Qualla: Kathmandu

Kathmandu: Introduction

Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Alexey Komarov, CC BY-SA 4.0. Kathmandu sits in a bowl-shaped valley at 1,400 meters, surrounded by hills that block the Himalayan peaks from view until you climb above them. The valley held three kingdoms - Kathmandu, Patan, and Bhaktapur - that competed in temple-building until Nepal's unification in 1768. The architecture that competition produced, the pagodas and stupas and palace squares, earned the valley seven UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The 2015 earthquake, magnitude 7.8, killed nearly 9,000 people and damaged or destroyed monuments that had stood for centuries. Reconstruction continues, the valley rebuilding what nature destroyed. Kathmandu holds 1.5 million people in the city, over 5 million in the valley, a population that has grown as Nepal has modernized and migration from rural areas has accelerated. The city is chaos - traffic without rules, pollution without limits, construction without plan - and also the gateway through which everyone who climbs Everest must pass.

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Image: Alexey Komarov | CC BY-SA 4.0

Kathmandu: Durbar Square

Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Clemensmarabu, CC BY-SA 3.0. Kathmandu's Durbar Square held the royal palace of the Malla kings who ruled until 1768 and the Shah kings who ruled until 2008 when Nepal became a republic. The square's temples - Taleju, Jagannath, the Kumari House where the living goddess lives - represent centuries of competi...

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Image: Clemensmarabu | CC BY-SA 3.0

Kathmandu: The Stupas

Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Rabin Tuladhar, CC BY-SA 4.0. Boudhanath stupa, one of the largest in the world, sits northeast of central Kathmandu, its whitewashed dome and all-seeing eyes watching over a Tibetan Buddhist community that settled after China invaded Tibet in 1950. The stupa predates the invasion by over a millennium - legen...

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Image: Rabin Tuladhar | CC BY-SA 4.0

Kathmandu: Pashupatinath

Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Bijay Chaurasia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Pashupatinath temple, on the banks of the Bagmati River, is Nepal's most sacred Hindu site - dedicated to Shiva in his form as lord of animals, closed to non-Hindus, its gold-roofed pagoda visible only from outside the walls. The ghats along the river serve for cremation, the bod...

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Image: Bijay Chaurasia | CC BY-SA 4.0

Kathmandu: The Gateway to Everest

Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Avinash from Kathmandu, Nepal, CC BY-SA 2.0. Every Everest climber passes through Kathmandu - obtaining permits at the Ministry of Tourism, buying gear in Thamel's outdoor shops, flying to Lukla for the trek to base camp. The mountaineering industry that began with Hillary and Tenzing in 1953 has become major business: over...

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Image: Avinash from Kathmandu, Nepal | CC BY-SA 2.0

Kathmandu: The Valley Air

Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Rakeshchaulagain, CC BY-SA 4.0. Kathmandu's air pollution ranks among the worst in the world, the valley's bowl shape trapping emissions from vehicles, brick kilns, and cooking fires. The black clouds that hang over the city on still days obscure the surrounding hills; the respiratory illnesses that affect resi...

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Image: Rakeshchaulagain | CC BY-SA 4.0