Kathmandu in 3 days

Kathmandu Durbar Square (Basantapur Durbar Kshetra — the old royal palace square of the Malla kings (the Malla dynasty ruled the Kathmandu Valley from the 12th–18th century); UNESCO World Heritage Site; damaged in the 2015 Gorkha Earthquake (Mw 7.8 — the earthquake killed 9,000 people across Nepal and destroyed many of the old city's historic structures) and under reconstruction. The surviving and restored elements: the Kumari Ghar (the residence of the Kumari — the living goddess of Kathmandu, a pre-pubescent girl selected through an elaborate ritual process to serve as the earthly manifestation of the goddess Taleju; the Kumari appears at a window of the Kumari Ghar at specific times of day; photography of the Kumari is prohibited); the Taleju Temple (the royal temple of the Malla kings, only open to Hindus); the Hanuman Dhoka palace (the old royal palace (hanuman dhoka = 'gate of Hanuman', the monkey deity whose statue guards the entrance), with the Nasal Chowk (the coronation courtyard of Nepal's kings)); and the Kasthamandap (the 12th-century three-storey wooden pavilion from a single sacred tree (the building's name — 'House of Wood' — gave Kathmandu its name; it was completely destroyed in the 2015 earthquake and rebuilt 2021)). Adults NR 1,000.

Patan (Lalitpur — 'City of Fine Arts'; 5km south of Kathmandu centre, across the Bagmati River (the two cities are now effectively merged by urban growth)); Patan Durbar Square (Mangal Bazaar; UNESCO World Heritage Site; the royal palace square of the Malla kings of Patan — considered the finest medieval temple square in Nepal (Patan was not as badly damaged in the 2015 earthquake as Kathmandu's Durbar Square)). The key elements: the Krishna Temple (1636 — a shikhara-style Hindu temple (the North Indian tower temple form, as opposed to the Newari pagoda form; the only shikhara temple in the Kathmandu Valley), with carved stone panels depicting the Mahabharata and Ramayana in continuous narrative); the Hiranya Varna Mahavihar (Golden Temple — a 12th-century Buddhist monastery with a golden facade; one of the finest examples of Newari Buddhist architecture); and the Patan Museum (the converted royal palace of the Malla kings, one of the finest museum displays in South Asia, with bronzes and stonework from the valley's temples). Adults NR 1,000.

Patan has been the centre of the Newari metal casting tradition for at least 1,500 years: the dhalakar caste (the hereditary bronze casters) produce the sacred Buddhist and Hindu statues, ritual objects, and temple ornaments that are found in every monastery and shrine in the Himalayan region (from Kathmandu to Tibet, Bhutan, Ladakh, and Mongolia). The casting process (lost-wax or cire perdue technique): a wax model is made, invested in a clay mould, the wax burned out, and molten bronze poured in to fill the void; the resulting bronze is hand-chased (the details of the figure's face, hands, and robes are refined with chisels after casting) and fire-gilded. Several workshops in Patan's Uku Bahal area allow visitors to observe the process (NR 200–500 contribution). Thangka painting: the Tibetan Buddhist devotional scroll painting tradition, done in mineral pigments on cotton canvas sized with chalk and glue; a single complex thangka takes 3–6 months to complete.

Dhindo (ढिँडो — the traditional meal of mountain Nepal: a thick porridge made from buckwheat (fapar) or millet (kodo) flour, cooked over a fire and stirred continuously until it forms a stiff, smooth mass similar to Italian polenta or West African fufu; eaten by hand, torn into pieces and dipped into gundruk ko jhol (a sour fermented leafy greens soup — gundruk is made by fermenting mustard or radish leaves for 3–7 days until sour, then drying and storing; the soup has a powerful umami-sour flavour)); dhindo is the food of the hill peoples and carries cultural associations with traditional Nepali identity (dal bhat is the urban dish; dhindo is the mountain dish). Newari feast (bhoj — the traditional Newari ceremonial meal with 20+ small dishes): available at the Newari restaurants of Patan's Darbar Marg area for NR 800–1,500.

Mountain flight (the one-hour scenic flight from Kathmandu Airport that gives passengers a close-up view of the eastern Himalayan peaks from a seat window; the aircraft (Buddha Air, Yeti Airlines, or Shree Airlines use twin-engine turboprops) flies east from Kathmandu at approximately 7,000m, parallel to the Himalayan chain, giving views of: Everest (Sagarmatha — 8,849m, visible as the black triangular pyramid rising above its surrounding peaks), Lhotse (8,516m), Makalu (8,485m), Cho Oyu (8,188m), and Kangchenjunga (8,586m) on clear days; every passenger gets 3–5 minutes at each window; the flights depart 06:00–08:00 (the only clear-sky window before the morning cloud builds over the peaks)). Price: approximately USD 200/person. Alternatively: the Nagarkot viewpoint (40km east of Kathmandu, accessible by taxi NR 3,000–4,000 return — a hilltop village at 2,175m with a dawn view of the Himalayan panorama without the cost of a flight).

Bhaktapur (भक्तपुर — 'City of Devotees'; 16km east of Kathmandu centre, 45 min by taxi (NR 800–1,200) or local bus (NR 30); UNESCO World Heritage Site; the best-preserved of the three medieval royal cities of the Kathmandu Valley (Bhaktapur was the royal capital of the unified Kathmandu Valley from 1382 until the valley was divided among three kingdoms in 1482)). Bhaktapur's Durbar Square and the surrounding old city are the finest mediaeval townscape in Asia east of the Indus: 5 major temple squares (Durbar Square, Taumadhi Square (the Nyatapola Temple — the tallest temple in Nepal, a 5-storey pagoda built 1702), Dattatreya Square, and the Potters' Square (where traditional terracotta is made on foot-powered wheels)), 172 temples, and 99 courtyards. The old city is pedestrianised (cars banned) and the streetscape is essentially unchanged from the 15th–18th century. Adults NR 1,500 (entrance ticket).

Juju Dhau (जुजु धौ — 'King of Yoghurt'; the famous Bhaktapur yoghurt: a rich, thick, slightly sour buffalo-milk yoghurt set in small clay pots (the clay pot absorbs excess whey and imparts a subtle earthy flavour that cannot be replicated in glass or plastic containers); the juju dhau of Bhaktapur is considered the finest yoghurt in Nepal (available throughout Nepal but the flavour is specific to the Bhaktapur spring water and buffalo milk); NR 80–120/clay pot). Bhaktapur Potters' Square (Kumale Tol — a courtyard where traditional terracotta clay pots are made on foot-powered kick wheels (the wheel is spun by foot while the hands shape the clay; a skill that requires years of practice to achieve the specific wall thickness and form of traditional Newari storage pots)). Bhaktapur yoghurt + potter watching is the definitive Bhaktapur tourist experience.

Return taxi to Kathmandu (NR 800–1,200, 45 min). Garden of Dreams (Swapna Bagaicha — Kaiser Mahal, Thamel; a neo-classical Edwardian garden built by Field Marshal Kaiser Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana (1892–1964) in the 1920s as his private garden; the garden has six seasonal pavilions corresponding to the six Nepali seasons (spring, summer, monsoon, early autumn, autumn, and winter), a large ornamental pond, and an amphitheatre; after decades of neglect, the garden was restored 2006 by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture and is now the most peaceful public space in Kathmandu (entry NR 400 foreigners; a glass of coffee on the garden terrace is the best NR 400 spent in Thamel). Final dinner: any of the Thamel rooftop restaurants with a Himalayan view: Momo and Thukpa (Tibetan noodle soup) and a glass of tongba (millet beer fermented in a bamboo container, sipped through a bamboo straw).