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Not just for vegetarians but anyone who likes genuine curry. It's a downbeat small place but great food. They spice the food up to your liking.
In the centre of Thamel district amongst all the tourist shops. Next to ABC Trekking/Baniya travel.
This is a first class tour in Nepal covering the prime tourist destinations. It helps people to explore the beautiful old palaces, spectacular mountain views as well as give the chances to do wildlife activites. This tour visits Nepal's five world heritage sites. Moreover, you would be staying at the award winning heritage hotel - Dwarika's in Kathmandu. In Pokhara, you would be staying at the luxury Fulbari Resort and Spa. Tiger Tops Jungle Lodge, the first wildlife resort in Nepal, is your home, you would be staying at in Royal Chitwan National Park.
I recommend this trip simply because of their excellent service arrangements right from our arrivals, hotel check in/check out, offering us a very good quality luxury vehicle, knowledgeable guiding in the cities. We enjoyed the trip so much that we did not wish to fly back home after the trip. We were always treated like the Rajas & Maharajas of olden days.
Mountain Holiday Excursion Pvt. Ltd.
P.O. Box # 15142, KPC # 117
Thamel, Kathmandu, Nepal
Telephone: (+977 1) 4266897, 4260094
Fax: (+977 1) 4260094
Email: mhexcursion@wlink.com.np, travel@nepaltourinfo.com
Internet: www.nepaltourinfo.com
A beautiful temple like many in Kathmandu but this one is inhabited by hundreds of monkeys that will jump at you and bite you if you catch their eye or annoy them as you try to climb the many steps on the way to the top. It is great fun and the views from the top of the city are breathtaking. Ask a rickshaw driver to take you there.
Swayambhunath temple, Kathmandu, Nepal
Tour company based in Kathmandu running escorted tours in Nepal, Bhutan and Tibet. Run by the indefatigable Shiva Dhakal for whom nothing is too much trouble. Very reliable and utterly professional - they're used by some of the international adventure tour companies to run services for them. Go direct, save yourself some money and put more of your stirling/dollars/euros etc into the local economy. We found them on www.responsibletravel.com
Royal Mountain Travel
P.O.Box: 8720
Durbar marg (Yak & Yeti Hotel entry road)
Kathmandu, Nepal
Phone: +977-1-4215364-5 / +977-1-4215371
Fax: +977-1-4215372
Mobile: 00977 - 9851021560
e-mail: royalmt@mos.com.np
e-mail: rmtrek@wlink.com.np
www.royalmt.com.np
www.royal-mt-trek.com
The Kathmandu Guesthouse is a Thamel institution. Rooms are clean and comfy and though they are not the chepest rooms in Kathmandu it's a lovely place with really friendly, helpful staff and a very chilled atmosphere. You can organise tours and change money - there is an ATM there too.
Thamel
www.ktmgh.com
Tel: 977 1 4700 800
Restaurant, cafe, bar with great Mexican food, good beer and pleasant atmosphere. Courtyard seating. Fantastic breakfasts accompanied by classical music. Good strong coffee.
Thamel - If you were coming out of the Kathmandu Guesthouse you'd turn left and the Northfield is just a couple of doors along on the left.
Far Out Nepal is a small local trekking company that can organise treks, cultural trips or any kind of trip you would like to take in Nepal. They are really fantastic to deal with and on-the-ground arrangements are first class. My friend and I trekked to Everest base camp with them - two middle aged ladies - and they looked after us so well, to the point of providing hot water bottles when it got cold! They have now organised us a trip to Tibet, with a few days in the south of Nepal, a jungle adventure. Their prices are amazing, and even though your flights might cost a bit more to book independently, your trip will still be cheaper than going with another trekking company. I can highly recommend you contact Sunir in Kathmandu.
Probably the best pizzeria in Asia, and almost the world! I don't just say this because I was starved in Tibet and would have eaten anything. Instead, I lived in Kathmandu for 3 years and Fire and Ice never once failed me. We (and most other expats including Italians) used to go at least 3 times a week. Not only are the pizzas out of this world, but the atmosphere is great and the service is brisk and friendly. The place is always full of diplomats, NGO workers, Nepali and Indian families, Tibetan monks, mountaineers on their way to or back from the mountain, anthropologists etc. Run by an Italian lady, who has the Parmesan made in Lhasa. Unforgettable!
Sanchaya Kosh Bldg. 219, Tridevi Marg, Kathmandu (just at the entrance to Thamel, behind the carpark. Everyone knows it); tel: 01/250210
The most luscious and incredible curry in the world. Only two exist in the world, one in Delhi and the other in Kathmandu. The food is traditionally from north Punjab and blends foods from the border of India and Nepal, wholesome, meaty and very, very delicious. The naans are big enough to cover a table; the meat is so, so tender and delicious with tempting spices. Whenever l am in Delhi or Kathmandu l always go ... a full refund from me if you dislike it.
Soaltee Crowne Plaza; tel: 771 427 3999; www.soaltee.crowneplaza.com/dining/di03a.html
Swayambhunath is a Buddhist stupa atop a hill in the Kathmandu valley. It's best to get there before sunrise - you'll be unlikely to meet any other tourists, just crowds of Nepali and Tibetan people. Swayambhu is a hive of activity at this time, with chanting, meditation and worship playing alongside the pre-school karate class, police training up those steep steps, earnest young men doing their exercises, the games of the monkeys and dogs.
It's a wonderful place at any time, but I think you see it at its best and most natural at sunrise. Beautiful light for photography too, if that's your thing. And there's a lovely view across the Kathmandu valley. If you fancy a walk, there's a lovely peaceful monastery at the top of the next hill along.
It's an easy walk from the centre, but you could also take a bus from Sohrakhutte, or find a taxi. Ask to be dropped at the bottom of the steps, rather than at the top. Then walk up to the stupa
The land of Hindu animal sacrifices. Nepalis lead their offering to the slaughter tenderly, often whispering prayers in the animal’s ears and sprinkling its heads with water to help it shrug its assent. It is an amazing insight into their culture, if not a bit bloody.
While you are in the area, also visit the Buddhist monastery and Hindu temples. The locals are incredibly friendly. There are also a few hotels, if you stay overnight you can hear the beautiful sounds of chanting and large horns coming from the monastery. It is far more relaxed than Thamel.
You can take the tourist bus or just get a taxi. The action takes place on Saturday mornings from 6am, unless there is a Hindu festival, in which case the sacrifices happen all week.
Thamel's best kept secret (till now) ... Sam's Bar - run by Sam and his Austrian wife - is a great place to chill out and meet locals, backpackers, climbers, overlanders and loads of other interesting people. If you're lucky you'll start with a Sam special and who knows where it'll go from there!
Upstairs opposite the Hotel Mandap in Thamel
Vast amounts of stuff are on sale in Kathmandhu's bazaar - from masala tea to tie-dye T-shirts and all the tat, trinkets and treasures in between. But for bored chaps doomed to drag themselves after their shopaholic other halves, this is the place to come and buy a kukri, a traditional Gurkha knife.
Avoid the cheap and nasty ones on the market stands and try to find this marvellous little shop; there's a variety of different suberbly-crafted designs and the owner will gladly talk you through every detail.
Saat Ghumti, Thamel,
Kathmandu
Tel: 00 977 1470 1314
www.thekhukurihouse.com or www.khukurihouseonline.com
It might well have been because the week leading up to my visit had been extraordinarily tough, but this hotel was a godsend.
Greeted by musicians in Tibetan dress, you enter the main lobby decorated by miniature stupas: from the enormous main window you can see the eyes of the Boudannath peeping over the rooftops.
Fantastic buffet and underground bar too, all for about £70 a night.
PO Box 9609, Taragaon, Boudha, Kathmandu Tel: 00 977 1 4491234
kathmandu.regency.hyatt.com/
The most beautiful town in the Kathmandu valley, Bhaktapur has a huge collection of beautiful temples which are a must-see. The area is closed to traffic, so everything is kept in excellent condition.
The entrance fee is a bit steep for Westerners, in comparison to prices in the rest of Nepal (800 Rupees, approximately £7), but definitely worth it. Apparently, this is where some of the film Little Buddha was shot.
Ask any taxi in Kathmandu to take you to Bhaktapur
Go to the Buddhist Stupa in Bodha, northeast from Kathmandu centre. It's a bit difficult to find, due to Nepal's lack of street signs, but once you're there it's a fantastic spot to watch Buddhist monks go about their usual business and just to contemplate life and the world in general. There's also a great restaurant run by an Italian lady where you can get a huge plate of vegetable chowmein for 15 Nepali Rupees, approximately 8 pence.
Northeast of Kathmandu town centre
Paknajol is a nice quiet area with a number of small, family-run guesthouses. It is very close to Thamel, so you're never far from restaurants or bars or shops, but it also offers an escape from Thamel's hassle, chaos (in the high season) and fakeness. I would especially recommend Nirvana Peace Home. It’s around 300 rupees a night for very pleasant rooms, and the staff are wonderful.
A very short walk from Thamel - consult a map. Or any taxi driver should be able to get you there
Beautiful, friendly family-run guesthouse in the heart of Bhaktapur. Good food too. A perfect place to enjoy Bhaktapur, the perfect antidote to Kathmandu.
Taumadhi Tol, Bhaktapur
www.pagodaguesthouse.com.np/
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