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Tips & Traps
Insider advice from Local Friends and travelers. What to do, and what to avoid, city by city.
- TipA place or a move worth it
- TrapWhat to avoid, and how
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Insider advice from Local Friends and travelers. What to do, and what to avoid, city by city.
Join RALF to share your own tips and traps
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Thamel is convenient but loud and crowded, with persistent touts, so light sleepers often do better in Lazimpat, just outside it. The area has boutique and upscale hotels on quieter streets and a more polished dining scene, and you can still walk to Thamel. Book by the hotel's location rather than its name, and keep a…
The Dwarika's in Battisputali grew from founder Dwarika Das Shrestha's effort to save carved wood from old Kathmandu buildings, and its courtyards are built around salvaged sal beams and lattice windows. A restoration workshop set up in the 1960s still repairs carved pieces. Treat it as an experience in itself, and…
In the lunar month of Chaitra, usually March or April, a tall wooden chariot carries the white Machhindranath, a rain deity, from Jamal through Asan and Hanuman Dhoka to Lagan, then back to his shrine at Jana Bahal between Asan and Indra Chowk. Locals crowd the route over several days, so stand at a corner and let the…
Kathmandu's international jazz festival has run for about a week each October, with venue nights at Jazz Upstairs in Lazimpat, Electric Pagoda in Thamel and other rooms, plus a daytime Jazz Bazaar at Gokarna Forest Resort. It started in 2002 and is organised by Upstairs Ideas. The exact dates and lineup change every…
Jazz Upstairs in Lazimpat is one of Kathmandu's oldest and best-known jazz bars, reached by a staircase into a dim, intimate room. Local bands such as Cadenza Collective play jam sessions there, and its co-founder helped start the Jazzmandu festival, which opens at the bar. Check the bar's own announcements for the…
Nepal treats objects more than about 100 years old as antiques, and exporting them without special permission from the Department of Archaeology is illegal. New statues, carvings or paintings aged to look old can also draw questions, so ask the shop for a written certificate that the piece is not an antique. If you…
The rebuilt Dharahara tower has an observation balcony on its 8th floor with wide views over the rooftops to the hills around the valley. Visitor numbers have been high since opening hours were extended in 2025, so arrive as soon as it opens to avoid long waits. Leave time for the earthquake museum on the site, which…
A cable car from Thankot climbs about 2.5 km to a ridge at roughly 2,551 m, southwest of the valley, where a viewing tower and the Bhaleshwor Mahadev temple sit. On clear days the view reaches toward the Annapurna, Manaslu, Ganesh Himal and Langtang ranges. Go early in the day, when it is cooler and clearer, and in…
The Narayanhiti Palace, once the home and workplace of Nepal's kings, is now a museum. Highlights include the Gorkha Baithak throne room under a pagoda-style ceiling and the Kaski Sadan reception hall with its royal portraits. Cameras and phones are normally stored at the entrance and photography inside is not…
Annapurna conservation area permits cost double when issued at trail check posts, so sort yours out in Kathmandu before you leave. Counters in Kathmandu and Pokhara take cash, and you can also pay online by card. The Everest region works differently, with its own local fee collected on the trail. Restricted-area…
Non-Hindu visitors are welcome across the Pashupatinath complex, including the ghats, gardens and surrounding shrines, but only Hindus may enter the main sanctum. Visitors of all backgrounds can watch the evening aarati from the eastern bank of the Bagmati, with chanting, torches and candles. Dress modestly, take off…
The trail starts at Fulbari Gate, the army-run entrance to the Nagarjun side of Shivapuri Nagarjun National Park, and climbs through pine, oak and rhododendron forest past prayer flags to Jamacho Monastery and a viewpoint over the valley. Allow about five hours return, with plenty of steps on the way up. Start in the…
Kathmandu airport has no metered or published taxi tariff, and many city taxis do not run the meter, so the first quote to a visitor is often inflated. Use the prepaid counter inside arrivals, which gives you a slip with a fixed fare, or ask your hotel what a fair fare is before you land. Ride-hailing apps are…
The lanes between Basantapur and Indra Chowk fill with snack stalls from late afternoon into the evening. Order chatamari, the crisp rice-flour crepe, then spicy choila, grilled meat in a tangy marinade, and a crunchy bara patty, and wash it down with a cold lassi. Choose stalls with a steady line of locals, since…
Laphing is a cold, slippery noodle dish made from mung bean starch and tossed with chili oil, soy sauce and garlic. It is a street-food favorite around the Boudha stupa, where the Tibetan community keeps it on the menu, and it is most popular in warm weather. Ask for the spice level before it is mixed, and follow it…
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