What should I pack for Kathmandu?

Kathmandu sits at 1,400 metres, and that altitude makes the weather deceptive. In late June, afternoons reach about 25°C with 72% humidity, but monsoon cloud cover keeps mornings cooler than you'd expect. October and November visitors face a wider swing, with mornings around 5°C and dry afternoons near 24°C. Pack three quick-dry shirts, one light fleece, and one pair of long pants that cover your knees. Pashupatinath Temple, Basantapur Durbar Square, and Hanuman Dhoka all turn away visitors in shorts or sleeveless tops. The guards at Pashupatinath tend to enforce this selectively on foreigners, even while locals walk through in casual dress. A lightweight cotton scarf doubles as shoulder cover and UV protection at 1,400 metres, where the sun hits harder than the temperature suggests. If you're connecting from Chitwan or Lumbini in the Terai lowlands, Kathmandu runs about 10°C cooler. That single t-shirt won't survive a 6 AM walk up Swayambhunath's 365 stone steps.

Your shoes matter more in Kathmandu than in most South Asian cities. The alleys around Asan Tole and the brick-paved lanes to Basantapur Durbar Square are uneven, cracked, and slick with monsoon rain. You'll step over puddles in the Indra Chowk backstreets and dodge motorbikes on paths barely wide enough for two people. Bring closed-toe shoes with treaded soles. Sandals work on Thamel's paved main strip, but they're a poor choice on Swayambhunath's stone staircase, where the resident rhesus macaques grab at loose straps and dangling bags. If you're planning the Nagarkot sunrise trip, about 30 km east at 2,175 metres, trail shoes earn their luggage weight. The path from the bus park to Nagarkot Tower is loose red clay and gravel that turns to slippery mud after an hour of afternoon rain.

The Kathmandu Valley sits in a geographic bowl, and vehicle exhaust, brick-kiln smoke, and construction dust collect with nowhere to go. PM2.5 readings regularly push past 150 during December through February. Even in the cleaner monsoon months, a ride on a local bus along the Ring Road will leave grit between your teeth. Pack 3 to 4 N95 or KN95 masks. A cotton bandana won't filter PM2.5. Bring your preferred stomach medication too. Tap water is not safe to drink anywhere in the valley, and the shift to Nepali dal bhat, lentils and rice with mustard oil and chili served twice daily, tends to catch up with visitors around day three. Paracetamol is available at Thamel pharmacies for about 50-80 NPR per strip, roughly 0.35-0.55 USD at current rates. Altitude headaches are possible even at 1,400 metres if you flew in from sea level the same day.

Nepal runs on 230V with Type C, D, and M sockets. The Type D round three-pin plug is the one that catches people off guard. It looks like nothing in a standard European or US adapter set. Check that your universal adapter handles Type D before you leave home. Kathmandu still experiences periodic load shedding, and while hotels in Thamel and Lazimpat generally have backup generators, budget guesthouses in Freak Street and Bhagwan Bahal may leave you in the dark for 2 to 4 hours. A 10,000 mAh portable charger is close to mandatory if you're running Google Maps all day. You'll lean on it, because Kathmandu's streets have almost no signage and addresses use a ward-number system that means nothing to a first-time visitor. Pick up a Ncell SIM at the Tribhuvan Airport arrivals counter for about 500 NPR, around 3.30 USD, with 10 GB of data. That covers Maps, WhatsApp, and translation apps from the moment you clear customs.