal for business reason.
The entry fee is 150 NPR. The are is huge but you will find lot of damage happened because of the earth quake happened in the year 2011. The restoring of those monuments are still going on, I saw that this work is sponsored by China. It took me almost 30-40 mins to explore the whole area. In between I have interacted with one enthusiastic security guard who was telling me how he is very interested to visit India.
While returning I bought some t shirts from the local market and some fruits for breakfast. Also I negotiated with some cab driver for my upcoming trip to Bhaktapur. I fixed a car at 2500 NPR for the whole day trip.
Boudhanath stupa :
Boudhanath stupa is almost 7 km away from Thamel. You can reach there by local bus, or car. The entry fees is 250 NPR. This stupa is surrounded by many shops where you can buy food and souvenir.
Bhaktapur:
Bhaktapur is not in Kathmandu city, it is almost 16-17 km away from Kathmandu. You need to plan a day trip to see the whole Durbar square and other attractions in and around Bhaktapur.
In the 8th century it was the capital of Nepal. It is still known the cultural capital of Nepal. Other than Durbar square, there are Pottery Square and Taumadhi Square in the area.
You can reach there by bus or take a taxi or bike to reach there. This is one of the must visit places in Kathmandu. Also you must try their food. The Newari food is totally different from what people of Kathmandu and other part of Nepal eats. You can also visit Changu Narayan temple and Nagarkot if you have time. Both the places are another 10 km from Bhaktapur.
Thats all about Places to visit in Kathmandu. Thanks for your patience reading.
Read more about my Muktinath Yatra, Ghorepani poon hill trek
