Kathmandu, Nepal
Most people arrive in Kathmandu exhausted, jet-lagged, and immediately hand their trip over to whichever taxi driver grabs their bag first. Don’t do that. This city rewards people who show up with a plan and punishes people who don’t, and I say that as someone who got redirected to a “closed hotel” on my first night here.
The airport hustle, dealt with properly. You’ll clear visa-on-arrival before baggage: 15 days is $30, 30 days is $50, 90 days is $125, and it’s multi-entry if you want it. Bring crisp USD notes because the card machines are unreliable and nobody wants your crumpled fiver. Fill in the online arrival form beforehand if you can, because the queue in October and November peak season runs 45 to 90 minutes and you don’t want to be filling out paperwork standing up after eleven hours of flying. Once you’re through, skip the curb touts entirely and walk to the prepaid taxi counter inside. Thamel is about 20-30 minutes and 6km away and should cost NPR 700-800 fixed. Curb guys will quote you NPR 1,500 and grab your bags before you’ve agreed to anything. And if a driver tells you your hotel has “closed” or “burned down,” that’s not news, that’s a scam sending you to a guesthouse that pays him commission. Save your hotel’s address and phone number and call them directly if this happens.
What’s actually worth ticketing. Skip the idea that one pass covers everything here, because it doesn’t. Kathmandu Durbar Square, Patan Durbar Square, and Bhaktapur Durbar Square are three separate former city-states with three separate entry fees, and nobody bundles them for you. If you only have time for one, make it Patan. It’s better preserved, less crowded, and honestly the more interesting square of the three, even though Kathmandu Durbar Square gets more traffic because it’s central. Bhaktapur’s fee is the steepest at NPR 1,800-2,000, but it charges you for the whole town, not just a plaza, and it deserves a full day rather than a rushed afternoon squeezed in after Nagarkot.
Swayambhunath is the Monkey Temple, not Pashupatinath, a mix-up that shows up constantly in lazy guides. Climb the roughly 365 steps on the east side for NPR 200 and earn the view. Boudhanath Stupa, NPR 400, is the heart of the Tibetan Buddhist quarter and worth a slow lap around the kora. Pashupatinath is the Hindu cremation temple on the Bagmati, NPR 1,000, and if you’re not Hindu you won’t get into the inner pagoda, but you can and should view the ghats respectfully from across the river. Don’t point your camera at grieving families. A sadhu will offer you a tika and then demand a donation; decide your price or your refusal before he reaches you, not after.
Eat outside Thamel. Thamel restaurants exist for tourists who don’t know better, and the food shows it. Get yourself to Patan for real Newari food: Newa Lahana or Honacha for chhoila and bara, running NPR 500-1,200. Momos are everywhere for NPR 150-300, and Yangling in Boudha does them properly. If you want the full traditional-house dinner experience with dance, Bhojan Griha in Dilli Bazar delivers it.
Getting around without losing your mind. There is no metro in Kathmandu, whatever some outdated blog told you. Taxis are legally required to use the meter and drivers will refuse anyway, so agree a price before you get in or just use Pathao or InDrive, which lock in the fare through the app. Thamel itself is walkable but narrow and thick with motorbikes, so keep your head up.
Book any trek through a TAAN or NTB registered operator, not the first storefront that waves a laminated Everest photo at you. The savings from a walk-in deal evaporate fast if the outfit cuts corners on gear or guides.