What should I avoid in Kathmandu?

Thamel is where most first-timers end up, and half the neighborhood exists to separate you from your rupees. The "North Face" jackets on every second shopfront are knockoffs sewn in local garment workshops. They cost 2,000-4,000 NPR ($13-26) and fall apart within a season. Worth noting, the gear shops on Mandala Street do carry some legitimate brands, but you'll pay close to Stateside retail. The persistent touts outside cafes on Tridevi Marg will offer trekking permits, city tours, and hash in the same breath. Walk past. Book treks through agencies registered with the Nepal Mountaineering Association, ones with a physical office you can actually visit. At night, the live music bars along Amrit Marg pump tinny covers of "Hotel California" at volumes that rattle guesthouse windows 3 floors up. If you're staying in Thamel, request a room facing the courtyard, not the street.

Taxis at Tribhuvan International Airport are the first test. Drivers outside the terminal quote 1,000-1,500 NPR to Thamel for a ride that should cost 400-600 NPR on the meter. The pre-paid taxi counter inside the terminal charges a fixed 700 NPR. Use it. The painted sadhus at Pashupatinath Temple pose for your camera, then demand 500-1,000 NPR per shot. The same performance plays out at Basantapur Durbar Square. If you want the photo, agree on a price before the shutter clicks. 100-200 NPR is reasonable. Trekking agency scams follow a pattern. A tout books your Annapurna or Everest Base Camp trek at a steep discount, pockets the deposit, and vanishes. The Nepal Tourism Board office on Pradarshani Marg can verify any agency's registration number. Check before you hand over cash.

Kathmandu sits in a bowl-shaped valley at 1,400 meters, and the air quality shows it. PM2.5 readings from December through February regularly hit 150-200 µg/m³, roughly 10 times the WHO guideline. You'll taste the grit on your teeth walking near Ratna Park in the morning. Bring an N95 mask if you have respiratory issues. The monsoon runs from mid-June through September. Streets in Asan and Indra Chowk flood knee-deep within 20 minutes of a heavy downpour, and the smell of wet garbage mixed with diesel exhaust hangs in the humid 30°C air. Landslides close the roads to Nagarkot and Dhulikhel after sustained rain. That said, the monsoon does bring the only reliably clear Himalayan views once storms pass, so the trade-off is real. Today, June 21, light showers at 25.4°C and 72% humidity are typical for the season.

Tap water in Kathmandu is not safe to drink. Period. Even locals boil or filter it. A 1-liter bottle of Himalayan brand water costs 30-50 NPR at any corner shop. Use bottled water for brushing teeth at budget guesthouses in Freak Street and lower Thamel, where the plumbing tends to be older. Street food is generally fine if you follow the heat rule. The momo stalls around Boudhanath Stupa and New Road serve steaming pork or buffalo dumplings from rolling boils. Safe. The cut-fruit vendors along Asan Tole are a different story. Mango and papaya slices sitting in 28°C afternoon heat for 3 hours are a fast track to gastric trouble. Eat fruit you peel yourself.

Skip the Narayanhiti Palace Museum on Saturdays, when it's closed. The rest of the week it costs 500 NPR for foreigners and the interior still feels like a 1963 government time capsule, but the bullet holes from the 2001 royal massacre make it worth one weekday visit. Skip the "Everest scenic flights" advertised for $200-250 in Thamel agencies. They cancel 60-70% of the time during monsoon and you'll spend 3 hours at the domestic terminal breathing kerosene fumes before getting your refund. The Garden of Dreams inside Kaiser Mahal charges 400 NPR entry for a 20-minute garden that peaks in March and April. In June, you're paying to sit on a damp bench near a tired fountain.