Kathmandu : Travel tips and info

Before I went to Nepal I had a lot of people being spoilers, showing their apprehensions about travelling to this country and people telling me who goes to Nepal, there's nothing to see there. I am so glad I paid no heed to their comments and went with what my heart said and I was pleasantly surprised. Nepal is a travellers dream. It has beautiful trekking terrains, beautiful old temples, structures and buildings, Beautiful monasteries, great Nepalese and Tibetian food, busy streets and markets to shop, relaxing fresh air and raw natural beauty. I wish we all listen to our hearts and go with the flow and travel to places where the heart wants

Dur to lack of time I could only visit Kathmandu, but Kathmandu has been nothing short of pure delight. Went to Kathmandu over the Gurupurab long weekend in Nov 2019 for 3 nights and 4 days and came back craving for more.

Nepal is a visa free country for us Indians and carrying a passport is not even mandatory. You can carry your Aadhar/ voter ID instead if you don't have a passport yet.

Book your tickets at least 2-3 months in advance so that you get the best fares. 9-10 k return airfare is a great deal, take it if you are getting it.

As a female Traveller I would rate Kathmandu as one of the safest places I have travelled to. It's safer than most places in India as well. You don't need to worry about your ur wallet being stolen or about being Eve teased. You don't even need to worry if a local will give you an expensive exchange rate on your currency . People in Kathmandu are very honest and well behaved and the most hospitable too.

Being the capital city Kathmandu is fairly well developed than most parts of Nepal and has a great taxi service , ATMs, other forms of public transport and some of the finest places to eat. None of the cab based apps work though since the local cab guys find it more profitable to run without the apps. I will advise to download the fare finder /easy taxi app to just get a fair idea of the fares so that it's easier to negotiate with the cab drivers. That's exactly what I did.

INR is not an issue at all. It's widely accepted whether it is in exchange of a cab ride or while eating at a restaurant or while even shopping for souveniers INR is your best friend in Nepal. Unlike the myth that none of the Indian ATMs or credit cards work in Nepal, I found both my credit and debit cards fully functional in Kathmandu. Even though I hear while using cash only denomination of INR 100 or less than 100 is acceptable.

Whenever visiting Kathmandu stay centrally either in Thamel or Lazimpet road or near Durbar square so you will save a lot on cab fare and get to visit all attractions mostly on foot. These places also are the hub of night life, restaurants and casinos in Nepal.

The month of November is just perfect to visit. It's not very hot and neither it's very cold. But do carry a thin jacket for evenings.

Be prepared to carry your ID card while visiting attractions since there are tickets and pricing vary for SAARC country tourists and other foreign travellers. So to prove your nationality while buying a ticket you would need to prove your nationality since prices are lower for SAARC country travellers into Kathmandu. Don't forget to carry your passport / Aadhar when visiting a casino too.

Places to visit within the city include the Garden of dreams , ofcourse the Pashupati Nath temple, swayambhunath Stupa , boudhnath Stupa , Thamel market, Kathmandu durbar square, Asan tol market.

Non Hindus are not allowed (only Sikhs, Buddhists are allowed) inside Hindu temples in Nepal so take that into consideration.  Take a day trip to Patan in Lalitpur District and bhaktapur and see the three Durbar squares of the Kathmandu in these three places. Patan and bhaktapur are just about 45 min to an hour outside the city and we paid 2500NPR for a round trip from Thamel in a Maruti Alto. The trick is to keep asking every driver who drives you during your stay how much will he charge for a day trip.to patan and bhaktapur and take his phone number and call the one who quotes the lowest. 2500NPR for a day trip is reasonable considering you leave by 10am and he drops you back by 3pm.

While travelling to Nepal eat like a local. There are loads of Thakali places and Nepali khaja ghars. Try a Nepalese Thali and a Newari Thali they are slightly different. Try the local sweets at any local sweet vendor. The area around Boudhnath Stupa has some great Tibetan restaurants, I recommend you have a Tibetian meal there as well. I tried the Thamel house restaurant in Thamel for a Nepalese set meal and loved it. If you can splurge do not miss the Krishnarpan restaurant at Hotel Dwarikas for their Nepali set menu experience. It will cost you about 4000INR per head , but it's an experience of a lifetime. It's a restaurant where everyone from Prince Charles to the ex US president Jimmy Carter have dined. The meal experience is just blissful and the hotel property is just beautiful. I also tried some Tibetian food at Little Tibet restaurant in Thamel and adored the food.

Nepal has loads of varieties of Momos like the steam momos, fried momos, Kothey Momos, Jhol Momo's, spinach Momo's. Try them all you will love them. Try a Chatamari (Nepalese pizza), yamari (steamed sweet rice cake), Thukpa , Lakhamari (sweet) , juju Dhau (sweetened honey yoghurt), sel roti and bhaji and a Dal bhat thali . Try the local alcohol like the local rice wine or the chhang or aila or local rum like khukri and Gorkha

Shop for souveniers at the Thamel market and durbar square and you will get some great bargains.

Go to Kathmandu without any expectations and you will be pleasantly surprised.