Patan and Kirtipur Half Day Tour
- Duration
- 1 day
- Max altitude
- 1,400 m
- Difficulty
-
Easy
Difficulty scale
- Easy Short walking days on good trails below about 3,000 m. Suitable for anyone in ordinary health, including families.
- Moderate 5 to 6 hours a day with some steep sections, reaching up to about 4,000 m. A reasonable level of fitness and a few weeks of preparation walking recommended.
- Strenuous 6 to 8 hours a day, high passes or altitudes above 5,000 m, and remote stretches. Good fitness, prior trekking experience and proper acclimatisation days are essential.
- Very strenuous Long days, multiple high passes or technical sections, sustained time above 5,000 m. For experienced, well-conditioned trekkers only.
- Best season
- Autumn (Sep–Nov) · Monsoon (Jun–Aug) · Spring (Mar–May) · Winter (Dec–Feb)
- Group
- Private
- From
- $60.00
Overview
Patan has the finest Durbar Square of the three and a living metalworking trade that has been going for centuries. The Patan Museum inside the old palace is the best museum in Nepal, and quiet. Kirtipur, twenty minutes away on its own hill, is a Newar town that held out against the Gorkha conquest and has almost no tourism to this day.
Four hours, so it fits an arrival afternoon or the morning before an onward flight without committing the whole day.
Trip highlights
- Patan Durbar Square and the Krishna Mandir carved from stone
- The Patan Museum, widely held to be the best in the country
- The Golden Temple, a Buddhist monastery still in daily use
- Kirtipur, a Newar hill town with almost no visitors
- Metalworkers and thangka painters still at work in the back lanes
Day by day
The itinerary
-
Day 1: Patan Durbar Square, the Patan Museum, the Golden Temple and Kirtipur 1,400 m 4 to 5 hours hrs Noneincluded
Pick up from your hotel at either 9am or 1.30pm, whichever suits your day.
Patan Durbar Square
Across the Bagmati from Kathmandu and about thirty minutes in traffic. The square is tighter and better preserved than the one in Kathmandu, and the Krishna Mandir at its centre is unusual in being carved entirely from stone rather than built in brick and timber.
The Patan Museum
Inside the restored Keshav Narayan Chowk of the old palace. The collection is Hindu and Buddhist bronze and stone sculpture, and the labelling is genuinely good, which is rare. Allow forty minutes at least.
The Golden Temple
Hiranya Varna Mahavihar, a three storey Buddhist monastery down a narrow lane, gilded and still tended by the local Newar Buddhist community. Shoes off, and no leather inside.
Kirtipur
Twenty minutes west and up a hill. Kirtipur resisted Prithvi Narayan Shah's armies through three sieges in the 1760s, and the town has stayed stubbornly itself since. The Bagh Bhairab temple at the top has swords and shields nailed to its facade, said to be taken from the defeated. You will likely have the streets to yourselves.
Drop off at your hotel about four hours after pick up.
What's included
Included
- Included: Government licensed English speaking heritage guide
- Included: Private air conditioned tourist vehicle with driver, hotel to hotel
- Included: Patan Durbar Square entry fee, which includes the Patan Museum
- Included: Golden Temple entry fee
- Included: Bottled drinking water in the vehicle
- Included: All government taxes and administrative charges
Not included
- Not included: Meals
- Not included: Any beverages
- Not included: Tips for your guide and driver
- Not included: Nepal entry visa, obtainable on arrival at Tribhuvan International Airport
- Not included: Travel insurance
- Not included: Anything not listed under what is included
Your team
Led by a licensed guide
Every route is led by a government-licensed guide from our team. Licences are on record with us before departure, and you'll meet your guide once your trip is confirmed.
Guide language(s): English, Nepali
Group-size pricing
Walk together, pay less
Every trip is private, so the guide, permits and transfers cost the same however many walk. Sharing them is why the per-person price falls: arithmetic, not a sale.
| Group size | per person | You save each |
|---|---|---|
| 1 trekker | $72.00 | base rate |
| 2 to 3 trekkers | $60.00 | $12.00 |
| 4 to 6 trekkers | $56.00 | $16.00 |
| 7 or more | $53.00 | $19.00 |
Per person, including permits, park fees and taxes. Nothing is added at checkout.
Weather
What to expect, month by month
- Autumn (Sep–Nov)The most reliable trekking season: clear air, stable weather and cold nights, right after the monsoon clears.
- Monsoon (Jun–Aug)Wet and cloudy on most routes, though Mustang and Dolpo sit in the rain shadow behind the main range and stay walkable.
- Spring (Mar–May)Warmer than autumn, with rhododendron forests in flower and slightly hazier mountain views as the season goes on.
- Winter (Dec–Feb)Cold and quiet, with the clearest skies of the year at lower altitude. High passes and very high routes are best avoided.
Traveller reviews
What trekkers say
Why book with us
