People crowd the street in the Asan Tole market region of Kathmandu.

©Harri Jarvelainen Photography/Getty Images

Kathmandu

For many, stepping off a plane into Kathmandu is a pupil-dilating experience, a riot of sights, sounds and smells that can quickly lead to sensory overload. Whether you’re barrelling through the traffic-jammed alleyways of the old town in a rickshaw, marvelling at the medieval temples or dodging trekking touts in the backpacker district of Thamel, Kathmandu can be an intoxicating, amazing and exhausting place.

Attractions

Must-see attractions

  • Nepal, Kathmandu, View of Hanuman dhoka temple. (Photo by: JTB/UIG via Getty Images) (Photo by: JTB Photo/UIG via Getty Images)

    Hanuman Dhoka

    Kathmandu

    Kathmandu's royal palace, known as the Hanuman Dhoka, was originally founded during the Licchavi period (4th to 8th centuries AD), but the compound was…

  • Itum Bahal.

    Itum Bahal

    Kathmandu

    The long, rectangular courtyard of the Itum Bahal is the largest bahal (Buddhist monastery courtyard) in the old town and remains a haven of tranquillity…

  • Kathmandu,Nepal, 04.12.2018 - Garden of Dreams.; Shutterstock ID 1147311047; your: Bridget Brown; gl: 65050; netsuite: Online Editorial; full: POI Image Update

    Garden of Dreams

    Kathmandu

    The beautifully restored Swapna Bagaicha (Garden of Dreams) remains one of the most serene and beautiful enclaves in Kathmandu. It's two minutes' walk and…

  • People crowd the street in the Asan Tole market region of Kathmandu.

    Asan Tole

    Kathmandu

    From dawn until dusk the six-spoked junction of Asan Tole is jammed with vegetable and spice vendors selling everything from yak tails to dried fish. It’s…

  • A vegetable seller, at Indra Chowk, Kathmandu. Tourism, accounted for 3.8 percent of the GDP in 1995-96, although numbers have fluctuated depending on the political situation in the country. The city's rich history is nearly 2000 years old, with Hinduism being the dominant religion followed by Buddhism. It is known as the land of the ethnic Newar community. (Newar means citizen of Nepal). Kathmandu, Nepal. 2010. (Photo by: Mahmud /Majority World/UIG via Getty Images)

    Indra Chowk

    Kathmandu

    The busy street of Makhan Tole spills into Indra Chowk, the courtyard named after the ancient Vedic deity, Indra. Locals crowd around the square’s…

  • Durbar Square

    Durbar Square

    Kathmandu

    Kathmandu’s Durbar Sq was where the city’s kings were once crowned and legitimised, and from where they ruled (durbar means palace). As such, the square…

  • Basantapur Tower in Nasal Chowk courtyard, Kathamandu, Nepal.

    Nasal Chowk

    Kathmandu

    From the entrance gate of the Hanuman Dhoka palace you immediately enter its most famous chowk. Nasal Chowk was used for coronations, a practice that…

  • Seto Machhendranath Temple in Kathmandu.

    Seto Machhendranath Temple (Jan Bahal)

    Kathmandu

    Southwest of Asan Tole at the junction known as Kel Tole, this temple attracts both Buddhists and Hindus – Buddhists consider Seto (White) Machhendranath…

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