Kathmandu — Nepal's Temple-Filled Capital

Kathmandu sits in a wide Himalayan valley that has been continuously settled for over a thousand years, and the density of heritage packed into that small area is hard to overstate — the Kathmandu Valley alone holds seven UNESCO World Heritage Sites, from royal palace squares to hilltop stupas. Durbar Square, once the seat of Nepal's monarchy, was badly damaged in the devastating 2015 earthquake and has since been painstakingly restored, its wood-carved temples and courtyards once again open to visitors. A short distance away, the whitewashed dome of Swayambhunath — nicknamed the Monkey Temple for its resident troops of macaques — looks out over the entire valley, its painted Buddha eyes visible from well below the hill.

What makes Kathmandu distinctive is how closely Hinduism and Buddhism sit side by side, sometimes sharing the very same courtyards. Boudhanath, one of the largest stupas in the world, anchors a Tibetan Buddhist community that settled here after 1959, its prayer-flag-strung base ringed by monasteries and pilgrims walking slow clockwise circuits. Pashupatinath, on the other hand, is one of Hinduism's holiest sites and remains an active cremation ground on the banks of the Bagmati River — a solemn, unfiltered look at ritual life that few other cities allow visitors to witness so directly. Most travellers base themselves in Thamel, the tangle of narrow lanes packed with trekking shops and guesthouses, and use Kathmandu as a short, easy add-on to a longer India trip rather than a standalone destination requiring its own long-haul flight.