Kathmandu Durbar Square: What to See and What to Skip

The square is entered through a checkpoint on the south side, and the first thing most people do is stop and photograph the pagoda rooflines in front of them. That is a fine thing to do. It is also the reason they later walk away saying the square is smaller than they expected.

It is not small. It is dense, and it continues behind the facades.

Start inside the palace, not in front of it

The Hanuman Dhoka ticket includes the palace museum and the courtyards behind the long red wall. Almost everyone walks past the entrance because it does not look like a door.

Inside are the coronation hall, the royal apartments and, at the northern end, the Tribhuvan museum — oddly compelling, and almost always empty. Give the palace an hour before you give the square an hour.

The light is better from the courtyards in the morning; the open stone faces south and bleaches out by eleven.

The Kumari Ghar, and the courtyard beside it

The Kumari Ghar, home of the living goddess, stands on the eastern side. You may look at the balcony, from which she occasionally appears, but the building is a residence and not a sightseeing stop. The photography restriction is real and enforced.

Two minutes north, the Kasthamandap — the wooden pavilion that gave Kathmandu its name — has been rebuilt since the 2015 earthquake using salvaged timbers. The joins are visible if you look for them.

Everyone photographs the rooflines and nobody goes inside. Go inside.

When to go

The square is busiest between ten and four and, in October and November, genuinely uncomfortable. Arrive at seven. The vendors will still be setting up, the pigeons will not yet have been disturbed, and the light comes in from the east across the stone.

There is no good afternoon. If the afternoon is all you have, spend it in the courtyards rather than in the open.

What to skip

The elephant statue flanking the Vishnu temple steps is usually swarmed, and the queue to photograph it is not worth the position it costs you. The same kind of sculpture appears, uncrowded, in the Sundari Chowk inside the palace. Skip the front, take the courtyard.

Allow two to three hours. The ticket is valid for the day of purchase, and there is a cheaper rate for visitors from SAARC countries.