Welcome to 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... Read More

Top experiences in Kathmandu

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Recent articles

Eat the world in Kathmandu: the perfect end to a trek in Nepal

Daal bhaat isn’t just a meal in Nepal. This hearty combination of rice, lentil soup and vegetables is the fuel of the Himalaya. Trekkers can walk for weeks across the highest mountain range on earth, powered almost solely by this carb-packed treat. However, what you don’t get while trekking is a huge amount of variety...

An upscale plate of daal bhaat in Kathmandu © Maya Karkalicheva / Getty Images

Joe Bindloss
Lonely Planet Writer

Nepal's earthquake tragedy

Decades of predictions by seismologists about an impending ‘big quake’ for Nepal  have been proved tragically accurate. At 11.56am on Saturday 25 April, a massive 7.8 magnitude tremor hit the Kathmandu Valley, centred on Gorkha district, just north of the main highway between Kathmandu and Pokhara. In the initial tremor, and in the aftershocks that followed, whole villages were flattened and avalanches and landslides swept over climbers and trekkers. More than 1000 deaths were reported in Kathmandu alone and many of Nepal’s most famous landmarks were reduced to rubble.
Joe Bindloss
Lonely Planet Writer
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Travel guides

Starting at $29.99

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Kathmandu adventures

$2999 History & culture

Explore India & Nepal

Take 17 exceptional days to discover northern India’s famed Golden Triangle and enjoy a priceless immersion in the heart of Nepalese culture. Explore the Taj Mahal and encounter the iconic colours of Rajasthan. Spend a night at a Buddhist monastery and meet with one of the brave women from SASANE, a program that trains former victims of trafficking to become paralegals. From big highlights to intimate moments, this unique itinerary is truly unforgettable.
$300 Small group tours

3 Day Chitwan Jungle Safari Wildlife Adventure Tour

Nepal's tropical, dense jungles are situated in the low lands of the Terai region which runs from east to west across this fertile country.These exotic jungles provide homes and habitats for many endangered species of wild life such as the Royal Bengal Tiger, the one horned Rhinoceros, the gangetic Gharial and fresh water Dolphins.In one of these jungles, you will find some of the world’s most exciting safari destinations. Safaris on the back of elephants or in four wheel drives in order to view diverse wild life and different species of exotic birds, is a magnetic experience.
$1265 Small group tours

10-Night Trekking Tour Including Chitwan National Park from Kathmandu

Enjoy this multi-day trekking tour, which will give you the chance to admire the striking panorama of huge Himalayas including Annapurna South, Annapurna I, Annapurna II, III, and IV, Dhaulagiri, Lamjung Himal, Gangapurna, and Manaslu ranges, viewed from the popular view point called "Poon Hill" (3210 MASL). You will also enjoy a Chitwan National Park trip.
$450 Small group tours

5-Day Kathmandu Tour with Nagarkot and Chisopani Trek

Chisopani Nagarkot Hiking is considered as the easiest trek within the Kathmandu valley. This plan is specially for those who are neither in longer stay nor shorter. Trekking to the mountains will need at least 10 + days. Why not utilize your short trip to Nagarkot and breathe the fresh air. Spend some time in this hilly station that takes away all your tiredness and feel the relaxation.
$3000 Small group tours

16-Day Everest Base Camp Luxury Lodge Trek

Luxury Everest Base Camp trek is one of the most desirable treks in the world, with views of dramatic Himalayan landscape from your luxury lodges. This beautiful Everest Base Camp trek is ostensibly the most popular trekking track on the planet and this is an ideal chance to see a portion of the most amazing landscape believable. This precisely made Everest Base Camp, guarantees legitimate acclimatization, permitting you to completely appreciate one of the world's most shocking enterprises and find why this has turn into one of our most compensating adventures.
$5499 Holidays, festivals & seasonal

Kailash Saga Dawa Festival

Journey overland to Tibet and cross the ‘roof of the world’ to Kailash—Asia's most sacred mountain—in time for the amazing Saga Dawa Festival. You'll embark on a demanding multi-day trek around the holy mountain, which is said to bring good luck to whomever completes it, then join pilgrims and celebrate the renewal of the Tarboche flagpole. Explore Lhasa and experience unparalleled vistas of Mt Everest at its base camp. Full of cultural treasures, remarkable Buddhist monasteries, and the colourful markets of Kathmandu, this adventure truly is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
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Kathmandu photo credits