4 Must-See Places in Kathmandu for First-Timers, Kathmandu, Nepal (B)

Just like any South Asian city, Kathmandu is crowded, noisy, dusty and polluted. The capital city of Nepal is choking under a blanket of pollution particularly now when it is going through a lot of construction, building repairs and roadworks as part of post-earthquake recovery efforts. As such, many travellers typically spend only a day or two in Kathmandu. Majority quickly move on especially the adventure travellers for their main objective is to trek the Himalayan mountain trails in the country. Well, who can blame them – 8 of the world’s Top 10 highest summits are in Nepal including Mount Everest 

Regardless, I found Kathmandu quite extraordinary. This urban jungle along with three other major cities (Boudhanath, Bhaktapur, Patan), smaller towns and villages are situated in a valley called Kathmandu Valley which is a major spiritual and cultural centre. Kathmandu Valley is so rich in culture that it has 130 monuments including pilgrimage sites for Hindus and Buddhists, 7 UNESCO World Heritage Sites of unique Newari architecture, and the highest number of jatra (street festivals) in Nepal. Almost every street corner in Kathmandu Valley is dotted with ancient temples and historic buildings, thus it is no wonder that Nepalis are extremely proud of their rich cultural heritage. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).