Kathmandu

Altitude: 1,350m
Population: Half a million
Best Season: May-September

Wandering through the cobbled streets and alleys of Kathmandu is like going back and forth in time. It was in the 1950s that the government of Nepal decided to open its borders to foreigners. The sudden influx of modernity and tourists has made for some interesting and eye-catching contrasts in this Himalayan Shangri-La. Kathmandu Valley is dotted with countless shrines, temples, palace squares, charming old bazaars and ageless sculptures. Very much the abode of Lord Shiva and Guatama Buddha, a patron saint of the Sikhs has also walked here. Not to mention the Living Goddess, Kumari, who is venerated by all. 

Kathmandu is a magically romantic place where, fact entwines with fiction, myth with legend, religion with mysticism, adventure with meditation and modern-day governance with tradition. It is also a pulsating tourist center with a mind-blowingly hectic nightlife. The area around the Kathmandu Guest House has mutated into quite a throbbing little quarter in the evenings, with dueling nightclub sound systems blaring across the alleyways, noisy bands of revellers looking for action, and the cops and the rikshawallahs waiting outside for closing time. The Thamel and Freak Street bars attract many budget travelers. They serve beer, improvised cocktails and music, often continuing into the early hours behind locked doors. The fancier nightclubs outside Thamel attract a more diverse clientele:  Nepali men and women, expatriates. All in All, Kathmandu will unfold to you whichever aspect you are looking for : religious, adventurous, meditative, mystic or entertaining.

Kathmandu is the arrival point for most of the visitors in Nepal. This small mountain sheltered valley is the historic center and the Capital of Nepal. This is the place where kingdoms rose and fell, palaces and temples are built and rebuilt, art and cultures are refined and protected. Kathmandu city is the largest in Nepal and is surrounded by green hills all over. Scattered around the valley are hundreds of temples and shrines, traditional villages and agriculture scenes of timeless beauty. You can see all these places by taxi, cycle, bus and by foot.