City: Nepal
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10 Budget-friendly Things to do in Nepal That You Shouldn't Miss
Nepal (/nəˈpɔːl/ ( listen); Nepali: नेपाल Nepāl [neˈpal]), officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal (Nepali: सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल Sanghiya Loktāntrik Ganatantra Nepāl), is a landlocked country in South Asia located in the Himalaya. With an estimated population of 26.4 million, it is 48th largest country by population and 93rd largest country by area. It borders China in the north and India in the south, east, and west while Bangladesh is located within only 27 km (17 mi) of its southeastern tip and Bhutan is separated from it by the Indian state of Sikkim. A Himalayan state, Nepal has a diverse geography, including fertile plains, subalpine forested hills, and eight of the world's ten tallest mountains, including Mount Everest, the highest point on Earth. Kathmandu is the nation's capital and largest city. Nepal is a multiethnic nation with Nepali as the official language.
Restaurants in Nepal
1. Polar Trekking & Expedition - Day Tours
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 175 reviews
Polar Trekking & Expedition Pvt. Ltd. is an adventure travel company that offers private day sightseeing tours in the Himalayan region of Nepal. Pokhara is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Nepal. It is the best place to start day hiking around the valley. This enchanting city has several beautiful lakes and many hills offering stunning panoramic views of Himalayan peaks.
2. Patan Durbar Square
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 60 reviews
Reviewed By egekarakas12 - Dubai, United Arab Emirates
You have to visit this place asap, you will be enchanted!! I couldn’t close my mouth because i was shocked, i dont know what kind of talent that they have about handicrafts!! Superb
3. Kopan Monastery
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 787 reviews
Hundreds of monks and nuns live at this monastery, which offers meditation courses year round.
Reviewed By 403jennar - Winnipeg, Canada
We went to the monastery for when it first opened at 9:30 and stayed until around 11, and had a very memorable time circling the stupas and observing life at the monastery. Great view of Kathmandu from the cafe where you can sit outside and watch the monks go about their rituals and daily life. We took a taxi to get there and he waited until we were done at no extra charge, which is recommended as there were not taxis there waiting to pick people up.
4. Pashupatinath Temple
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 4,935 reviews
Reviewed By SFO_Drew - San Francisco, United States
This UN World Heritage site is literally a must-see for many Hindus, in order to gain spiritual fulfillment (along with Varanasi). If you cross the bridge behind the temple and climb the stairs, you will find a respectful viewing area to watch cremation ceremonies of the high-ranking deceased (there are other slabs further up the river for the common folks). But if you continue up the stairs, you will find rows of stupas that are quite pretty (you'll also frequently find sadhus here who will pose for pictures for money), and then a monkey road that leads down to a back gate exit. The grounds are quite large so you may wish to get a guide (such as Pink Mountain) before going there.
5. Patan Museum
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 525 reviews
It takes all three floors of the meticulously restored royal palace to cover thirteen centuries of Nepal’s religious art history; easily Nepal’s leading museum.
Reviewed By ggm96822 - Honolulu, United States
Severely damaged in the April 2015 earthquake, the restoration since has been phenomenal; much of the original doors, windows, wood carvings and brick work have been put back into place, only replaced by very high quality new work when necessary. This was the palace of the Malla kings of Patan, originally built in 1734 AD by displacing Ha Bāhā, though it has been rebuilt several times since (it was leveled in the massive 1934 AD earthquake, for example). The collection continues to expand, too, as (sadly) other historic structures of Patan are rebuilt without preserving their centuries-old carvings but at least letting the museum display them. There are occasional dances and musical events in the courtyard, and the impressively re-established annual Tantric-inspired Kartik Naach is performed in the fall outside the museum. Guide not necessary but many people apparently miss the second, separate entrance and even fewer visit the pond behind the palace.
6. Maya Devi Temple
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 446 reviews
A holy place for every Buddhist, Lumbini and the ancient ruins are associated with the birthplace of Buddha.
Reviewed By T-Enchanted
This is a place of History. Prince Siddhartha Gautam was born here. The child who would later be the founder of one of the most prominent religions in the World. Lumbini is located in the Terai plains of southern Nepal close to the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. This heritage place contains the Shakya tank, Monasteries, Ashoka Pillar, remains of the structure built in or much before the 3rd Century BC. Maya Devi, Queen Maya of Shakya Dynasty was the name of Buddha's mother. The Temple bears her name. The inside of the Temple has old ruins of the birthplace. Photography is not allowed here. One can quietly stand in a queue, pay respects once turn comes & leave quietly. The shakya tank is a pleasant sight. It has turtles & fish in it. Right behind the Tank is a grand old Tree around which the monks sit & meditate. The gardens surrounding the palace/Temple are lush & maintained beautifully. Lumbini is a sacred site and pilgrims from across the world come here to pay respects. I'm glad we visited this historical sacred place in the first leg of our Nepal Trip.
7. Durbar (Central) Square
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 987 reviews
Most towns and cities have a durbar, or central, square. Patan's is comparatively quiet, surrounded by peaceful palace courtyards, shops and pagoda temples.
Reviewed By AZCasualTraveler - Mesa, United States
UNESCO had designated three (3) town squares in Nepal as World Heritage Sites (Cultural): (1) Kathmandu Durbar Square, (2) Bhaktapur Durbar Square and (3) Patan Durbar Square - all three of these Squares are must see places while traveling through Nepal and they are all different in their own way. The Patan Durbar Square has many distinctive and interesting temples and structures: Krishna Temple, Royal Palace Patan, Jagannarayan Temple, Keshav Narayan Temple, Char Naarayan Temple, Golden Temple and others. When we had visited Patan Durbar Square on November 2019, we found most all of the structures here had been either not affected by the 2015 earthquake or were repaired quickly - we saw only a couple of structures that were being "repaired". This is in contrast to the Kathmandu Durbar Square which had multiple structures that are still in need of earthquake damage repair when we had visited that location. In summary, the Patan Durbar Square is in excellent shape - almost all the structures show no earthquake damage and the whole area is visually quite stunning as you enter the Square. The Ancient Nepal architecture here at the Square looks very impressive and makes for good photography. Highly recommend seeing the Patan Durbar Square, and if you have time walk down through some of the side streets to see the residential areas that surrounds the Square - interesting!
8. Muktinath Temple
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 134 reviews
Reviewed By 742sanjayg - Charlotte, United States
This place is just magnificent. The roads to here is very hard and tough, but anything that is this beautiful deserves some hard work. The views through out the way is amazing. Hotels are all family owned so be ready to adjust if you go in a peak season.
9. Phewa Tal (Fewa Lake)
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 2,989 reviews
Reviewed By Crowhollow - Morrison, United States
We enjoyed our boat ride and hike up to the World Peace Pagoda so much that we arranged an early morning paddle the next day with the same boat oarsman, Gautam, at the location across from the Glacier Hotel. He is very good at spotting birds and monkeys and took us to the best places to see them. It was very peaceful and scenic to be on the lake in the morning while there were few other boaters and there were lots of birds to see.
10. Peace Temple
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 2,412 reviews
Reviewed By AZCasualTraveler - Mesa, United States
The World Peace Pagoda in Pokhara is one of an estimated 80+ Peace Pagodas that are located around the world today. The Pokhara Peace Pagoda was built after World War II by the Buddhist monks from the Japanese Nipponzan Myohoji organization to promote world peace. The Pagoda is located on a hilltop, and our small group tour had utilized a small tour bus that was capable of holding 16 tourists plus the guide and driver. Our tour driver drove past the main parking area that was intended for the big, full-sized buses and drove all the way to a small taxi drop-off area - saving maybe about 20 minutes of uphill hiking. If I remember correctly, the hiking time from the taxi drop-off area to the Pagoda still required 20 to 30 minutes of uphill walking. We had arrived at the Pagoda hill before daybreak - before the big tour groups had arrived. Once at the top of the hill, there is a small park area where the Pagoda is located. The views from this hill-top park are outstanding - views of the Pagoda, the mountains in the background, Pokhara city skyline below the hill and the sunrise over the city skyline - fantastic views!
