Do I need a visa to visit Kathmandu?

Most nationalities can get a visa on arrival at Tribhuvan International Airport. A 15-day visa currently costs 30 USD, a 30-day visa is 50 USD, and 90 days is 125 USD. Bring a passport photo and cash in USD. Indian nationals do not need a visa. The queue at immigration can take 30 minutes to over an hour depending on flight arrivals, so fill out the forms at the electronic kiosks before joining the line.

Is Kathmandu safe for solo travelers?

Kathmandu is generally considered safe for solo travelers, including women. Violent crime against tourists is uncommon. The main risks are petty theft in crowded areas like Asan or Thamel, aggressive street vendors, and traffic. The streets have limited lighting at night in some neighborhoods outside Thamel, so a headlamp or phone light helps. That said, most travelers report feeling comfortable walking around the city during the day.

How many days should I spend in Kathmandu?

Three to 4 days gives you enough time to see the major UNESCO sites, eat well, and adjust to the pace before heading out on a trek or to Pokhara. One day for Boudhanath and Pashupatinath, one for Patan and its Durbar Square, one for Kathmandu Durbar Square and the old bazaar around Asan, and a possible day trip to Bhaktapur. If you're arriving for a trek, at least 2 nights in Kathmandu on arrival helps with permit logistics and jet lag.

Can I drink the tap water in Kathmandu?

No. The tap water in Kathmandu is not safe to drink without treatment. Bottled water is widely available for 30 to 50 NPR per liter. A reusable bottle with a built-in filter is worth bringing, both for cost and to reduce plastic waste. Most restaurants in tourist areas use filtered or bottled water, but confirm if you're eating at a very local spot.

What currency does Kathmandu use and can I pay by card?

Nepal uses the Nepali Rupee, currently pegged to the Indian Rupee at 1.6 NPR per 1 INR. Mid-range hotels and tourist restaurants in Thamel often accept cards, but most local shops, street food vendors, and micro-buses are cash-only. ATMs in Thamel dispense NPR with per-transaction limits around 35,000 NPR. Bring some USD or EUR to exchange at arrival, as the airport exchange counters offer reasonable rates.

How do I get from the airport to Thamel?

Tribhuvan International Airport is about 6 kilometers from Thamel. A prepaid taxi from the counter outside arrivals costs around 700 to 800 NPR. Ride-hailing apps like Pathao work once you have local data or airport WiFi, and tend to cost 300 to 500 NPR for the same trip. The drive takes 20 to 40 minutes depending on traffic. There is no airport bus or rail connection.

Is it worth visiting Kathmandu during the monsoon?

June through August brings daily afternoon rain, higher humidity, and lush green hills around the valley. Hotel prices drop by 30 to 50 percent, and the major sites are far less crowded. The downside is that mountain views are mostly obscured by clouds, some trekking routes become risky due to landslides and leeches, and flights to Lukla get cancelled frequently. If you're focused on the city and cultural sites rather than trekking, the monsoon is still manageable.

Do I need trekking permits if I'm staying in Kathmandu?

No permits are needed for exploring Kathmandu and the valley. Entry fees apply at specific sites. Boudhanath is 400 NPR, Pashupatinath is 1,000 NPR, and Bhaktapur Durbar Square is 1,800 NPR for foreigners. Trekking permits like TIMS cards and national park fees are only required if you leave the valley for treks in the Everest, Annapurna, or Langtang regions.

Things to Do in Kathmandu: A Complete Guide

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Kathmandu sits at roughly 1,400 metres in a valley that was, geologically speaking, a lake bed until the Bagmati River carved a gorge through the surrounding hills and eventually drained it. That origin explains the city's improbable fertility (a million people sustained by alluvial soil in the middle of the Himalayas) and the particular quality of its light, which pools in the basin and turns the afternoon haze ochre against the brick facades of Newari townhouses. The city keeps Nepal Standard Time, UTC plus five hours and forty-five minutes, one of the world's few quarter-hour offsets, and even this small oddity signals something true: Kathmandu operates by its own logic. Your first morning will likely begin in Thamel, the dense tourist quarter north of the old royal palace, where guesthouse touts and trekking outfitters compete for sidewalk space, but the neighbourhood worth your attention is Asan, a few blocks south, where the market crossroads still functions as it has for centuries: spice sellers, brass vendors, and small temples pressed between shopfronts selling SIM cards. From Asan you can walk to Durbar Square at Hanuman Dhoka, where the 2015 earthquake toppled temples that had stood since the Malla kings and where reconstruction still continues, scaffolding and carved wood standing side by side. Cross the Bagmati south into Patan: technically Lalitpur, a separate municipality, though the urban seam is invisible, and the architecture shifts to something finer, the Newari courtyards quieter and less tourist-worn. Boudhanath's white stupa and Pashupatinath's riverside cremation ghats sit east of centre, close enough for an afternoon but different enough to feel like separate cities entirely. What holds it all together is scale: Kathmandu is a national capital you can still cross on foot, where medieval infrastructure and modern disorder occupy the same narrow lanes without any apology.