Notes

Kathmandu: the largest, most overdeveloped and most crowded of the three cities does still have some charm. Unfortunately it also has Thamel - a hideous example of the damage that back-packers can do to a city when they really try. Rather fancy visiting during the monsoon - it would be interesting to see the place devoid of tourists.

Bhaktapur: - of the three cities in the Kathmandu valley, Bhaktapur is by far my favourite, especially early in the morning or in the evening after the tourist buses have all returned their clients to the big bland hotels in Thamel. Bhaktapur is the least modernised of the cities and although there is the innevitable growth in souvenir stalls and a couple of backpacker-oriented bars, here you will be closer to the real Nepal than anywhere else in the valley - especially if you find a hotel in Bhaktapur itself and wander round the squares just before sunrise (the Golden Gate Guesthouse is a good option). Bhaktapur also makes a good starting point for short treks to Changu Naryan and sites in the eastern end of the valley. For shoppaholics there's the usual crap that you find in Kathmandu and Patan but Bhaktapur (like the nearby town of Thimi) is rightly famous for its pottery. There are also some excellent places round the Dattatraya Temple which sell Nepalese hand-made papers for a fraction of the price you'll pay in a London artists-supplies shop.

Patan is my least favourite of the three cities in the valley. Don't know why - perhaps because it's been restored far more (thanks to the generosity of the German government), or perhaps because tourism here seem to dominate too much. Still, it does have some impressive sights and when I was there last, there was talk of opening up most of the Palace complex as a cultural centre.