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 New Year candles (17K)
Kings birthday parade (24K)
Thamel (23K)
Thahity Square (21K)
Very much the centre of old Kathmandu, Durbar Square is a huddle of temples and shrines, with intricately carved roofs, doors and windows. Many buildings are ancient, having survived the great earthquake of 1933; others have been completely rebuilt, not always in their original form.
Porters, Durbar Square (19K)
A good place to begin exploring is the unprepossessing Kasthamandap, purportedly the oldest building in the valley. Although its history is uncertain, it was believed to have been built around the 12th century. At first it was a community centre, then a temple to the god Gorakhnath, and more recently, a gathering place for porters trolling for customers. Nearby is the Maju Deval, a Shiva temple with platform steps that are ideal for watching hawkers, rickshaw wallahs and souvenir sellers offering all sorts of services to credulous tourists. Other noteworthy sights include: the Great Bell which, when rung, is believed to ward off evil spirits; the Jaganath Temple, famed for its blush-inducing array of erotic carvings; the fearsome stone image of the six-armed Kala Bhairab; and the Taleju Temple, easily the most magnificent of the square's many temples - unfortunately, it's not open to the public; even the Nepalese are denied entrance, and can only visit during the annual Dasain festival.
Sadhu (8K)
The palace was originally founded during the Licchavi period, although most of it was constructed by King Pratap Malla in the 17th century. Marking the entrance is Hanuman's statue (1672), which commemorates the monkey god's brave assistance to Rama during the events of the Ramayana. Sheltered under an umbrella, the statue's face is smeared with red splodges - courtesy of paste applied by faithful followers. On each side of the palace gate stand stone lions, one ridden by Shiva, the other by his wife Parvati, while immediately above is a brightly painted niche illustrated with a ferocious Tantric figurine.Inside the palace are a number of chowks (courtyards), including Nasal Chowk. During the Rana dynasty, this courtyard was used for coronations - a practice which continues today. Mul Chowk is the site of sacrifices made to Taleju Bhawani, the royal goddess of the Mullas, during the Dasain festival. The western part of the palace, overlooking Durbar Square, is home to an interesting museum that celebrates King Tribhuvan's successful putsch against the Ranas. Wander inside and you get an eerie insight into his life: lots of personal effects, extensive photos and newspaper clippings, and magnificent furniture and knick-knackery.  Off the record
Kathmandu's most famous street from the hippy overland days of the 1960s and '70s runs south from Basantapur Square. Its real name is Jochne but since the early 1970s it has been better known as Freak Street. In its prime, the street's squalor and beauty was irresistible: the smell of sweet incense, children fluttering prayer wheels, cheap hotels, ad hoc restaurants, and shops selling enlightenment, epiphany - anything. Not surprisingly, it made an instant rapport with the dusty-haired `freaks' who gave the street its name. Love-ins are a thing of the past, but Freak Street's history and plum position in the heart of old Kathmandu still make it a popular destination.
Business as usual, near Freak Street (13K)
A one to two-hour jaunt around Kathamndu will lead you among a vigorous jumble of shops, temples, people and outlandish odours. A good place to start is the market area north of Durbar Square where you'll find Makhan Tole, a street stuffed with vendors selling thangkas, paintings and clothes. There are shrines, statues, temples and flower sellers in Indra Chowk; night-time bands in Kel Tole; and a child-eating demon in the Yitum Bahal courtyard.No less interesting is the area immediately south of Thamel. Here, there are more temples and stupas, plus pottery streets, the Rani Pokhari lake, schools and dentists' shops, fruit and vegetable markets and, in the Ikha Narayan Temple, an ancient standing Buddha. For peace and quiet, there are good walks in the traffic-less area west of Patan Bridge. Many of the temples, including the Kalmochan, Tindeval and Nava Durga, are in a state of picturesque decline, and street life is dominated by water buffalo, egrets, sadhus and children. The only dampener is the mountains of litter lining the riverbanks (living conditions are appalling here) and the once-impressive ghats which are no longer in serious use.
Don't expect all-night raves in Kathmandu - few people hang around after 10 pm. Even so, the city's limited pubs and bars (mostly in Thamel) are worth investigating. There are also a couple of casinos, Nepalese music and dancing at the National Theatre, nightly `cultural shows' at the larger hotels and a spate of video shops offering Hindi epics.
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