Overview
About this journey
Key Highlights
What makes this journey stand out
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Bhaktapur Durbar Square
The 55-Window Palace, the Golden Gate, and the Vatsala Bell on a square that once held twice as many temples before the 1934 earthquake — your guide points out which silhouettes were original and which were rebuilt.
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Nyatapola Temple at Taumadhi Square
Climbing the steps of Nepal’s tallest pagoda — five tiers, 30 metres high, flanked by stone wrestlers, elephants, lions, griffins and goddesses, each rank ten times stronger than the one below.
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Pottery Square (Talako)
Open-air drying yards covered in unfired clay pots, with master potters throwing on traditional wooden wheels — and the option to try a wheel yourself with a Prajapati family member.
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Newari food tasting in a courtyard kitchen
Juju dhau served in unfired clay bowls, plus a samay baji platter — beaten rice, smoked buffalo, black soybeans, ginger, chhoila and aila — in a family courtyard the textbooks won’t show you.
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Dattatreya Square and the Peacock Window
The oldest quarter of the city, named after the 15th-century Dattatreya Temple built from the timber of a single tree, with the famous Peacock Window — the most photographed piece of wood-carving in Nepal.
Costs Include
What's covered
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Licensed English/French/Newari-speaking cultural guide
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Bhaktapur Durbar Square heritage entry fee (NPR 1,500 / approx. USD 12)
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Private vehicle transfer from Kathmandu and back
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Juju dhau tasting (king curd in a clay bowl)
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Samay baji platter at a Newari home kitchen
Costs Exclude
Not included
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Additional meals and drinks beyond the tasting
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Optional pottery wheel workshop at Talako (approx. USD 10 per person)
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Personal shopping (wood carvings, thangka, textiles)
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Tips and gratuities for the guide and driver
Essential Tips
Things worth knowing before you go
Wear shoes that handle cobblestone
Bhaktapur’s brick lanes are uneven and become slippery in rain — flip-flops will ruin your ankles by the second hour. Closed shoes with a real sole, not sandals, for the whole walk.
Eat the juju dhau in its clay bowl
The "king curd" is served in unglazed terracotta that lets the whey wick out and thickens the yoghurt as you eat — the bowl is part of the dish, not packaging to discard. Eat the curd, keep the bowl as a souvenir.
Mornings beat afternoons
The squares fill with tour groups after 10:30. Start the walk by 9:00 for clean photos of the Nyatapola steps, the Golden Gate and Pottery Square without ten other lenses in frame.
The 2015 earthquake reshaped the city
Some temples are reconstructions; others are still scaffolded a decade later. Ask your guide which are originals, which are post-quake rebuilds, and which are gone for good — it changes how you read the architecture.
Carry small Nepali rupee notes
The pottery wheel workshop, additional juju dhau bowls, temple offerings and bottled water are all cash-only in small amounts. NPR 100 and NPR 500 notes go further than counting on card terminals inside the old city.
