What to See in Nepal: Cities to Explore on Foot

Nepal is a landlocked South Asian country that stretches from the fertile Terai plains to the high Himalayas, including Mount Everest and eight of the world’s ten highest mountains. The country is worth visiting for the extraordinary variety within its borders: mountain landscapes, forested hills, fertile valleys, historic cities, Buddhist and Hindu heritage, and communities shaped by many languages and traditions. Neywo has free audio guides for 9 cities in Nepal, covering 86 narrated places in total.

What to see and do in Nepal

Nepal’s geography gives the country much of its character. The Terai plains, middle hills, forests, valleys and high mountain country are remarkably close together, while rainfall and climate vary significantly from east to west and from low to high elevations.

Explore Kathmandu and the Kathmandu Valley

The Kathmandu Valley is central to Nepal’s history. Before the country was unified, the valley itself was known as Nepal and was the seat of the prosperous Newar confederacy, Nepal Mandala. Its traders were active on the Himalayan branch of the ancient Silk Road, and the region developed distinctive art and architecture.

Today, the valley offers several of the country’s richest collections of historic and religious sites. In Kathmandu, Neywo narrates 38 places, including Basantapur Durbar Square, the Swayambhu Buddhist Museum, Baudhanath and Chhauni Museum. Nearby Bhaktapur has seven narrated places, including Bhairavnath temple and Shilu Mahadev Temple. Patan has ten narrated places, with Patan, Kaipal, Bhumeswor and Gujar among them.

The valley’s religious history reaches back a long way. Stupas were built there around 250 BC, while early Buddhist stupas can also be found around Kapilvastu in southwestern Nepal.

Discover Pokhara and the mountain landscape

Tourism in Nepal is closely associated with Pokhara and the Annapurna trekking circuit. The country’s mountain geography is one of its defining features, rising from the plains to Mount Everest at 8,848 metres above mean sea level.

Pokhara has 13 narrated places on Neywo. Its highlights include Prithvi Narayan Campus, the International Mountain Museum, Ratna Mandir and Yeti Airlines Flight 691. The International Mountain Museum is especially relevant to understanding Nepal’s relationship with its high mountains and the communities that live among them.

Visit Tansen in western Nepal

Tansen has four narrated places: Amarnaryan Temple, Ranighat Palace, Tansen Durbar and Palpa District. Its inclusion in a Nepal itinerary adds a historical perspective beyond the better-known Kathmandu Valley and mountain destinations.

The wider story of Nepal’s political formation began with the unification of many older territories. In the mid-18th century, Prithvi Narayan Shah, king of Gorkha, began bringing together the territory that would become present-day Nepal. The Shah dynasty established the Kingdom of Nepal, which later formed an alliance with the British Empire under the Rana dynasty of premiers. Nepal was never colonised and served as a buffer state between Imperial China and British India.

Experience Nepal’s smaller historic towns

Nepal’s cultural landscape is not limited to its largest cities. In Bandipur, Neywo covers four narrated places, including Siddha cave, Chundi River, Dharampani and Ghansikuwa. Dhulikhel has a narrated stop for Kavrepalanchok District, while Panauti has one for Panauti Museum.

Pharping has eight narrated places, including Dakshinkali, Dakshinkali Temple, Chhaimale and Chalnakhel. Together, these destinations show how Nepal’s heritage is spread across towns, districts, religious sites and landscapes rather than concentrated in one place.

Learn about Nepal’s communities and traditions

Nepal is explicitly multi-ethnic, multilingual, multireligious and multicultural. Nepali is the official language, but the country’s linguistic heritage includes Indo-Aryan and Sino-Tibetan language groups, as well as indigenous language isolates. Local traditions also vary with climate, soil, occupation and ethnic community.

That diversity appears in food and clothing. Regional cuisine uses locally available spices, herbs, vegetables and fruit. Traditional dress was long based on draped cloth for both women and men; for women, it developed into the sari, a single length of cloth famously six yards long.

Nepal’s modern identity is also shaped by major political change. Parliamentary democracy was suspended twice by monarchs, and a civil war eventually led to a secular republic in 2008, ending the world’s last Hindu monarchy. The constitution adopted in 2015 defines the country today as a federal parliamentary republic.

Visit national parks and understand the changing environment

Nepal’s natural world changes sharply with elevation. The Terai plains lie at one extreme, while the highest Himalayas reach conditions described as arctic desert. Rainfall is greater in the east, where biodiversity is richer; at higher elevations in the west, arctic desert conditions are more common.

Visitors come to national parks including Chitwan and Sagarmatha, as well as to the Kathmandu Valley, Lumbini, Pokhara and the Annapurna trekking circuit. The country’s national emblem reflects this variety by bringing together the snowy Himalayas, forested hills and fertile Terai.

Plan your Nepal trip with Neywo

Download Neywo to explore Nepal with 4 walking tours across 9 cities, covering 86 narrated places in total. Each story plays as you reach the place, at your own pace: the app tells you what you are seeing as you walk, with no group and no schedule. Narration is available in 11 languages, so you can explore Kathmandu, Pokhara, Tansen, Bhaktapur and the other cities with the story of each place right when you arrive.