Kathmandu 6 Day Itinerary
Kathmandu is a city that would be exhausting to navigate without any help and exhilarating once you stop fighting it. The traffic is bad, the dust from unpaved side roads is pervasive, sacred cows and motorcycles share lanes of the same width, and the UNESCO-listed temples sit immediately adjacent to hardware stores and mobile phone repair kiosks. This is not a defect to be managed around; it is the texture of the place. Give it six days and you will have seen three of the best-preserved medieval cities in Asia, some of the most significant Buddhist and Hindu monuments on earth, and eaten very well for very little money.
Getting In
Tribhuvan International Airport is 6 km from the Thamel tourist district. Only prepaid taxis operate from the official airport taxi rank. Pay at the kiosk before leaving the terminal; the standard fare to Thamel is around NPR 700 (roughly 5 euros or 6 USD at current rates) during the day, and about NPR 1,300 at night. Do not hand the fare receipt to the driver until you have arrived and are satisfied; it is their payment and handing it over early removes your leverage. Ignore anyone who approaches you before you reach the official kiosk; they are not operating a better deal.
Visas: Most passport holders can obtain a tourist visa on arrival at Tribhuvan Airport. The fee in 2025 is USD 30 for 15 days or USD 50 for 30 days, payable in USD cash or by card. Bring photos if you can; the on-site photo booths add time to the queue. The queues at busy arrival times can take 45 minutes to an hour.
Currency: Nepalese rupees (NPR). ATMs are plentiful in Thamel and around Durbar Square. Most hotels, trekking agencies, and mid-range restaurants accept cards; markets and street food are cash only.
Where to stay: Thamel is the obvious base: noisy, convenient, full of trekking gear shops and decent restaurants. Dwarika’s Hotel, outside Thamel in the Battisputali area, is the luxury option (a heritage reconstruction of traditional Newari architecture; genuinely beautiful). Kathmandu Guest House on Thamel Marg is the classic mid-range. If budget is tight and you want character, several small Newari-style guesthouses in the Durbar Marg area are cheaper than Thamel hotels with similar facilities.
Day 1: Arrive, Thamel, First Momos
Land, clear immigration, take the prepaid taxi. After checking in, walk Thamel. The neighbourhood is aimed at tourists, which means trekking gear, pashmina shawls, thangka paintings, and restaurants showing mountaineering documentaries on loop. It is worth spending an hour orienting yourself before you start complaining about it.
For dinner, find Yangling Tibetan Restaurant in one of the alleys just off the main Thamel strip. Their buff momos (water buffalo meat dumplings, steamed or fried) are considered some of the best in the city. A plate of ten costs around NPR 250 to 350. Order jhol momo if it is available: momos served in a spiced tomato and sesame broth that is addictive after the first spoonful.
This evening, plan the logistics for Day 2. The Kathmandu Valley heritage sites charge separate entry fees and some require tickets purchased at specific points. Having a rough sense of the order saves time.
Day 2: Kathmandu Durbar Square and Swayambhunath
Kathmandu Durbar Square (Hanuman Dhoka) is the historic royal palace complex of old Kathmandu, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The 2015 earthquake damaged several structures and reconstruction is ongoing; what remains is still considerable. The Kumari Ghar (residence of the living goddess Kumari, a young girl selected through ritual examination) fronts the square; she occasionally appears at the upstairs window and it is considered auspicious to see her but do not shout, wave, or point.
Walk the surrounding temple cluster slowly. The Kasthamandap pavilion, from which Kathmandu takes its name, was destroyed in the earthquake and a rebuilt version now stands in its place. The nine-storey Basantapur Tower is climbable for a view over the old city rooftops.
In the afternoon, taxi or walk to Swayambhunath, the hilltop stupa west of the city. The 365 steps to the top are lined with prayer wheels and monkeys (the “Monkey Temple” name is not a metaphor). The stupa at the summit, with its golden spire and the watchful eyes painted on all four sides, is one of the defining images of Nepal. The surrounding complex has smaller shrines, Tibetan monasteries, and a view over the valley. Entry is around NPR 200 for foreigners.
For dinner, return to Thamel and try Thamel House, a renovated Rana-era mansion with garden seating and a menu of traditional Nepali dishes presented more carefully than usual. The dal bhat set meal (lentils, rice, curried vegetables, pickle) is the national dish of Nepal and this is a reliable version.
Day 3: Boudhanath and Pashupatinath
These two sites, Buddhist and Hindu respectively, are both in the east of Kathmandu and best done together on the same day.
Start at Boudhanath, one of the largest Buddhist stupas in the world. The circular base of the stupa forms a wide pedestrian circuit lined with monasteries, Tibetan refugee shops, and cafes. Walk the kora (circumambulation) clockwise, spinning the prayer wheels as you go; this is not performative tourism but the actual practice of pilgrims who walk it daily. Climb to a rooftop cafe around the stupa and watch the circuit for 20 minutes. The scale and the continuous movement of monks, pilgrims, and ordinary Kathmandu residents gives a good sense of what an active place of worship at scale looks like. Entry is NPR 400 for foreigners.
A 15-minute walk southwest brings you to Pashupatinath, the most important Hindu temple complex in Nepal and one of the holiest Shiva shrines in the world. Non-Hindu visitors cannot enter the main temple but can observe from the eastern bank of the Bagmati River. The river ghats below the temple are used for cremations; this is not a tourist spectacle but an ordinary function of the site that happens to be visible. Approach it accordingly. The surrounding complex has shrines, sadhus (wandering holy men, some of whom will pose for photographs for a small fee), and several smaller temples accessible to all visitors.
For lunch, several Nepali restaurants near Boudhanath serve good set meals. For dinner, try Roadhouse Cafe in Thamel for wood-fired pizza and a slightly calmer atmosphere than the area’s typical tourist restaurants.
Day 4: Patan (Lalitpur)
Patan is the second city of the Kathmandu Valley and arguably the best-preserved medieval town in the region. It is accessible by taxi from Thamel in 20 to 30 minutes depending on traffic (agree a price or use the meter; typical fare NPR 400 to 600).
Patan Durbar Square is the centrepiece: a dense cluster of temples, courtyards, and Newari architecture around the old royal palace. Entry for foreigners is around USD 10. The Krishna Mandir, a seventeenth-century stone temple built in North Indian style, is the most distinctive structure. The Patan Museum inside the palace complex is excellent, with a well-curated collection of bronze religious sculpture and context on Newari art traditions.
The Golden Temple (Kwa Bahal or Hiranya Varna Mahavihar), a few minutes walk from the square, is a three-storey pagoda temple covered in gilded copper roofing and detailed metalwork, active since the twelfth century. The interior courtyard has a rotating cast of devotees, pigeons, and novice monks; it is one of the most atmospheric corners of the valley.
For lunch in Patan, Yala Cafe near the Durbar Square area offers a calm, well-cooked Nepali and Western menu for budget prices. Newa Momo, also in Patan, is a small local restaurant specializing in Newari-style momos and dishes from the indigenous Newar culture; slightly different in spicing and presentation from the Thamel versions.
Day 5: Bhaktapur
Bhaktapur is 13 km east of Kathmandu, about 45 minutes by taxi or local bus. The town charges a separate entry fee of USD 15 (or equivalent in NPR) per foreign visitor. This is the highest single-site entry fee in the valley and occasional visitors object to it on principle. They are wrong to do so; Bhaktapur uses the revenue to maintain the historic district and the quality of the preservation shows. Pay it without argument and spend the whole day.
The city has four main squares linked by walking lanes. Durbar Square has the 55-Window Palace with its famous carved wooden window, the Royal Gate, and the National Art Museum. Taumadhi Square, five minutes east, has the Nyatapola Temple, a five-storey pagoda from 1702 that is the tallest traditional structure in Nepal, with pairs of mythological guardians at each level of ascending power. Pottery Square (Dattatreya Square area) is where traditional potters still work at wheels on the street and dry their earthenware in rows.
Before leaving Bhaktapur, try juju dhau, the king curd. This thick, slightly sweet yogurt served in small clay pots is Bhaktapur’s signature food and tastes different here than anywhere else because of the local dairy and pot-firing tradition. Find it at any sweet shop near the Durbar Square. The clay pot is the correct container and you can take it with you.
Day 6: Durbar Marg, Asan Tole, and Departure
Spend a final morning at Ason Tole, the old market district north of Kathmandu Durbar Square. The lanes around Asan Chowk have been a trading crossroads for centuries: spice sellers, brass gods, dried fish, flowers for temple offering. The smells are layered and specific. This is the part of Kathmandu that functions entirely on local demand rather than tourist traffic, and the contrast with Thamel is sharp.
For final souvenir shopping, Thamel has the volume; the Patan shops near the Durbar Square area have better quality thangka paintings and bronze work if that is what you are looking for. The prices in Patan are negotiable but start from a more honest baseline than Thamel.
For your departure taxi: use the same system as arrival. Your hotel can call a reputable local taxi. Afternoon traffic in Kathmandu can be severe; if your flight departs before 6pm, leave at least two hours before check-in time. Tribhuvan Airport is small and international departures can involve queues at multiple security checkpoints.
The one thing to do that most itineraries skip: spend an evening at the Boudhanath kora after dark. The stupa is lit from below, the shops and cafes stay open, and the mix of local devotees, monks walking laps, and tourists sitting on rooftop terraces is the most peaceful scene in the valley. The evenings are warmer than the days from October onward, and a cup of Tibetan butter tea from one of the stalls on the circuit is the correct way to end any day in Kathmandu.