Patan travel guide

Lalitpur's Durbar Square, museum and metalwork courtyards. Most people stay Day trip or 1 night. Best months: Oct, Nov, Dec, Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr.

Highlights

• Patan Durbar Square
• Patan Museum
• Golden Temple (Hiranya Varna Mahavihar)
• Krishna Mandir

Things to do in Patan

• Patan Durbar Square, Patan Museum & Golden Temple · 5 h · about ₹1,500 per person. Foreigner ticket about NPR 1,000 for the square; check at the counter whether Patan Museum is included. The Golden Temple (Hiranya Varna Mahavihar) has a small separate fee — shoes and leather items off inside.
• Samay baji lunch in a Patan courtyard · 1.5 h · about ₹700 per person
• Jawalakhel Tibetan carpet workshops · 1.5 h · free. Watch carpets being hand-knotted; shipping can be arranged, but compare prices before buying.

What to eat

• Samay baji set: Newari restaurants around Patan Durbar Square
• Chatamari and bara: Small Newari eateries in the Mangal Bazaar lanes

Getting there

• ~20–30 min to Thamel
• ~40 min to Bhaktapur
• ~1.25h to Nagarkot or Dhulikhel

Nepal itineraries with Patan

• Buddhist and Hindu Nepal: Kathmandu, Patan and Lumbini · 6 days, Kathmandu → Lumbini · from ₹33,675 per person, base estimate before flights. The great stupas and Pashupatinath in Kathmandu, Patan's Golden Temple, then a flight to Lumbini for the Buddha's birthplace and its monasteries.
• Kathmandu Valley heritage: Bhaktapur, Patan and Nagarkot · 6 days, Kathmandu → Nagarkot · from ₹29,625 per person, base estimate before flights. All three royal cities of the valley — Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and Patan — then two nights on the Nagarkot ridge for sunrise and a walk to Changu Narayan.
• First trip: Kathmandu, Patan and Pokhara · 7 days, Kathmandu → Pokhara · from ₹56,375 per person, base estimate before flights. The standard first visit: Kathmandu's stupas and Durbar Squares with a Patan day, then Pokhara for the lake, a Sarangkot sunrise and paragliding.
• Newari towns: Kathmandu, Bhaktapur, Patan, Dhulikhel and Bandipur · 8 days, Kathmandu → Dhulikhel → Bandipur · from ₹39,225 per person, base estimate before flights. Newari architecture and food from the valley's royal cities to the hill towns of Dhulikhel, Panauti and Bandipur, with the Namobuddha hike along the way.
• Nepal classic: Kathmandu, Pokhara and Chitwan · 9 days, Kathmandu → Pokhara → Chitwan · from ₹64,725 per person, base estimate before flights. Temples in Kathmandu and Patan, the lake and mountains at Pokhara, then a jeep safari and canoe ride in Chitwan before heading back to Kathmandu.
• Backpacker loop by tourist bus: Kathmandu, Bandipur, Pokhara and Chitwan · 11 days, Kathmandu → Bandipur → Pokhara → Chitwan · from ₹79,900 per person, base estimate before flights. The budget loop on tourist buses with guesthouse stays, mostly free sights and walks rather than paid tours.
• Grand tour: valley, hills, jungle and Lumbini · 15 days, Kathmandu → Nagarkot → Bandipur → Pokhara → Chitwan → Lumbini · from ₹1,04,500 per person, base estimate before flights. Two weeks overland: the three royal cities of the valley, a Nagarkot sunrise, Bandipur, Pokhara, a Chitwan safari and the Buddha's birthplace, flying home from Bhairahawa via Kathmandu.