Bagmati province
Kathmandu Valley & the middle hills
Where every journey starts, and a surprising number should also end.
Most itineraries treat the valley as an arrival lounge. That is a waste of three medieval city-states, a food culture reaching back through Newar, Tibetan and Indian kitchens, and forest ridges that start twenty minutes from Thamel.
It is also the best place in Nepal to be if your flight is delayed, your legs need a day, or you have four hours and want to eat something you will still be thinking about in a year.
- 3Journeys here
- 2,732 mHighest point we reach
- 7Prime months a year
Timing
When to come.
Comfortable most of the year. October to March is dry and clear; May is hot and hazy.
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Signature experiences
What you came for.
- Newar architecture across Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur
- Boudhanath at dusk, when the kora fills with people walking
- Shivapuri Nagarjun forest and the ridge above the valley
- Bandipur, a preserved Newar trading town on the road west
3 journeys
Ways to walk it.
Every departure in Kathmandu Valley, from the shortest to the most committing.
Kathmandu after dark: a food walk
4 hours · Max 8 travellers · Year-round
Six stops through the old city between dusk and closing time, eating the things Kathmandu actually eats.
Shivapuri ridge to monastery
2 days · Max 8 travellers · Sep–May
Out of Kathmandu at eight, above the haze by lunch, and a sunrise over the Ganesh Himal the next morning.
Bandipur ridge & village trails
3 days · Max 10 travellers · Sep–May
A preserved Newar hill town with a car-free main street, walking trails to Magar villages, and the Annapurnas on the skyline.
Local knowledge
Who leads here.
Elsewhere in Nepal
Other regions.
Everest & Khumbu
The valley that made trekking famous, walked at a kinder pace.
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Annapurna
Rice terraces to high desert in a single walking week.
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Mustang
Tibet's weather, Tibet's architecture, Nepal's side of the border.
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Langtang & Tamang country
The closest big mountains to Kathmandu, and a valley rebuilt by hand.
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Private departures
Kathmandu Valley, on your dates.
Every journey on this page can run privately, at your pace, for your group. Same guides, same lodges, your calendar.