Cluster · Kathmandu

Patan Durbar Square

Half-day cluster south of the river: Patan's palace square and the Golden Temple lanes; calmer than Kathmandu, but far enough that it needs its own car ride.

Key facts

28″ bags: forbidden
Time budget: half
Rescue coverage: 100% ≤7′; max p90 5.2′
Places: 2

Patan Durbar SquarePhoto: Mithunkunwar9, CC BY-SA 4.0

Rules in force · 9Thamel's inner lanes are crowded, uneven and shared with …

South Asia ↗Trekking regions, border districts and several Indian states need separate permits on top of the visa; check the permit before you book transport into them.
South Asia ↗Remove shoes (and in many Jain and Hindu temples, leather) before entering; cover shoulders and legs; ask before photographing people or rituals.
Nepal ↗Get visa information only from the Department of Immigration; visa-service lookalike sites charge extra, and the rules differ by nationality.
Nepal ↗At stupas walk clockwise; at temples and homes remove shoes where there is a rack or a raised floor; cover shoulders and knees.
Nepal ↗Carry Nepalese rupees in small notes: many stalls, taxis and tea shops are cash-only, and shops rarely take foreign notes.
Nepal ↗Strikes (bandh) and protests can close roads without notice: check the news and your hotel the night before any airport or highway day.
Kathmandu Valley ↗In the dry season (Nov–Apr) the valley fills with haze and dust: viewpoints often show nothing after 09:00, so go at dawn or skip.
Kathmandu ↗Thamel's inner lanes are crowded, uneven and shared with motorbikes: taxis stop at the edge, so large suitcases go from the car to the door, never on a walk.
Kathmandu ↗Dust and smoke haze is worst around Feb–Apr and can linger in winter: carry a mask rated for fine particles on walking days and move long walks to the clearest morning.

Actions

Map to the centre

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Directions

From where I am

Add your hotel to get directions from it. · stays in this browser; shared with the pocket card.

Walking weather, next 5 days

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Forecast: Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0), model data for this point.

Plan

How the ground walks, and what is here

Bound and physics

Patan Durbar Square and the lanes to the Golden Temple. Draft desk polygon and grid-placed rescue anchors; field-verify every anchor.

Slope: flat
Stairs: Temple plinths and courtyard steps
Shade: low
Surface: brick paving, uneven
Sleep here or visit: visit

Eat and drink here

Newari khaja set, Patan

A Newar snack-meal of beaten rice with spiced meat or vegetables, pickles and sweets in a small restaurant near Patan Durbar Square; try it for lunch.

On the ground

Where to rest, how to leave, where to sleep nearby

Rescue anchors

6 places to rest · checked on a 40 m (130 ft) grid

A rescue anchor is a spot where you can stop and recover if the walk goes wrong: a bench, a café, a toilet. Every letter on the map is one anchor, and each has a card below. We check that any point in the cluster is within about 7 minutes’ walk of one, so you are never far from somewhere to sit down.

Map © OpenStreetMap contributors. Lettered circles: rescue anchors (green works in any conditions, amber only on hot days). Dashed outline: the cluster. Red dots: spots more than 7 min from any anchor (none if you see no red). North is up; not for navigation.

north-west of the cluster: café or restaurant with seating

Place to sit · Food & drink · works in any conditions

Patan Durbar Square plaza (benches, shade)

Place to sit · Toilet · Shelter from rain · works in any conditions

north-east of the cluster: bakery or café with WC

Place to sit · Food & drink · Toilet · works in any conditions

south-west of the cluster: pharmacy or convenience store

Food & drink · ac · works in any conditions

south of the cluster: hotel lobby with WC

Toilet · Place to sit · ac · works in any conditions

south-east of the cluster: café or restaurant with seating

Place to sit · Food & drink · works in any conditions

100% of the cluster is within 7 min of an anchor in any conditions (slowest walker, worst cell 5.2 min) · 100% on hot days

Nodes in this cluster

Patan Durbar Square
A compact square of temples and a palace museum, with a calmer pace than Kathmandu: go in the morning for 2 hours and include the museum.
Golden Temple, Patan (Hiranya Varna Mahavihar)
A gilded Buddhist monastery with a narrow courtyard, a 5-minute walk from Patan Durbar Square: 20 minutes, quiet, and best in the morning.

Edges out

directed

To	How	p50	Climb
Thamel	Car north	~30 min	flat
Kathmandu Durbar Square	Car north	~25 min	flat

Red lines here

Courtyard shrines: shoes off where marked; ask before photographing inside.

Deep dive

Around this cluster

Straight-line distance; walk time adds 30% for streets.