Bhaktapur

Bhaktapur is a major center for tourist souvenirs ranging from trinkets to fine woodcarving, pottery, weaving, sculpture, handmade papers, and UNESCO-supported greeting cards. Unique among Nepali cities, however, is that, when the day is over, Bhaktapur’s sales rooms close, everything is put behind shutters, and the entire city becomes much as it was a hundred years ago (ignoring the modern electric lights and the occasional motor scooter). Locals spend the pleasant evening promenading on the main streets, buying fruits and vegetables from the stalls or carts, or playing music in a temple courtyard. At night, after a fine meal of Newari or Western food, you can hear the measured tread of the night watchman as he makes his rounds in the old style.

If you are lucky, you can enjoy the city during one of its many festivals, of which the full moon festival in the Fall is particularly noteworthy. Not far from Bhaktapur, easily reached by local bus, is the ancient hilltop temple complex of Changu Narayan, the oldest temple in the Kathmandu Valley, believed to have been built in 323 AD. Nagarkot, with its splendid views of the Himalaya, is also nearby.

The region around Bhaktapur is famous for growing some of the world’s best cauliflower, rice, and other vegetables. If you are there in October, you will see the annual rice harvest, always interesting. (Pokhara has two fine rice harvests, in early June and early November.)

For these reasons, we strongly recommend staying at least one night in a Bhaktapur guesthouse, rather than simply taking a day trip from Kathmandu as so many tourists do.