Kathmandu in 3 Days on a Budget (Daily Costs)

Three days, and you have to pick which Durbar Square wins

Three days is tight for a valley with seven separately-ticketed UNESCO zones competing for your time, so this plan cuts two things deliberately: Bhaktapur, which deserves a full day of its own (see the 4-day itinerary if you can stretch it), and Changu Narayan, the oldest of the seven zones but also the most logistically awkward relative to the payoff on a short trip. In their place, Chandragiri Hills stands in as the mountain-view fix, a half-day cable car ride instead of losing a full day and night to a sunrise viewpoint. The full breakdown of every zone’s price and hours is in the Kathmandu guide ; this is the condensed version that fits 72 hours.

Book these before you go:

Day Focus Tickets (NPR) Food (NPR)
1 Pashupatinath, Boudhanath, Kathmandu Durbar Square 2,400 650-1,500 (momo lunch, Newari dinner in Patan)
2 Patan Durbar Square + Swayambhunath 1,700 400-700
3 Chandragiri Hills cable car ~1,360 300-700 (farewell dinner)

Before you start: get your visa on arrival at Tribhuvan International with cash US dollars, not card, $30 covers 15 days which is plenty here. The prepaid taxi counter inside the airport is a fixed NPR 700-800 into Thamel, use it instead of negotiating with curb touts who’ll quote double.

Day 1: The temples that matter most. Start at Pashupatinath (NPR 1,000) in the morning while it’s cooler and quieter. You won’t get into the inner sanctum as a non-Hindu, but the view of the cremation ghats from across the Bagmati is available and worth the trip, just keep cameras away from grieving families. From there head to Boudhanath Stupa (NPR 400), walk the kora loop rather than just photographing it from the entrance. For lunch skip the tourist strip and find a momo stall near Boudha, NPR 150-300 gets you a proper plate. In the afternoon, Kathmandu Durbar Square (NPR 1,000) rounds out the day. Reconstruction here is real but not finished, Kasthamandap reopened in 2022 and one major temple finished its rebuild in early 2024, but the Nine-Story Tower’s interior is still closed and parts of the palace complex remain under active restoration, so expect some scaffolding rather than a fully polished square. For dinner, skip Thamel’s overpriced menus and get to Patan for Newari food at Newa Lahana, NPR 500-1,200 and genuinely worth the taxi fare.

Day 2: Patan and Swayambhunath. Spend the morning in Patan Durbar Square, which is better preserved than its Kathmandu counterpart and less crowded, arguably the best of the three squares if you only have time for one proper visit; the ticket (NPR 1,500) bundles the Patan Museum, worth the extra hour. Wander the artisan workshops nearby for metalwork. In the afternoon, climb Swayambhunath, the actual Monkey Temple (don’t confuse it with Pashupatinath, a mix-up that shows up constantly), about 365 steps up the east side, NPR 200 entry. Evening: Thakali Bhanchha Ghar in Thamel for a solid set meal at NPR 400-700 if you’re staying central, or head back out to Boudha for Yangling Tibetan.

Day 3: Chandragiri, then Thamel logistics. Take the cable car up Chandragiri Hills, about an hour to the base station then a 10-minute ride, roughly NPR 1,360 round trip for foreigners (confirm the fare locally), with temple and valley views at the top. This is a half-day commitment, not a full one, so you’ll be back in the city by early afternoon. Use the remaining hours for practical things: sort out any trekking gear you still need, but only from a shop that can show TAAN or NTB registration and proof of insurance, the unlicensed storefronts in Thamel are a real risk if you’re booking anything beyond a day hike, and a live 2026 court case over fake helicopter-rescue insurance fraud is a good reason to book a real operator ahead of arrival rather than off a walk-in pitch. Farewell dinner at Bhojan Griha in Dilli Bazar gets you a full traditional meal with dance performance to close things out.

Getting around all three days: taxis are legally metered but drivers won’t use the meter, agree your price before getting in. Pathao, InDrive, and Yango lock in a price up front and are the more reliable option, just watch for drivers asking extra cash at drop-off and hold to the app quote. There’s no metro system, so budget real time for traffic and Thamel’s narrow, motorbike-heavy streets.

If three days leaves you wanting more valley, the 5-day and 7-day versions add Bhaktapur and Changu Narayan properly. If you’re heading onward to trek or to Pokhara instead, that’s a different trip, covered in the Kathmandu, Nepal guide . Keep a fixed-price taxi receipt or app screenshot on you for the airport departure, it settles any price dispute before it starts.