Kathmandu in 4 days

The old royal square: Hanuman Dhoka palace, dozens of temples and the house of the Kumari, a girl revered as a living goddess.

The travellers' district: a few narrow streets packed with mountain gear shops, bookshops, trekking agencies, restaurants and live music bars.

A hilltop stupa west of the city, by tradition over 2,000 years old, reached by 365 steep steps lined with statues and rhesus macaques.

Nepal's holiest Hindu shrine, to Shiva, on the Bagmati; only Hindus enter the main temple, but anyone can watch the cremation ghats opposite.

One of the largest stupas in Asia, 36 metres high and rebuilt after 2015, its tower painted with the Buddha's eyes on all four sides.

Five kilometres south, a kingdom until the 18th century, with the valley's best-preserved square and the Patan Museum of Newar art in the royal palace.

The valley's third royal city, thirteen kilometres east and the best preserved, with limited motor traffic in the old town.

A ridge village at 2,175 metres, 32 kilometres east of the capital, with a wide Himalayan panorama; Everest shows on clear days.