When's the best time to visit Kathmandu in 2026?

October through November is Kathmandu at its clearest. The monsoon lifts in the first week of October, and the valley air, usually thick with dust and diesel haze, turns sharp enough to see the Langtang range from Bhaktapur Durbar Square. Daytime temperatures hold around 22-25°C. They drop to 10-12°C after dark. This is Dashain season, Nepal's biggest festival, when families across the valley sacrifice goats and fly kites from rooftops in Patan. Two weeks later, Tihar lights up every window ledge in Thamel with oil lamps and marigold garlands that smell sweet and slightly peppery in the cool evening air. Trekking permits for the Annapurna Circuit and Everest Base Camp sell fast, guesthouses in Lukla book out weeks ahead, and a standard double in Thamel that costs NPR 3,000 in August reaches NPR 5,000-6,000 by late October. Book flights to Lukla at least a month early if trekking is the goal.

March and April are Kathmandu's second-best window. Mornings at Swayambhunath start cool, around 8-10°C, and warm to the mid-20s by noon. Rhododendrons bloom red and pink across the hills of Shivapuri Nagarjun National Park, which opened as a protected area in 2002 and sits directly north of the city. Pre-monsoon dust builds through April and lays a persistent haze over the valley. Mountain views from Nagarkot soften by mid-month. Holi falls in March, and the streets around Hanuman Dhoka run with coloured water and powder. If you walk through Asan Tole on a March morning, the smell of ground turmeric and dried chili from the spice vendors mixes with woodsmoke from nearby tea stalls. Hotel rates in this window sit roughly 15-20% below October's peak, and domestic flights to Pokhara are easier to book on short notice.

June through September is monsoon, and Kathmandu currently sits at 25.4°C with 72% humidity and light showers as of late June 2026. By mid-July, monthly rainfall reaches 350-400mm, the Bagmati River swells brown past Pashupatinath Temple, and the stone steps at the cremation ghats grow slick with moss. Landslides close the Prithvi Highway to Pokhara for days at a time. Power cuts still hit neighborhoods like Lazimpat and Baluwatar during heavy storms. The upside, if you can tolerate wet boots and unpredictable roads, is that the valley turns intensely green, Bhaktapur Durbar Square is nearly empty of tour groups, and guesthouse owners in Thamel drop rates to NPR 1,500-2,000 for rooms that cost triple in October. The rain also tends to clear the Kathmandu Valley's persistent air pollution. Mind you, most trekking routes above 3,000m are inadvisable due to leeches and trail washouts between June and September.

December through February brings cold, dry weather and thin crowds. Morning fog settles over the valley floor and doesn't always lift until 10am, which means Nagarkot sunrise trips are a gamble in December and January. Nighttime temperatures drop to 2-4°C. Most budget guesthouses in Thamel and Freak Street have no central heating. You will sleep under heavy quilts and drink a lot of masala chiya from street vendors, whose brass kettles hiss on charcoal stoves along New Road. That said, winter afternoons are often sunny and still, reaching 15-18°C, and the light at Patan Durbar Square around 3pm turns the red brick and carved wood a warm copper colour. Narayanhiti Palace, the former royal residence built in 1963 and now a museum, is comfortable to tour when the marble halls stay cool rather than cold. Everest Base Camp treks remain possible through late November into early December for experienced trekkers, though tea houses thin out and close by mid-December.