Kathmandu, Nepal-2-day-itinerary
Tribhuvan International Airport is 5.5 km from Thamel, the tourist neighbourhood where most first-time visitors stay. The journey takes 15 to 20 minutes, but the taxi experience on arrival is one of the more pressured moments of a Nepal trip. Drivers waiting in the parking lot outside arrivals charge up to NPR 2,000 (about USD 15). The pre-paid taxi counter inside the terminal sets a fixed rate of around NPR 1,000. The cheapest option is the Pathao or InDrive app (NPR 450 to 600), but you need a Nepali SIM card, which you can buy at the airport arrivals hall for around NPR 200. Buying a SIM before leaving the terminal is worth the five-minute stop; it pays for itself on the first taxi ride.
Where to Stay
Thamel is the obvious base for a two-day visit. It is loud at night and increasingly touristy, but it puts everything within walking distance. Hotel Shanker, located in a converted Rana-era palace near Lainchaur (slightly south of central Thamel), offers genuine elegance in a city where most accommodation is functional at best. Rates from USD 80 per night. For a mid-range option with character, Hotel Manaslu (from USD 45) has a quieter location and a garden. Budget travellers are well served by Kathmandu’s guesthouse scene; Zostel Kathmandu in Thamel runs clean dorms from USD 8.
Day 1: Boudhanath, Pashupatinath, and Thamel Evening
Morning: Boudhanath Stupa
Go to Boudhanath first, before the afternoon haze builds and before tour groups arrive. Tribhuvan International Airport to Boudhanath is about 6 km east of Thamel; allow 30 minutes by taxi with traffic. Entry for foreign nationals costs NPR 400.
Boudhanath Stupa is one of the largest stupas in the world and the spiritual centre of Tibetan Buddhism outside Tibet. The mandala-shaped base, the dome, and the tower with painted eyes have remained essentially unchanged since the stupa’s original construction, believed to predate the 14th century. The most useful thing to know before visiting is that the kora, the clockwise circumambulation walk around the base, is a living practice. Monks in maroon robes, elderly Tibetan women with prayer beads, and local Newari families all use this path as a daily ritual. Walk the kora yourself, keeping the stupa to your right. The circuit takes about 20 minutes at a slow pace and gives a completely different perspective on the scale and activity of the place than standing at the centre does.
The rooftop cafes around the stupa circumference offer coffee and views directly over the dome. Patio 747 on the north side has good dal bhat (the standard Nepali rice and lentil meal) and a clear view of the stupa’s painted eyes.
Late Morning: Pashupatinath Temple
From Boudhanath, Pashupatinath is a 30-minute walk east or a short taxi ride. This is one of the most sacred Hindu temples in the world; non-Hindus are not permitted inside the main temple building, but the surrounding complex on both banks of the Bagmati River is open and charged at NPR 1,000 for foreign nationals. The activity most visitors come for is witnessing cremations on the ghats along the river. This is not staged for tourists; it is the regular Hindu funeral practice of this community. Approach it with the same quiet respect you would any funeral, keep cameras at a distance, and do not cross the bridge to stand directly in front of the cremation platforms.
Sadhus (Hindu holy men, often covered in ash and wearing saffron) congregate near the temple entrance. Some welcome photographs in exchange for a small donation (NPR 100 to 200 is reasonable); others prefer to be left alone.
Lunch
Return toward Thamel for lunch. Thamel House Restaurant, in a restored Rana-era mansion on Thamel Marg, is the most consistently excellent mid-range option in the neighbourhood. Dal bhat costs NPR 600 to 800; arrive before noon to avoid the lunch rush. The setting, three floors of carved wood and traditional architecture, is as much of the experience as the food.
Afternoon: Kathmandu Durbar Square
Kathmandu Durbar Square is the old royal palace complex in the centre of the old city, a 20-minute walk from Thamel. Entry is NPR 1,000 for foreign nationals. The 2015 Gorkha Earthquake damaged several structures here significantly, but restoration work has been ongoing since 2016 with UNESCO and Chinese government support. As of 2025, major monuments including the Gaddhi Baithak, Pratap Malla pillar, and numerous temples have been restored or are in active reconstruction. The square is worth visiting precisely because you can see heritage conservation in progress. The Kumari Ghar (the palace of the living goddess) on the south side of the square still houses a young girl selected as the living incarnation of the goddess Kumari; she appears briefly at the upper window on some occasions, though there is no schedule.
Hanuman Dhoka Palace to the north of the square has additional courtyards and a small museum (included in the Durbar Square entry fee). The Kasthamandap, a pavilion believed to give Kathmandu its name, was destroyed in 2015 and has since been rebuilt using the original timber salvaged from the collapse.
Evening in Thamel
Thamel’s streets are most alive from 6 to 9 pm. The shopping is genuinely useful for trekkers (gear is cheaper here than almost anywhere else in the world) and the food options range from excellent to very bad. Roadhouse Cafe, on the corner of Thamel Chowk, does reliably good wood-fired pizza and is popular with both travellers and younger Kathmandu locals. Expect to spend NPR 800 to 1,200 per main.
Day 2: Swayambhunath, Patan, and Departure
Morning: Swayambhunath (Monkey Temple)
Swayambhunath sits on a hill 3 km west of Thamel, a 20-minute walk or a short taxi ride. The climb up the 365 stone steps to the stupa at the top earns the best panoramic view of Kathmandu available on foot. Entry is NPR 200 for foreign nationals. The rhesus macaque monkeys that give the site its informal name are present in large numbers and are bold around food; do not carry snacks loosely or leave bags open. The stupa complex combines Buddhist and Hindu shrines and is one of the oldest religious sites in Nepal, with inscriptions dating to at least the 5th century AD.
The valley view from the top, looking across the bowl of Kathmandu on a clear day, gives an immediate sense of how densely settled and how surrounded by hills the city is. October through December offers the clearest skies; June through August is monsoon season, with cloud cover often obscuring the hill views by mid-morning.
Mid-Morning to Afternoon: Patan Durbar Square
Patan (also called Lalitpur) is a separate city directly south of Kathmandu, 6 km from Thamel by taxi, around NPR 400 to 500. Patan Durbar Square is often considered the best-preserved of the three Kathmandu Valley palace squares and sustained less earthquake damage than Kathmandu Durbar Square. Entry is NPR 1,000 for foreign nationals. The Patan Museum, housed in the restored royal palace on the square, has an outstanding collection of bronzes, stone sculptures, and wood carvings explaining the Newari craft tradition in its historical context. Allow two hours.
Lunch at Cafe de Patan, directly on the square, is overpriced for what you get (NPR 800 to 1,200 per dish). Walk two minutes east of the square to find local restaurants serving set dal bhat for NPR 250 to 400.
Practical Notes
Altitude: Kathmandu sits at 1,400 metres. This is low enough that altitude sickness is not a concern for the city itself, but if you are arriving directly from sea level, allow one day before heavy physical activity. Anyone planning to trek from Kathmandu should take the first day easy.
Water: do not drink tap water. Bottled water is available everywhere at NPR 30 to 60. Most mid-range and above restaurants filter their water, but check before ordering.
Transport within the city: taxi apps Pathao and InDrive are consistently cheaper than flagging a cab. Have the destination address ready in Nepali or show it on a map, as many drivers do not read English.
Currency: Nepal uses Nepali Rupees (NPR). ATMs are widely available in Thamel. The exchange rate from US dollars is reasonable at official exchange counters; street exchangers offer marginally better rates but are unregulated. Carry small bills for entry fees and momos.
The best single-day trip from Kathmandu if you have a third day is Bhaktapur, 14 km east by bus or taxi, which has the most intact medieval Newari town centre in the valley and a full restoration of its durbar square that progressed faster than Kathmandu’s.