Here is our detailed itinerary on places to visit in Nepal. This is culture, monument and nature focused and not trek focused
Lumbini
Birthplace of Lord Buddha and a UNESCO World Heritage site, quite close to the border with India. There is a pillar erected by emperor Ashoka, Japanese stupa, monasteries by various countries
Thai white temple, Korean temple, Cambodian and Golden temple of Myanmarare worth a visit
Japanese Peace pagoda is at one end of the complex with a beautiful lake of pink/ orange and purple lilies
Mayadevi temple is at the other end, amidst the ruins. The birthplace of Buddha had gold-colored bricks lining the place
Entry was free the day we went due to Chaitra Purnima fair. Buddhist have special occasions on full moon days
E-Rickshaw price is open to negotiation. We were taken by our driver to a single operator without options. The provider was quite open in admitting overpricing. Their desperation and ask for consideration as a donation to buy potatoes made us give up haggling and we paid NPR 1100 for 2.5 hours. The sad part was he lied about Korean temple being closed since covid to avoid going to other half of the complex. We strongly recommend avoiding this trap and asking drivers to start from Mayadevi temple where you will have options
Pokhara
Famous for Phewa lake, many other smaller lakes and natural scenery. The mountains are much close here compared to Kathmandu. A nice stop before proceeding to Jomsom in Mustang
Must visit in Pokhara
Bat cave
Many bats hand on the ceiling. Better to exit from entry gate itself
Gupteshwor temple
Do walk till the end behind the lingam to see Devis falls amidst the rocks. One of the best places in Pokhara
Pumdikot Shiva statue
Good for views and free. Relatively easy to reach compared to Peace Pagoda
Quite good- you won’t regret
Seti Gorge
Hidden gorge that you get to see only from inside which is positively surprising and not captured well in photos
Tal Barahi temple
Island temple reachable by boat. Bad weather stopped the boats, so we had to skip. The temple is small, but the boat ride and views make up for it
We could still catch the Arti in the evening which runs for an hour. The initial part is boring where donors are called out- a monetization gimmick. The actual arti started at 7 PM although 5:30 PM was mentioned on most sites
Devis Falls
Falls going into a deep gorge, also visible from Gupteshwar temple
Sarangkot
For mesmerizing views and a nice cable car ride. Read more below for details
Can skip in Pokahara
Mahendra cave
Few stalactites and god statues on the way. We found them to be average
Peace Pagoda
Good for the views, similar to Pumdikot. Many steps made it tiring to reach in the sun
Sarangkot
You can catch sunrise from Sarangkot for beautiful views of Annapurna, Dhaulagiri and Manaslu mountains
We were recommended against taking the cable car given it is expensive and vehicles can go quite a lot of distance towards the top. Our driver was hesitant taking India registered vehicle, so we ended up taking the cable car. The views of Phewa lake and the mountains were beautiful and we didn’t regret spending the money
The snow clad mountain view felt like heaven- the best views we saw in Nepal. You can also visit the Panchamukhi Ganesha temple around the top
Kathmandu
You can easily spend 2-3 days in the city covering nearby areas of Bhaktapur and Patan
Pashupatinath temple: Highly revered temple among Hindus dedicated to Lord Shiva. The best we saw in Nepal! The queues moved quickly despite heavy crowds if you just want to see the idol from a little distance. We also got to see the abhishek rituals. The main priests come from Sringeri and Udupi in Karnataka
There were many other queues which we couldn’t figure out why they existed. You can leave your footwear in one of the Rudraksh shops- don’t be obliged to buy any. We heard many shops sell fake beads
Guhyeshwari temple- A Shaktipeeth, hence we ended up visiting. Nothing out of the world
Narayanhiti Palace Museum: Former palace converted to a museum, where the royals were massacred. We saw recommendations to go in the evening to see large swarms of bats leaving the trees, which we spotted even from outside. The museum is closed on Wednesdays, sometimes even on Tuesdays and all days at 2:30 PM, so better to plan morning visit here
Boudhanath Stupa: Supposed to be the largest in the country. The unique part about Nepali stupas are the painted eyes on the tower
Swayambunath temple: Stupa on a mountain like the Boudhanath. You can spot monkeys on the way to the top. Vehicles go quite a distance on the mountain, so no need to climb the steps fom the bottom
Darbar square: Large area with tens of temples restored after the 2015 earthquake. Make sure you go inside the museum which has multiple courtyards, palaces and temples inside
The nine storied palace was a vertical building that gave us a good aerial view. It was less a palace and more of a watch tower
The Shwet-Bhairav and Kal-Bhairav statues were some of the best we saw
Taleju temple seemed grand, but opens only once a year during Dusshera/ Dashain
Kumari Ghar is the official residence of living Goddess of Kathmandu. We could get a glimpse of her at 5 PM, considered auspicious by the Nepali community
We also spotted a kumari like girl getting clicked in one of the temples, most likely a local child dressed up
Everest Mountain flight- A must do!
We were skeptical since we had seen mountains on flights to Leh, Bagdogra, Vienna and Almaty, but this was different, much closer and at side view vs top view elsewhere
We went with Buddha Air basis reviews and safety. They have 4-5 flights in a day operating almost same time
The flight was on time from 6:30-7:30 AM. Only window seats get occupied. Seat allocation is during check-in. Airport opens only at 5 AM so queue up at 4:55 AM to get best seats. Left side gets views in first half of the flight. Right side is better with closer and longer views in second half
Prices went up just a couple of days before we booked due to Iran war and Hormuz closure. There is no surge pricing otherwise, so you can wait to book the day before once you get clarity on the weather
Flights do get cancelled in bad weather, so book on the first day so that you can reschedule if required
Pictures on internet seemed like going at a distance which is not true. You get very close to most mountains, just not the Everest since it is few layers at the back and you get to see the top only. Mountains like Gauri Shankar get the best views!
Patan
Another UNESCO World Heritage site and the best among the 3 Darbar squares with much more intricate art and paintings. Patan and Bhaktapur can be covered in a day from Kathmandu, both being under an hour away
Krishna temple, Kumbeshwar temple, Machhendranath temple, Mahaboudha temple are the prominent ones. Bhimsen temple was quite unique
The stone architecture at Krishna temple and step well inside the museum stood out- the carvings were intricate and well preserved
Bhaktapur
Nyapatola is the stand out five storied temple along with many other smaller temples in the vicinity. This is the largest and most spread out, with 4 major squares- Darbar, Taumadhi, Pottery and Dattatreya square.
Dattatreya square is farther from the rest, with the famous peacock window which we skipped it due to heavy rains
Juju Dhau/ King of Yoghurt is famous in Bhaktapur where curd is poured onto earthen pots. We tried it and special lassi which was also good
Many Newari establishments offer traditional dishes like Bari (fried lentil pancake), Yomari (a sweet dish), thalis with any other lentil dishes
Jomsom- Muktinath
Mustang region has very different landscapes- from greenery to rain show region like Ladakh, to snow clad mountains
Dumba taal was average. The road shown by Google maps didn’t exist. Cloudy weather made color of water less elegant. We didn’t pay entry fee to go in as we could see it from the outside. We regretted troubling our driver to get to this point in treacherous roads
We stayed near Muktinath temple which turned out better than staying at Jomsom. We knew that acclimatization is not a major problem for us, having been to similar altitudes at Leh and Cusco in Peru. Staying near the temple meant vehicle entry beyond the usual check point, so less walking overall
The hotel was 20 minutes from the temple, and the walk/ step climb was moderate, nothing like Tiger nest or Rainbow mountains in Peru.
There are multiple stops on the way
- Galeshwor temple on a rock beside Gandaki river
- Mahavir falls
- Rupse falls
- Marpha – Apple flowers were not in full bloom in early April, but we could get a glimpse of few trees in full bloom
- Dumba taal – Skippable. Has emerald waters if you visit early morning in good sunlight. The waters have receded into a small pond
Nagarkot
Just 30 km from Kathmandu, famous for its view of Himalayan mountains. On a lucky day, you can see Mt. Everest from here
We could only catch a glimpse of Langtang mountain range for 30 minutes close to sunrise, post which it turned cloudy and hazy
Janakpur
There are temples dedicated to Lord Ram, Sita, Hanuman, along with a small lake. The Janaki temple had unique architecture, white in color with Mughal design. The night lights seemd flashy
Vivah Mandap was traditional in architecture- the hall where Ram and Sita were married.
Ram temple is another traditional temple, 500+ years old, oldest in the area
Janakpur city has more than 70 ponds and small temples. Cleanliness is an issue, we skipped the rest
What we skipped- Chitwan National Park
You can spot one horned rhinos, deers, bears, tigers, crocodiles, elephants and many more smaller species. We skipped this since we had been to Kaziranga and Kenya- Tanzania before