VacationSelector
Swayambhunath with its prayer flags, Kathmandu
KathmanduSwayambhunath with its prayer flags
The Iguazu Falls in the green jungle, Puerto Iguazu
Puerto IguazuThe Iguazu Falls in the green jungle

Photos: Kathmandu by Nabin K. Sapkota, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped; Puerto Iguazu by Muhammed Ballan, Pexels License.

Kathmandu or Puerto Iguazu?

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 Kathmandu for

  • culture and sights
  • prices
  • shopping

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

Choose Puerto Iguazu for

  • families
  • getting around
  • nature and the outdoors

What lies behind each score is written up on Puerto Iguazu’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. Kathmandu 4, Puerto Iguazu 5: Puerto Iguazu leads by 1 points.
Food & drink. Kathmandu 55, Puerto Iguazu 28: Kathmandu leads by 27 points.
Culture & sights. Kathmandu 82, Puerto Iguazu 9: Kathmandu leads by 73 points.
Nightlife. Kathmandu 36, Puerto Iguazu 14: Kathmandu leads by 22 points.
Nature & outdoors. Kathmandu 70, Puerto Iguazu 95: Puerto Iguazu leads by 25 points.
Day trips. Kathmandu 56, Puerto Iguazu 33: Kathmandu leads by 23 points.
Good for families. Kathmandu 20, Puerto Iguazu 55: Puerto Iguazu leads by 35 points.
Getting around. Kathmandu 25, Puerto Iguazu 54: Puerto Iguazu leads by 29 points.
Shopping & style. Kathmandu 55, Puerto Iguazu 17: Kathmandu leads by 38 points.
Affordability. Kathmandu 97, Puerto Iguazu 48: Kathmandu leads by 49 points.
Live music & performing arts. Kathmandu 28, Puerto Iguazu 7: Kathmandu leads by 21 points.
Wellness & relaxation. Kathmandu 45, Puerto Iguazu 34: Kathmandu leads by 11 points.
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What lies behind each score is written up on the two cities’ own pages: Kathmandu and Puerto Iguazu.

Your match

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

Kathmandu
Best match
48match

Wins on culture and sights and prices with your weighting.

Puerto Iguazu
33match

Wins on families and getting around with your weighting.

What matters to you?

When should you go?

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

Kathmandu in July

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

Puerto Iguazu in July

22 °Cdaytime high
11 °Cnight-time low
103 mmrain in the month
5 hsunshine a day
11 hdaylight a day

Daytime high, °C

0°10°20°30°40°JFMAMJJASOND

Rainfall in the month, mm

0100200300400JFMAMJJASOND
KathmanduPuerto Iguazu

Temperature and rainfall are climate normals, averaged over the years shown. Kathmandu: 1991-2020 normals, Kathmandu Airport (4.7 km from centre). Puerto Iguazu: 1991-2020 normals, Iguazu Aerodrome (17.8 km from centre).

Before you go

MeasureKathmanduPuerto Iguazu
Official languageNepaliSpanish
CurrencyNepalese Rupee (NPR)Argentine Peso (ARS)
SocketsCM230 V, 50 HzCI220 V, 50 Hz
Driving sideLeftLeft
Time zoneUTC+5:45UTC-3
Emergency numberPolice 100, ambulance 102, fire 101117 or 911
Elevation1,300 m162 m
Main airportTribhuvan International Airport (KTM)4 km from centre38 non-stop destinationsCataratas Del Iguazú International Airport (IGR)18 km from centre8 non-stop destinations
Public holidays this year-16 days

By the numbers

MeasureKathmanduPuerto Iguazu
City population845,76754,903
People per km²17,121-
Museums within 10 km90
UNESCO World Heritage sites within 50 km11

Where else could you go?

Every comparison below shares a destination with this one, so you can follow Kathmandu or Puerto Iguazu 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). 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. Public holidays from Nager.Date (MIT). Daylight hours computed from each destination's latitude using the NOAA solar position algorithm. Exchange rates via Frankfurter, based on European Central Bank reference rates.

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 2026-10-31. Daily budgets are estimates from country price levels.