On a clear October morning, a white line of Himalayan peaks floats above the rooftops, and green hills ring the valley floor on every side. Down in the old city, the scale shrinks to carved wooden windows, tiered pagoda roofs in Durbar Square and prayer flags strung from the stupa at Swayambhu.
Past the famous squares, six old lanes meet at Asan to trade spices, cloth and gold, and Tibetan monasteries crowd around the great white dome of Boudha. June to September brings monsoon rain, while winters stay dry, with sunny days and cold nights. A Local Friend can pull up a stool for you at a family-run Newar eatery inside a courtyard, a table you would never find alone.
