VacationSelector
Swayambhunath with its prayer flags, Kathmandu
KathmanduSwayambhunath with its prayer flags
Angkor Wat beyond the palms of the causeway, Siem Reap
Siem ReapAngkor Wat beyond the palms of the causeway

Photos: Kathmandu by Nabin K. Sapkota, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped; Siem Reap by allPhoto Bangkok, Pexels License.

Kathmandu or Siem Reap?

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

  • nature and the outdoors
  • shopping
  • food and drink

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

Choose Siem Reap for

  • families
  • wellness
  • culture and sights

What lies behind each score is written up on Siem Reap’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, Siem Reap 5: Siem Reap leads by 1 points.
Food & drink. Kathmandu 55, Siem Reap 45: Kathmandu leads by 10 points.
Culture & sights. Kathmandu 82, Siem Reap 88: Siem Reap leads by 6 points.
Nightlife. Kathmandu 36, Siem Reap 42: Siem Reap leads by 6 points.
Nature & outdoors. Kathmandu 70, Siem Reap 40: Kathmandu leads by 30 points.
Day trips. Kathmandu 56, Siem Reap 55: Kathmandu leads by 1 points.
Good for families. Kathmandu 20, Siem Reap 35: Siem Reap leads by 15 points.
Getting around. Kathmandu 25, Siem Reap 30: Siem Reap leads by 5 points.
Shopping & style. Kathmandu 55, Siem Reap 38: Kathmandu leads by 17 points.
Affordability. Kathmandu 97, Siem Reap 88: Kathmandu leads by 9 points.
Live music & performing arts. Kathmandu 28, Siem Reap 32: Siem Reap leads by 4 points.
Wellness & relaxation. Kathmandu 45, Siem Reap 60: Siem Reap leads by 15 points.
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What lies behind each score is written up on the two cities’ own pages: Kathmandu and Siem Reap.

Your match

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

Too close to call, 1 point apart

Kathmandu
48match

Wins on nature and the outdoors and shopping with your weighting.

Siem Reap
47match

Wins on families and wellness 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

Siem Reap in July

30 °Cdaytime high
24 °Cnight-time low
197 mmrain in the month
No recordsunshine a day
13 hdaylight a day

Daytime high, °C

0°10°20°30°40°JFMAMJJASOND

Rainfall in the month, mm

0100200300400JFMAMJJASOND
KathmanduSiem Reap

Where the figures come from

Siem Reap has no weather station within reach, so its figures come from a gridded climate model rather than a measured record, and read a broad area rather than the city itself.

Temperature and rainfall are climate normals, averaged over the years shown. Kathmandu: 1991-2020 normals, Kathmandu Airport (4.7 km from centre). Siem Reap: 2001-2020 normals, NASA POWER reanalysis grid, no weather station within 90 km.

Before you go

MeasureKathmanduSiem Reap
Official languageNepaliKhmer
CurrencyNepalese Rupee (NPR)Riel (KHR)
SocketsCM230 V, 50 HzACG230 V, 50 Hz
Driving sideLeftRight
Time zoneUTC+5:45UTC+7
Emergency numberPolice 100, ambulance 102, fire 101Police 117, ambulance 119, fire 118
Elevation1,300 m18 m
Main airportTribhuvan International Airport (KTM)4 km from centre38 non-stop destinationsSiem Reap-Angkor International Airport (SAI)39 km from centre14 non-stop destinations
Public holidays this year-21 days

By the numbers

MeasureKathmanduSiem Reap
City population845,767147,866
People per km²17,121-
Museums within 10 km96
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 Siem Reap 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. Temperature and rainfall for destinations with no weather station are from the NASA POWER 2001-2020 climatology, derived from MERRA-2. 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.