Kathmandu-2-day-itinerary

Two days in Kathmandu is tight but genuinely doable if you stop trying to see everything and pick the sights that earn the entry fee. Here’s how I’d spend it.

Day 1: sacred sites and the old city

Land your visa on arrival at Tribhuvan sorted before baggage claim (15-day $30, 30-day $50, cash US dollars only, card machines are unreliable), then grab the prepaid taxi counter into Thamel for a fixed NPR 700-800 rather than negotiating with curbside touts who’ll quote NPR 1,500 and grab your bags for leverage.

Start the morning at Boudhanath Stupa, NPR 400 entry, and walk the kora clockwise through the Tibetan Buddhist quarter that surrounds it, monasteries and all. From there, cross to Pashupatinath, NPR 1,000, Nepal’s most important Hindu cremation site on the banks of the Bagmati. Non-Hindus can’t enter the inner pagoda but you can view the whole complex and the cremation ghats from across the river, so don’t skip it thinking you’re locked out entirely, just keep cameras down around grieving families.

Grab lunch somewhere central in Thamel, though I’ll be honest, the food there is convenient more than exceptional. Spend the afternoon at Kathmandu Durbar Square, roughly NPR 1,000, mostly rebuilt since the 2015 earthquake with Kasthamandap back since 2023-24, though pockets of scaffolding remain. For dinner, go local rather than a hotel restaurant, dal bhat at NPR 300-600 comes with refills as standard, the “dal bhat power 24 hour” promise, and it’s the best fuel for day two.

Day 2: the Monkey Temple and a proper day trip

Get to Swayambhunath early, NPR 200, and climb the roughly 365 steps up the east side before the heat and crowds arrive. This is the actual Monkey Temple, not Pashupatinath, a mix-up I see constantly online, and the monkeys living on the grounds have no shame about swiping food from unsuspecting visitors.

With your remaining hours, I’d send you to Patan Durbar Square over anything else in the city center. It’s across the Bagmati in the separate city of Lalitpur, comparably priced to Kathmandu Durbar Square, better preserved, and far less crowded, it wins the comparison every time I make it. While you’re there, eat real Newari food at Newa Lahana or Honacha, chhoila and bara for NPR 500-1,200, worlds better than anything in Thamel’s tourist strip.

If you’d rather use your second afternoon for a view instead of another square, the Chandragiri Hills cable car is the better use of limited time than a rushed Nagarkot dash, about an hour to the base station then ten minutes up for $13 one-way or $23 round-trip.

Logistics that matter

There’s no metro in Kathmandu, don’t plan around one. Taxis are legally required to run the meter and basically none do, so agree your fare up front or use Pathao or InDrive for a locked-in price. Thamel is walkable but narrow and thick with motorbikes, so stay alert on the street. Stick to bottled water, dress modestly at temples and remove your shoes before entering, and keep a small amount of cash on hand since card machines outside big hotels are inconsistent at best.