Kathmandu is a big city, the largest in Nepal and the capitol, but most tourists only see Thamel and maybe Durbar Square or Buddha Stupa.  There are lots of historical places to see around the city, some rather morbid such as Shree Pashupatinath (aka. Pashupatinath Temple) or artistic such as Bhaktapur (ok, Bhaktapur is not in Kathmandu, but is a easy 45 minute drive).  I'm not trying to recreate TripAdvisor here, so I'll hit some of the major places to see that I have been to.

First, a little dry history of Kathmandu:

The history of Kathmandu can be traced back to the 4th century BC, when the Licchavi dynasty established a kingdom in the Kathmandu Valley. The Licchavi kings built many temples and monasteries in the valley, including the Swayambhunath Stupa and the Pashupatinath Temple.

In the 13th century, the Licchavi dynasty was overthrown by the Malla dynasty. The Malla kings ruled the Kathmandu Valley for over 400 years, during which time they built many more temples and monasteries. The Malla kings were also patrons of the arts and sciences, and their rule saw a golden age of culture in the Kathmandu Valley.

In the 18th century, the Gorkha kingdom conquered the Kathmandu Valley and established the Kingdom of Nepal. The Gorkha kings ruled Kathmandu for over 200 years, during which time they built many palaces and forts. The Gorkha kings also modernized the city and made it a major trade center.

In 1951, Nepal became a constitutional monarchy. Kathmandu remained the capital of Nepal and continued to grow as a major city. In 2015, Kathmandu was struck by a major earthquake, which destroyed many of its historic buildings. However, the city has since been rebuilt and remains an important cultural and economic center in Nepal.

Here are some of the key events in the history of Kathmandu:

• 4th century BC: Licchavi dynasty establishes a kingdom in the Kathmandu Valley.

• 13th century: Malla dynasty overthrows the Licchavi dynasty.

• 18th century: Gorkha kingdom conquers the Kathmandu Valley and establishes the Kingdom of Nepal.

• 1951: Nepal becomes a constitutional monarchy.

• 2015: Kathmandu is struck by a major earthquake.

Kathmandu is a city with a rich and varied history. It has been ruled by different dynasties and has seen many wars and earthquakes. However, through it all, Kathmandu has always remained a major cultural and economic center in Nepal.

 Arriving in Kathmandu

Before I even get into that, I highly recommend you get your visa pre-arrival online through the Nepal Department of Immigration.  This will save you from the hassle of going to the arrivals kiosk and entering these same details, and going to the bank kiosk to pay the visa fee before you can go to the immigration desk.  It doesn't sound like much, but believe me, it's a cluster if you're not the first people off your flight and there is no flight arrivals before you....

To note, you will need the following, this is a strait copy from the Department of Immigration website:

Advice for Online Visa Applicants

In order to avoid long queues and unnecessary problems, kindly submit a complete Online Visa Application form to the Immigration Authority of Nepal in your first attempt! To do that, here are few things you need to prepare:

1. Please keep your valid passport at hand.

2. Ready a recent digital photograph (size: 1.5” x 1.5”) in your removable device to upload your photograph for the application.

3. Gather beforehand

   1. a detailed permanent residence address, and

   2. detailed address in Nepal.

4. You need to provide telephone numbers—land-line and mobile.

5. You need to provide your email address too.

6. The submitted application will remain in the system for 15 days. After 15 days, the application will be deleted automatically from the system.

7. Once the application is successfully submitted, a receipt will be sent to your email immediately.

8. Print the receipt and keep it with you as you need to produce it before the Immigration Authority.

9. For your convenience, the deadline to contact the Immigration Authority will be mentioned in the receipt.

10. The receipt also mentions about the documents you need to produce before the Immigration Authority.

11. Please contact the Immigration Authority within 15 days after the submission of application.

12. For example, if you submit your extension application today, and your visa is expiring the next day, on the third day if you visit the Department of Immigration, you will have to pay late fee of that day. In order to prevent this sort of hassle, please submit your extension application on time and get your visa renewed before crossing the expiry date.

13. When you contact the Immigration Authority, please make sure you have the receipt and proper documents with you including the necessary fee.

14. No on arrival visa for country list - AFG,IRQ,CMR,GHA,SOM,SWZ,PSE,ZWE,NGA,ETH,LBR

If you don't get the online visa you can get a tourist visa for up to 90 days at the airport, which can be extended for a total of 150 days per calander year.  Technically you can stay up to 300 consecutive days if you plan your trip from Aug. 4th through May 30th as long as it's not a leap year.  To extend your visa you can go to the Department of Immigration in Kathmandu located here.

A taxi from the airport to your hotel in Thamel will cost you around $7 USD.  If you don't have any rupees there is at least one money changer (I think more) on your way out of the terminal.  I go to the prepaid taxi stand just outside the terminal to book a taxi because I don't like the hassle of bartering to save a couple rupees.  It's a fun ride, especially during rush hour.  If you're staying somewhere else, there is a picture of the 2002 prices from the airport on my Google Photos share.  The one on the left is way too small to read...

If you are going directly to somewhere like Pokhara without an overnight in Kathmandu you can go from the international terminal to the domestic terminal.  It's a bit of a walk if you have baggage but if you're going trekking just throw on your pack and get some exercise.  The last time we transferred the cab drivers wanted $5 to take us, which is a ridiculous price for there.

Thamel Scams - The biggest one we've seen in Thamel is a lady walking around with a baby bottle asking for you to buy formula.  There's no child in sight, and even if there was one they are in on it.  I call it the milk bottle scam.

Seedy dance bars, and I mean seedy, I've been in a couple, they are just a front for prostitution, patrons do get robbed and there have even been reports of fake police raids to get you to pay off the "cops".  The first time I was in Thamel my buddy and I wanted to go get a beer.  We went to a bar (not even a dance club) and he ordered a beer.  Before I could order mine a girl that looked like she was 12 came up to me and put her arm around mine and started to try and pick me up.  We told the bartender to forget it and got the hell out of there quick.

Fake thanka painters will approach you on the street and try to get you to come to their shop.  These are not the actual painters and will try to pressure you to buy one of their poor quality paintings for a high price.  If you're interested in a painting, go into a shop on your own that has a painter working, there are a lot of them around, and negotiate for what you think it's worth.

I get approached every couple of minutes on the street and get offered every drug on the planet or girl who does anything.  Do yourself a favor and just say "no thanks" and keep walking...

Thamel

It can be a crazy place.  You'll proably figure this out really quick if you're there during trekking season.  The cab will go through tight spaces weaving around people where you won't think it was possible.  

There is the whole range of hotels in the area from $6 hostels to the 5-star Hotel Yak & Yeti.  We stay at the Kumari Boutique Hotel because it's in our mid-range budget ($50-60), it's only 2 blocks from the chaos, and the staff are fantastic.  It also has a good breakfast.  For a treat if I have enough points we stay at the Radisson  ($90-100) which has the most comfortable beds I've ever seen in Nepal and has quite a spread for breakfast for a reasonable price.  It's about a 20 minute walk down some busy streets to get to Thamel from the Radisson, but there are good sidewalks to walk down.  You will have to go across one busy intersection, just do exactly what the locals do to cross.

Thamel is the best place to get any gear you need if you're going trekking.  Besides the authentic shops on the main road entering Thamel, there are what seems to be thousands of trekking stores.  This is where you get what we call "North Farce" gear.  The selection is enormous, the prices are cheap and most of it is surprisingly good quality.  The only thing I would not buy are boots or shoes.  They might be ok, but when it comes to my feet while trekking, I don't take any chance.  I have seen plenty of shoe soles on the path, and that would be a trek killer.  There's nowhere to buy shoes or boots up there.

There are a couple restaurants we eat at, here's our favorites:

Indian -  Lumbini Tandoori & Naan House.  It just happens to be two blocks away from the Kumari Boutique Hotel directly on the way to the trekking shops., how convenient.  They don't have a website, but if you click the link it'll bring up the map.  It's very affordable and really good.  It has a fairly good selection along with the best milk tea around and fresh naan.

Italian (aka. Pizza) - Fire and Ice.  You will probably see a sign on your left as you enter Thamel from the airport, it's across the street from North Face, Black Yak and the other "authentic" outdoors stores.  The pizza is a little different than most of us are use to, but it's good.  Can't ever go wrong with a pizza and a beer.

Breakfast / Asian - Yala Cafe & Coffee Shop.  Definitely a little higher end then most restaurants in Thamel, but worth a splurge.  

Western - Roadhouse Cafe.  I know, I recommended them for Pokhara also.  There is a difference between these two.  This one I don't have down for pizza for a reason.  The pizza here is not the same as the one in Pokhara.  It's ok, but not great.  I do recommend here for starters, salads and pasta.

Fresh Spicy Potato Chips - I had to add this one for my sister.  She loves these, so I want these folks to stick around for next visit.  If you go south on Amrit Marg (south of  Jyatha Marg) into the local area for a couple blocks there are some cute Nepalese ladies cooking these on the left side of the street.  I have to agree, they are delicious.  

We've only tried a small fraction of the restaurants in Thamel, I highly recommend walking around and trying some random places.  Some of the local places are great.

Beer - I do have to plug this one in here, because I really enjoy a beer or two after trekking.  Everyone has their different taste, but Gurka Strong is my favorite.

Activities

Lots to see here in Kathmandu, here are just a couple of sites to see and things to do.

Kathmandu Durbar Square - Most tourists just refer to this as Durbar Square, but there are actulaly three of them.  The other two are Patan Durbar Square, and Bhaktapur Durbar Square, all three are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.  This square was actually established in the 3rd century, but most of the buildings are from the 16th century.  The square was heavily damaged from the earthquake in 2015 with many dead in the square itself.  I saw it about a month after the earthquake and it was really bad to the point you were worried walking that a wall was going to collapse on you, and very well could have.  Last year it looked a lot better, but they are continuing to rebuild using the original materials whenever possible.  One of the notable buildings that looks really good is the Kumari Chouk, which is where the current Kumari Devi (Royal Kumari of Kathmandu) lives.  We were fortunate to be there at the right time for an appearance.  You are not allowed to enter and get a blessing unless you are Hindu.  The other notable building in the square is the nine story palace built by Prithvi Narayan Shah to commemorate the Unification of Nepal.  Not to take anything away from the other buildings and temples, there are quite a few really cool ones here.  There is a entrance fee for foreigners.

Boudhanath (Boudha Stupa) - This is a really large Stupa, I believe one of the largest in the world.  It is rumored to contain the remains of a former buddha.  There's quite a bit of history and mythology associated with this site that you can read about by link above.  They now charge an entrance fee to this site, which is new, they never charged us before 2022.  There are quite a few restaurants, cafes and shops all around the stupa, along with a monastery that you can visit.  The stupa like many historical structures around Kathmandu was heavily damaged by the earthquake.

Bhaktapur - This is where another one of the three Durbar Squares are and it is well known expecially for the artisans that have shops all along the square.  It at one point was the capital of Nepal during the 12th and 13th centuries and was the site of several battles for control of the region.  The link on the name takes you to Wikipedia information on Bhaktapur if you are interested in the history, it's a interesting read.

Mountain Flight - We took this trip from the domestic terminal which takes you up to see many of the mountains including Everest along the southern part of the range.  You can see Everest from a distance, it does not fly over the high peaks.  It was worth the $120 or so dollars and an alarm back in 2015, it leaves early in the morning for sunrise. As of 2023 it looks like the cost went up quite a bit, so now it's between $180-$220.  You get to see five of the 8000ers to include Everest, Lhotse, Cho-oyo, Makalu and Shisha Pangma.

Hiking - Any of the trekking agencies in Thamel will gladly set up a day hike to some of the good overlooks around Kathmandu or take you on a city tour.  Unfortunately you cannot see the Himalayas from right around Kathmandu due to the pollution.  At one point during the COVID lockdowns the air cleaned up enough but has since become too polluted again.