Kathmandu, Nepal 4 Day Itinerary

Four days gives you just enough slack to stop doing two durbar squares in one day, which is the single most common scheduling error in Kathmandu itineraries. Give Bhaktapur and Patan separate days. Here’s how.

Day 1: settle in, then Kathmandu Durbar Square. Check into Thamel, knowing full well the food here is convenient rather than good, and use the morning to adjust before heading to Kathmandu Durbar Square in the afternoon. Reconstruction since the 2015 earthquake means most of the complex is open, with a bit of scaffolding still visible on a few structures, and Hanuman Dhoka Palace rewards unhurried time over a fast circuit. For dinner, skip the first momo shop you pass and walk a little further; the good ones aren’t always the loudest signage.

Day 2: Bhaktapur, and only Bhaktapur. Take the 45 to 90 minute drive out and give the whole day to it, not a rushed morning before doubling back for Patan in the afternoon. Bhaktapur’s entry fee runs highest of the three durbar squares, NPR 1,800-2,000, precisely because it covers the entire town rather than a single plaza. Nyatapola Temple survived the quake largely intact, and the pottery square is worth an hour of doing nothing but watching people work. Eat lunch there. Come back to Kathmandu for dinner, tired in a good way.

Day 3: Patan gets its own day too. Cross into Patan in the morning; it’s a separate former city across the Bagmati, and its Durbar Square is genuinely better preserved and less crowded than Kathmandu’s own, which makes it the stronger of the two if you’re forced to rank them. See the Golden Temple and Krishna Mandir at a walk, not a jog. This is where you eat the best food of the trip: Newa Lahana or Honacha for real Newari chhoila and bara, worlds better than anything sold in central Thamel. In the evening, head to Boudhanath Stupa for a slow kora walk while the light’s still good, and grab dinner in Boudha rather than heading straight back.

Day 4: Pashupatinath, Swayambhunath, then go. Morning at Pashupatinath, the Hindu cremation temple on the Bagmati. You’ll be barred from the inner pagoda as a non-Hindu, but the cremation ghats are visible and worth genuine attention from across the river, not a rushed glance. If a sadhu offers a tika, settle your answer before he’s close enough to ask. Midday, get to Swayambhunath, the real Monkey Temple, and take the roughly 365 east-side steps for the valley view before the afternoon haze thickens. Use whatever’s left of the day for souvenir shopping in Thamel, hand-woven textiles and singing bowls if that’s your thing, then head to the airport with buffer time built in for traffic.

Getting around. There’s no metro, so don’t plan tight connections between neighborhoods. Taxis will avoid the meter regardless of the law, so fix a price before getting in, or use Pathao or InDrive for an app-set fare. Tap water isn’t safe, stick to bottled, and if you’re feeling the altitude, which is mild here but real, drink more water than you think you need and skip the ambitious hike.