Nepal Day 1: Arrival in Kathmandu & Magical Swayambhunath Sunset - Nepal Purple Travel Guide

Today you will start your Nepal Adventure! It seems almost everything in Nepal needs more time than in many other countries.
If you have any plans for sightseeing or shopping on your first day in Kathmandu, then try to arrive by 1pm. This will give you time to eat dinner, and do some sightseeing.

Here at Backpack and Snorkel Travel Guides, we typically promote self-guided walking tours.
But we realize that not everybody likes to walk by themselves in a foreign city. So, just in case that you rather go with ab guide: NO PROBLEM! Please see the Viator tours below.

Guide to Arriving at Kathmandu International Airport

(Tribhuvan International Airport, KTM)

(map, reviews)

Plan to arrive at Kathmandu airport before 1pm, if you want to do any sightseeing before it gets dark. Getting through the airport will likely take you about 90min, and a ride to your hotel through Kathmandu’s busy traffic can easily take 30min to an hour.

Once you exit the plane, follow the signs to passport control and baggage claim.
Before you can go through passport control and, assuming you are a foreign visitor who is eligible for visa on arrival, you need to make your visa payment.
Take the printout of your travel authorization that you got online 15 (or fewer) days before your arrival date to the Visa Fee Collection Counter, which is in the same hall as passport control:

The visa fee must be paid in US dollars, Euros, or some other select currencies that are stated on the travel authorization website.
If you don’t have any of the permitted currencies, then you have two options:

1. there is an ATM from which you can withdraw cash near the Visa Fee Collection Center

2. the leftmost line at the Visa Fee Collection Center is where credit card payments are accepted. This line tends to be the longest, however

Once you have the payment receipt, walk over to immigration (passport control) in the same hall. Afterwards, you go to the baggage claim area to claim your bag(s) if you have checked any, and/or to exit the airport.
There are two ATMs in the baggage claim area, but be advised that there is no guarantee that they are working. It seems that one of the two is frequently out of money, or broken.

Once you have your bags, follow the signs to the exit. You will pass one, and later another, booth of the two largest mobile phone carriers in Nepal. This is a good opportunity to buy a Nepali SIM card for your phone. Be advised that you need a Nepali phone number to activate your Pathao account. After activating your Pathao account, you can switch the SIM card back to your original SIM card if you like, as the Pathao app saves your account information on your phone, and you can then use the app with any SIM card.
To get the SIM card, you will need to fill out a form that the staff at the booth will provide, and attach a passport photo. If you have not brought a passport photo with you, then the staff will take one for an extra fee of 50 Rupees, at the time of writing.
Nepali SIM cards are not very expensive. If you decide against buying one at the airport, you can buy one later at the many stores in the touristy areas of Kathmandu and Pokhara.
At the time of writing, NCell had these prices:

It will likely take you about 90min from exiting the plane until you leave the airport.

Once you exit the airport, you will likely either:

• have a driver from your hotel,

• have a transfer service (that you arranged in advance) waiting for you

• get a Pathao or inDrive

• take one of the many taxis that are waiting at the airport

Be advised that you need local currency to pay your Pathao, inDrive, or taxi driver. They will not accept credit cards or foreign currency.

Since you may not be the only guest from your hotel who arrives at that time, there is a chance that your hotel shuttle driver will ask you to wait by the restaurants in the plaza just outside the airport until the other guests arrive. This is actually not a bad thing as you can buy yummy food, but there is not much else to see.

Once your ride leaves the airport, you will encounter heavy Kathmandu traffic. Depending on where you stay, you should expect at least a 30min drive to Thamel, or longer for other parts of town.

Considering all that, chances are that you will be in your hotel room shortly before 4pm, if you land in Kathmandu by 1pm.

Since this is your first night in Kathmandu, and you may be jet lagged, you may want to find something near your hotel, or even eat at your hotel. If you stay in Thamel, then Decheling Garden Restaurant (on our itinerary for Day 2) can be a good option for you. Even if you are too tired and pass on it today, you may want to consider it for another day.

Swayambhunath for sunset

(map, reviews)

The best way to get to Swayambhunath is by Pathao or inDrive. Just be advised that it can take a while to get a ride back to town from Swayambhunath. But there are usually taxis waiting at the exit, or you can offer 50% or 100% more than you paid to get here on inDrive to get a ride. Remember, you need to pay cash.

Swayambhunath (Swayambhu Mahachaitya) is an important religious complex that was built on top of a hill and therefore has beautiful views over parts of the Kathmandu Valley and also beautiful sunset views.
For the local Newars, Swayambhunath is the most sacred Buddhist pilgrimage site, and for Tibetan Buddhists, it is second after Boudhanath Stupa.

More photos and detailed information can be found at our Swayambhunath Page

Author: Rudy at Backpack and Snorkel

Bio: Owner of Backpack and Snorkel Travel Guides. We create in-depth guides to help you plan unforgettable vacations around the world.

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