Bhaktapur · With kids

Three small museums sit inside the ticket zone: the National Art Museum in the palace on Durbar Square, and the Woodcarving Museum and the Brass and Bronze Museum facing each other at Dattatreya Square. They are short visits — carved windows, paubha scroll paintings, and royal metalware including the kings' spittoons.

Bhaktapur is the one Kathmandu Valley city you wander without traffic, which changes everything with small children — they can walk the brick lanes and squares without being held onto. The surfaces are uneven brick with steps, so bring a carrier rather than a pushchair.

Children under ten enter the heritage city free, of every nationality, and groups of 11-20 get one free leader ticket. For a family that makes Bhaktapur far cheaper than the per-head price suggests.

The valley's oldest temple, 6km north of Bhaktapur on a hill ridge, with stone carvings and a small museum. Entry is NPR 350 for non-SAARC visitors and NPR 250 for SAARC nationals — a separate ticket from the Bhaktapur one, and a much quieter site.

The day-trip buses fill Durbar Square roughly between 10am and 4pm, which is the hardest window to move a family through. Arrive early or stay overnight and the squares are usable again.