2. First days in Kathmandu

I arrived in Kathmandu the 9th of May 2025 —a Friday which gave me a long weekend to settle in and explore before starting work. Although Kathmandu is often used as a general name for the whole urban area, the Kathmandu Valley actually includes three different cities: Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur. I live in Lalitpur, just south of the Bagmati River, which seperates it from central Kathmandu.

My apartment is in the old city area of Lalitpur called Patan, which is a very nice neighborhood with lots of local shops, restaurants, markets and it is (slightly) less crowded than central Kathmandu. Everyday I cross the beautiful Patan Durbar Square, a UNESCO World Heritage Site centered around the medieval royal palace of the Malla kings of Lalitpur.

Patan Durbar Square

View from the rooftop terrace of my apartment in Patan

I spent my first days wandering around Patan, visiting the many temples of the area and soaking in the happy chaos of the city. I also happened to arrive just in time for a national holiday —Buddhas birthday. On my walks through the city I go to see many small celebrations in the streets, and even got invited by a school class that had set up a potluck buffet in a small nearby square.

On May 13th, I had my first day at ICIMOD. My supervisor Sunita introduced me to the team which is with around 12 people in total one of the smaller ones across the different strategic groups. Everyone was SUPER welcoming and helpful. Ramesh, a research assistant in our group gave me a tour of the campus and introduced me to lots of people and the different projects currently happening at ICIMOD.

We had lunch at the canteen, where I tried Dal Bhat - a typical Nepali meal of rice, lentils and veggies that most people here eat daily. A (huge!) plate of Dal Bhat costs just 120 Nepali Rupees which is around 70 cents (little shoutout to the UiB kanteen here 😉).

In my first days at ICIMOD, I began working on the HKH mammals assessment and did a literature deep dive into regional HKH literature.

After work, I continued exploring the valley: I walked through Thamel, a very lifely area in central Kathmandu bursting with trekking shops and trekking companies, visited Boudhanath Stupa (one of the most important Buddhist pilgrimage sites in Nepal), and went for more culinary adventures in Patan. That said, I may have gotten a bit too enthusiastic about all the delicious food. Unfortunately, I had to skip a planned birdwatching trip in the hills around Kathmandu that weekend, as my European stomach needed a little more time to adjust to Nepali cuisine.

More updates to come soon - from work, the mountains and the life in this chaotic but beautiful city.