Bhaktapur

The third of the valley's old royal cities, 13 km east of Kathmandu and the best preserved: brick lanes, pottery squares and pagoda temples with no traffic in the core. The five-roof Nyatapola temple and the 55-window palace face Durbar Square. Stay a night to see it after the day-trippers leave, and eat juju dhau, the king of curds. The heritage ticket is checked at the gates and valid for a week with your passport or ID.

Highlights

• Five-storey Nyatapola Temple
• Palace of 55 Windows
• Pottery Square wheels and kilns
• Juju dhau (king curd)
• Dattatreya Square and the Peacock Window
• Changu Narayan, the valley's oldest temple
• Bisket Jatra chariot festival (April)

Things to do

• Durbar Square, Taumadhi & Nyatapola walkMorning · 2h 30m
• Pottery Square & a wheel-throwing lessonAfternoon · 1h 30m
• Juju dhau and Newari snacksAfternoon · 1h
• Changu Narayan Temple (UNESCO)Morning · 2h 30m

Tours & tickets

When to go

Best time: October – April

• Dashain (Bada Dashain) — Nepal's biggest festival, 15 days ending on the full moon, with the main days (Phulpati to Vijaya Dashami, the day of tika from elders) like India's Navratri and Dussehra. Kathmandu empties as people go home: buses and domestic flights sell out a week either side, government offices, many shops and some restaurants close for 4-5 days, and prices rise. It falls in the autumn trekking season, so book transport early.
• Tihar (Deepawali) — Five days of lights, two to three weeks after Dashain: crows, dogs and cows are honoured on successive days, Laxmi Puja falls on India's Diwali, and Bhai Tika ends it. Towns are lit with oil lamps and garlands and children sing deusi-bhailo door to door. Offices close for the last days and long-distance buses fill up again.
• Holi (Fagu Purnima) — Colours are thrown in the hills, Kathmandu included, a day before the Terai (Janakpur, Chitwan, Lumbini) celebrates with India. Basantapur and Thamel are the centres in Kathmandu; wear old clothes and keep phones in a bag.
• Bisket Jatra (Nepali New Year) — Around 14 April, the Nepali New Year: Bhaktapur hauls a towering chariot of Bhairab through its squares in a tug-of-war between the town's halves, and raises and pulls down a 25-m lingo pole. Crowded and exciting; watch the chariot from a raised step, not its path.

Part of a longer route

Bhaktapur is a stop on a curated circuit through Nepal.