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Photo by Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Best time to visit Kathmandu
Nepal · South Asia
All twelve months scored on daily temperature, rainfall, humidity and holiday crowding.
The year in Kathmandu
Tap a month for its page
- JanJKathmandu in January: sweet spot
- FebFKathmandu in February: sweet spot
- MarMKathmandu in March: sweet spot
- AprAKathmandu in April: sweet spot
- MayMKathmandu in May: avoid
- JunJKathmandu in June: avoid
- JulJKathmandu in July: avoid
- AugAKathmandu in August: avoid
- SepSKathmandu in September: avoid
- OctOKathmandu in October: good
- NovNKathmandu in November: ok, busy
- DecDKathmandu in December: ok, busy
- Sweet spot
- Good
- OK
- Avoid
- Busy
- Prices thereVery cheap, about 24% of the US
- MoneyNepalese rupee
- PlugsType C and D, 230 V
- DrivingOn the left
Book your trip to Kathmandu
Best in February 19°C · 3 rainy days quiet February in Kathmandu ›
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Things to do in Kathmandu
- Pashupatinath Temple This important Hindu temple is dedicated to Shiva in his form as the Lord of the Beasts.
- Swayambhunath Perched on a hill overlooking Kathmandu, Swayambhu is a revered site featuring a grand stupa surrounded by Buddhist and Hindu iconography.
- Boudha Stupa Buddhist stupa in Kathmandu, Nepal
- Guhyeshwari Temple One of the Shakti Peethas of Nepal, considered auspicious to Shakti devotees.
- Narayanhiti Palace Museum Palace in Kathmandu, Nepal
- Kasthamandap A three-storey temple enshrining an image of Gorakhnath.
- Freak Street Historic street where western hippies seeking enlightenment would stay in the 1970s and 80s.
Tours and tickets in Kathmandu
Each site opens on its own search: choose your dates there. A few open on their home page, where you type the place too. Links marked Ad pay us a commission if you book, at no extra cost to you; most pay nothing, and what a site pays never decides whether it is listed or where. How we rank
Sights and their lines from Wikivoyage (Kathmandu/East, Kathmandu/West), licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, and Wikidata; in order of how often each one's Wikipedia article was read on phones in the last 12 months.
Kathmandu in pictures
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Chainwit., CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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Vyacheslav Argenberg, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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Etter Studio, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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Gerd Eichmann, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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Suraj Belbase, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Month by month
| Month | Max °C | Rain days | Humidity | Sun h/day | Verdict | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 17° | 3d | 70% | 9.4h | sweet spot | 17C max, 3 rainy days |
| Feb | 19° | 3d | 70% | 10.2h | sweet spot | 19C max, 3 rainy days |
| Mar | 22° | 9d | 67% | 10.3h | sweet spot | 22C max, 9 rainy days |
| Apr | 25° | 10d | 65% | 11.0h | sweet spot | 25C max, 10 rainy days |
| May | 25° | 20d | 79% | 10.6h | avoid | monsoon: 20 rainy days, 236mm |
| Jun | 27° | 22d | 86% | 10.1h | avoid | monsoon: 22 rainy days, 441mm |
| Jul | 26° | 30d | 90% | 8.0h | avoid | monsoon: 30 rainy days, 884mm |
| Aug | 26° | 29d | 90% | 8.2h | avoid | monsoon: 29 rainy days, 750mm |
| Sep | 26° | 22d | 89% | 9.0h | avoid | monsoon: 22 rainy days, 440mm |
| Oct | 24° | 8d | 82% | 9.8h | good | 24C max, 8 rainy days |
| Nov | 21° | 1d | 76% | 9.7h | okbusy | busier than usual |
| Dec | 18° | 1d | 72% | 9.4h | okbusy | busier than usual |
Rain days are the days with at least 1 mm of rain, as a weather station counts them.
Weather read at Tribhuvan airport, in the valley, 5 km from the city centre: ten years of ERA5 and ERA5-Land reanalysis, through Open-Meteo's open data.
A busy month is a crowded one, not a bad one — usually it is crowded because the weather is good. It is flagged rather than scored down, and crowds alone never make a month “avoid”: that is reserved for weather worth skipping.
How busy it gets
Then and now
Kathmandu's July days now average 26.5°C, 1.6°C warmer than in 1981–1990. 8 of 12 months are clearly warmer.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981–90 | 15.5° | 17.2° | 21.0° | 24.7° | 25.4° | 26.0° | 24.8° | 25.3° | 24.4° | 22.5° | 19.3° | 16.8° |
| 2017–26 | 16.8° | 18.8° | 22.0° | 25.0° | 25.2° | 26.5° | 26.5° | 26.5° | 25.9° | 23.6° | 20.8° | 18.0° |
| Change | +1.3° | +1.6° | +0.9° | +0.3° | -0.2° | +0.6° | +1.6° | +1.1° | +1.5° | +1.1° | +1.5° | +1.2° |
The average daily high, month by month, for the nearest ERA5 grid cell. Bold is a clear change; grey is within the ordinary spread between years. Every destination, ranked.
Busy and quiet times in Kathmandu
Kathmandu experiences a distinctive dry season in winter (December to February) and a severe monsoon from June to September. Visitors should plan accordingly, as heavy rainfall can disrupt travel plans.
| Busiest |
early May to mid Jun — This period marks the spring season where temperatures are warm and rain is beginning, attracting many tourists.
early Oct to mid Nov — The autumn season brings clear skies and moderate temperatures, making it ideal for trekking and outdoor activities.
|
|---|---|
| Quieter, still good |
mid Feb to late Apr — These months provide mild weather and lesser crowds compared to peak season.
mid Nov to late Dec — Post-peak season offers good weather with few tourists and lower prices.
|
| Wet or stormy |
mid Jun to late Sep — monsoon, severe
|
| Watch out for | haze; wildfire season in dry months |
Written by a language model from the climate figures above. The month-by-month table is measured — ten years of ERA5 readings and published holiday calendars — and where the two disagree, the table is the one to believe.
What Kathmandu is like
Kathmandu (Nepali: काठमाडौं Kāthmāḍaun) is the largest city and capital of Nepal, and the namesake of the Kathmandu Valley. Once thought to be the fabled and inaccessible Shangri-La, Kathmandu is a fast-growing spot catering to a wide range of holiday types and budgets. More on Wikivoyage
- Worth seeing
- Kathmandu has several excellent museums and galleries, which are mostly located in the central area of the city. The city is also home to a large number of Buddhist and Hindu temples, monasteries, and sacred sites. More on Wikivoyage
- Worth doing
- Kathmandu city itself has limited activities for visitors beyond the amazing sightseeing and general experience of being there. More on Wikivoyage
- Getting in
- Tribhuvan International Airport (KTM IATA), Ring Road (located 5.5 km east of the popular tourist area of Thamel). The largest and (next to Pokhara) one of only two international airports in Nepal. More on Wikivoyage
- Staying safe
- Canadian Consular Affairs, the UK Foreign and Commonwealth office, and the US State Department provide travel advice. Nepal is safe to visit but caution must be taken. More on Wikivoyage
- Staying healthy
- Air quality in Kathmandu has been very poor since the 2015 earthquake, particularly around the ring road. Buying a dust mask is advisable. More on Wikivoyage
From the Wikivoyage article on Kathmandu, written by travellers and licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the full article has far more. The numbers above are measured; this is experience.
Getting there
How far Kathmandu is depends on where you set off from — the months above do not.
- from Lucknow
- from Kolkata
- from Delhi
- from Jaipur
- from Hyderabad
- from Ahmedabad
- from Mumbai
- from Chennai
Open in Rome2rio for every way from to Kathmandu, flying or not.
Like a local in Kathmandu
On arrival
- Paying — Carry cash: ATMs are unreliable outside tourist areas, cards are not taken in remote places, and some shops add a card fee. Local QR payments run on Fonepay, through Nepali banking apps.
- UPI, for visitors from India — Works at participating shops on the Fonepay network: scan the Fonepay QR with your UPI app.
- Tipping — Tourist restaurants usually add a 10% service charge plus 13% VAT to menu prices; taxi drivers do not expect a tip.
Getting around Kathmandu
- Apps — Rides: inDrive, Pathao, Uber. Maps: Google Maps. Messages: WhatsApp, Viber. Pathao needs a Nepali phone number; inDrive works with a foreign number.
If you fly in, be sure to pick up a free Kathmandu Valley map at the airport. More on Wikivoyage
From the Wikivoyage article on Kathmandu, written by travellers and licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Help
- Emergency — police 100 · ambulance 102 · fire 101 · tourist police 1144.
TravelCharika is not an emergency service: we cannot call for help or send anyone. Numbers can change; if one fails, ask someone local or your hotel.
Your embassy — : how to reach your embassy or consulate abroad. A guess from your city, : a city is not a passport.
Put together by hand from the sources listed, checked 3 October 2026. Apps, cards and rules change, so check before you rely on one.
Sources (13)
- gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/nepal/getting-help
- en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Kathmandu
- pathao.com/np
- indrive.com/en-np
- uber.com/global/en/r/cities/kathmandu-bg-np
- fonepay.com
- gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/nepal/entry-requirements
- gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/nepal/safety-and-security
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viber
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WhatsApp
- developers.google.com/maps/coverage
- nipl.com/uploads/UPI_is_now_accepted_in_Nepal_d99637b82a.pdf
- pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2286608
Before you go
Type C and D plugs at 230 V. Drives on the left. The currency is the Nepalese rupee. No UK Foreign Office advice against travel. Global Affairs Canada: Exercise a high degree of caution (with regional advisories). US State Department: Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution. Entry rules for British travellers. Entry rules (Global Affairs Canada). Entry rules (US State Department). Everything for Nepal: cost of living, languages, emergency numbers and health.
A guide, not advice: entry rules change and depend on your passport and your trip, so check the official page before you book.
Around Kathmandu
Also in Nepal
Nearby
Routes through here
Kind of place
Kathmandu is in Nepal, South Asia. Distances are great-circle, so a short one can still be a long way round.
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