experiences.

A huge bronze thunderbolt on a mandala base greets you at the top of the staircase, with the stupa rising behind it.

A two-tiered gilded Newari temple to the goddess who protects children, the busiest shrine on the hill. No photos in front of the deity; the sides are fine.

A plain, 1,500-year-old shrine said to hold the tantric master Shantikar Acharya, still meditating inside. A poem by King Pratap Malla is inscribed on the wall.

The two tall white shikhara towers built by Pratap Malla in the 17th century. Anantapur fell in 2015 and stands again.

The Karma Kagyu monastery on the platform. Drop in quietly for the morning or late-afternoon puja, when the monks chant to drums and horns.

Two smaller, quieter gompas: Dewa Dharma with its bronze Buddha and murals, and the 19th-century Bhutanese Drukpa Kagyu gompa near the Harati temple.

A small red-brick hall of Buddhist bronzes and stone sculpture, easy to miss and worth ten minutes.

Toss a coin into the bowl of the standing Buddha for luck, then keep going into the little forest behind for the quietest corner of the hill.

Workshops and stalls selling singing bowls, thangka paintings, prayer flags and mala beads. Bargain gently; opening prices run high.

The whole valley spreads below you. In autumn and winter the Ganesh Himal and Langtang ranges show above the northern rim.

Three golden statues, each over 20 metres tall: Amitabha (Shakyamuni) in the centre holding the bowl of nectar, with Chenrezig and Guru Rinpoche beside him. Built in 2003 and a calm place to sit when the stupa is busy.

Tribhuvan University's cabinet of curiosities since 1975: more than 50,000 specimens of Nepal's plants, insects, birds and animals, including fossils. Small, old-fashioned and charming.

A Newar Buddhist courtyard monastery (bahal) with carved windows and metalwork, where the valley's older Vajrayana tradition is still practised alongside the Tibetan gompas above.

A 1655 temple to Vajrayogini in her sky-dancer form, sacred to Hindus and Tibetan Buddhists alike, on the old pilgrim path between Swayambhu and the city. Photographing the deity is not allowed.

A pagoda temple to Durga in her nine forms, busiest during Dashain. Beside it stands the memorial to the martyrs of 1941.

Nepal's main museum in a former Rana arsenal: stone and bronze sculpture, the Buddhist art gallery and a hall of historic weapons. Closed Tuesdays; a combined ticket covers all buildings.

An 18th-century garden of 22 carved stone water spouts (Baisdhara), a replica of the sleeping Vishnu and a public swimming pool. Thousands bathe here on the full moon of Baisakh.

One of the four Narayan temples that guard the valley, in a quiet village below Nagarjun hill. Its origins are placed anywhere between the 5th and 13th century, and the walk there through fields is the point.

The everyday Swayambhu: monastery schools, momo kitchens, tailors and tea stalls. BIA Café in Kimdol is a bookish spot for a slow coffee.

Enter at the Phulbari gate on the Ring Road and climb through pine, oak and rhododendron to Jamacho Gumba at 2,128 m, a small monastery and viewpoint where Guru Rinpoche is said to have meditated. Around 10 km return, 4 to 6 hours at an easy pace. Park entry for foreigners is around NPR 565 including tax (verify at the gate).

A 2.4 km cable car lifts you in about 15 minutes to 2,500 m, the Bhaleshwor Mahadev temple and a panorama from Annapurna to Everest on a clear day. Round trip for foreigners is roughly USD 22 to 23 (verify current fares and operating status).

A ridge walk to a 2,278 m shrine on the valley's south-west rim, with Kirtipur and the whole city below. Locals climb it on Nepali New Year.

A traffic-free medieval Newar town on a hill: the Bagh Bhairab temple with its tiger god, the 1655 Uma Maheshwar pagoda at the top (1,414 m) and the Chilancho stupa. Finish with a Newari lunch, see the food section.

The old royal palace, the Kumari's house where the living goddess appears at her window, the rebuilt Kasthamandap pavilion and the Kala Bhairab relief. Best in the late-afternoon light.

Walk from Thamel's lanes to the Garden of Dreams, a restored 1920s neoclassical garden, then into Asan, the oldest market in the city: spices, brass, beads and the Annapurna temple. Bargain from about half the asking price.

The most coherent of the three squares: the stone Krishna Mandir of 1637, the sunken royal bath of Sundari Chowk and the Patan Museum, one of the best in South Asia. Walk north to the Golden Temple (Hiranya Varna Mahavihar) and its gilded courtyard.

One of the largest stupas in the world and the heart of Tibetan Kathmandu, ringed by some fifty monasteries. Go at dusk, when the butter lamps are lit and hundreds of people walk the kora, then eat on a rooftop above the dome.

Nepal's holiest Shiva temple on the Bagmati river. Non-Hindus cannot enter the main shrine but can watch the dawn rituals and the evening aarti from across the river. Cremations take place on the ghats; be discreet.

A whole medieval city for one ticket: the 55-Window Palace, the five-tiered Nyatapola temple, the pottery square and the juju dhau, the famous "king of yoghurts" made in clay bowls. Give it a full day.

The oldest temple in the valley on a ridge beyond Bhaktapur, with 5th-century inscriptions and some of the finest early stone carving in Nepal. Pair it with Bhaktapur, and consider sleeping at Nagarkot for a Himalayan sunrise.

Steamed dumplings of buffalo, chicken or vegetables with a tomato-sesame achar. Try jhol momo, served in a warm spiced broth, and kothey, pan-fried.

Rice, lentil soup, greens, pickle and curry, refilled until you surrender. The Thakali version from Mustang adds buckwheat bread, ghee and slow-cooked mutton.

The Newari festival platter: beaten rice (chiura), choila, black soybeans, boiled egg, spiced potato, pickled radish and a bara on top.

Grilled buffalo (or chicken, or duck) tossed with mustard oil, garlic, ginger, chilli and fenugreek. Haku choila is the smoky black version.

Bara (wo) is a savoury lentil pancake, often with an egg or minced meat cooked in. Chatamari is a thin rice-flour crepe with toppings, the "Newari pizza".

A steamed rice-flour dumpling shaped like a fig and filled with molasses and sesame, or sweet khuwa. Made for Yomari Punhi in December, but Kirtipur serves it all year.

Bhaktapur's thick clay-pot yoghurt; the ring-shaped rice bread fried at festivals; and the cold, chilli-laced mung-bean noodles sold in Boudha's alleys.