VacationSelector
The Anshun Bridge over the Jin River, Chengdu
ChengduThe Anshun Bridge over the Jin River
Swayambhunath with its prayer flags, Kathmandu
KathmanduSwayambhunath with its prayer flags

Photos: Chengdu by TurnOnTheNight, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped; Kathmandu by Nabin K. Sapkota, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped.

Chengdu or Kathmandu?

Our verdict in twelve categories, each scored against the same fixed benchmark cities, and the climate month by month, so you can choose for your trip.

Choose Chengdu for

  • getting around
  • families
  • nightlife

What lies behind each score is written up on Chengdu’s own page.

Choose Kathmandu for

  • culture and sights
  • prices
  • nature and the outdoors

What lies behind each score is written up on Kathmandu’s own page.

Scoreboard

Twelve categories on one fixed scale from 0 to 100. The shaded stretch is the gap between the two.

Beaches & swimming. Chengdu 5, Kathmandu 4: Chengdu leads by 1 points.
Food & drink. Chengdu 86, Kathmandu 55: Chengdu leads by 31 points.
Culture & sights. Chengdu 60, Kathmandu 82: Kathmandu leads by 22 points.
Nightlife. Chengdu 68, Kathmandu 36: Chengdu leads by 32 points.
Nature & outdoors. Chengdu 68, Kathmandu 70: Kathmandu leads by 2 points.
Day trips. Chengdu 80, Kathmandu 56: Chengdu leads by 24 points.
Good for families. Chengdu 65, Kathmandu 20: Chengdu leads by 45 points.
Getting around. Chengdu 74, Kathmandu 25: Chengdu leads by 49 points.
Shopping & style. Chengdu 64, Kathmandu 55: Chengdu leads by 9 points.
Affordability. Chengdu 80, Kathmandu 97: Kathmandu leads by 17 points.
Live music & performing arts. Chengdu 50, Kathmandu 28: Chengdu leads by 22 points.
Wellness & relaxation. Chengdu 58, Kathmandu 45: Chengdu leads by 13 points.
0255075100

What lies behind each score is written up on the two cities’ own pages: Chengdu and Kathmandu.

Your match

Pick a travel style or drag the sliders, and both match scores follow your weighting.

Chengdu
Best match
63match

Wins on getting around and families with your weighting.

Kathmandu
48match

Wins on culture and sights and prices with your weighting.

What matters to you?

When should you go?

Pick your month. The climate figures are measured averages, not a forecast.

Chengdu in July

31 °Cdaytime high
23 °Cnight-time low
177 mmrain in the month
4 hsunshine a day
14 hdaylight a day

Kathmandu in July

29 °Cdaytime high
20 °Cnight-time low
384 mmrain in the month
4 hsunshine a day
14 hdaylight a day

Daytime high, °C

0°10°20°30°40°JFMAMJJASOND

Rainfall in the month, mm

0100200300400JFMAMJJASOND
ChengduKathmandu

Temperature and rainfall are climate normals, averaged over the years shown. Chengdu: 1991-2020 normals, Chengdu (4.5 km from centre). Kathmandu: 1991-2020 normals, Kathmandu Airport (4.7 km from centre).

Before you go

MeasureChengduKathmandu
Official languagePutonghuaNepali
CurrencyYuan Renminbi (CNY)Nepalese Rupee (NPR)
SocketsACI220 V, 50 HzCM230 V, 50 Hz
Driving sideRightLeft
Time zoneUTC+8UTC+5:45
Emergency numberPolice 110, ambulance 120, fire 119Police 100, ambulance 102, fire 101
Elevation500 m1,300 m
Main airportChengdu Shuangliu International Airport (CTU)16 km from centre77 non-stop destinationsTribhuvan International Airport (KTM)4 km from centre38 non-stop destinations
Public holidays this year6 days-

By the numbers

MeasureChengduKathmandu
City population20,937,757845,767
People per km²1,45617,121
Museums within 10 km109
UNESCO World Heritage sites within 50 km01

Where else could you go?

Every comparison below shares a destination with this one, so you can follow Chengdu or Kathmandu somewhere new.

Browse every destination

Sources

Structured data from Wikidata (CC0). Weather data by Meteostat. Meteorological data provided by NOAA, DWD and others. Rainfall where no rain gauge is within 25 km is from the TerraClimate 1991-2020 climatology (Abatzoglou et al. 2018, Scientific Data), read at the city. Airport data from OurAirports (public domain). Public holidays from Nager.Date (MIT). Exchange rates via Frankfurter, based on European Central Bank reference rates. Non-stop route lists from the "Airlines and destinations" tables on English Wikipedia airport articles, by Wikipedia contributors, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Currency from the ISO 4217 register maintained by SIX, cross-checked against country data from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). Price level from World Bank open data (PPP conversion factor for private consumption and official exchange rate), CC BY 4.0. Time zones from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0); clock offsets computed from the IANA time zone database. Daylight hours computed from each destination's latitude using the NOAA solar position algorithm.

Category scores are our editorial verdict under rubric v3, each placed against the same fixed benchmark cities; the climate figures are measured. How the scores are set. Snapshot generated 2026-11-01. Daily budgets are estimates from country price levels.