Kathmandu or Thimphu?

Neither city has any swimming to plan around. Both sit in high valleys in landlocked countries, and their rivers are cold and fast. A swim in Kathmandu means a hotel pool. In Thimphu even that is uncertain, because few hotels have one.

Kathmandu is clearly the better place to eat. Newari cooking around the old bazaars and in Patan includes choila, bara pancakes, yomari dumplings and rice beer, and Boudhanath adds Tibetan thukpa and butter tea. Momos are everywhere, and Thamel has plenty of easy Western food when you need a break.

Bhutanese food is more striking than varied. Ema datshi, chillies in melted cheese, comes with almost every meal, and you often have to ask for the full heat. Thimphu has only a handful of restaurants, so its riverside farmers' market is the food highlight.

Kathmandu has far more heritage. Durbar Square, with the Kumari's house, the hilltop stupa at Swayambhunath, the pilgrims circling Boudhanath and the open cremations at Pashupatinath could fill several days on their own. Patan's square and museum add Newari bronze and woodwork.

Thimphu has a shorter list but a quieter, more orderly feel. Tashichho Dzong still houses the government and the monk body, residents circle the Memorial Chorten at dawn, and the Zorig Chusum institute lets you watch students learning the traditional arts. Most visitors cover it in two or three days.

Kathmandu has more going on at night, though nearly all of it is in Thamel. Trekkers fill the rooftop bars, pool halls and a few dance clubs there until around midnight. Thimphu is quieter still. Evenings mean karaoke, a drayang where you can request folk songs, or a weekend club, and many guided visitors are back at the hotel after dinner.

Thimphu wins because the outdoors starts at the end of the street. Pine forest climbs straight from town to Tango, Cheri and Phajoding monasteries, the takin preserve is close by, and the Dochula pass looks out over the eastern Himalaya about an hour away. Guided treks such as the Druk Path begin near the city.

Kathmandu's nature is spread around the valley rim. There are forest trails in Shivapuri Nagarjun National Park, sunrise over the peaks from Nagarkot and Dhulikhel, and the Chandragiri cable car. It is also the better base for Everest mountain flights and rafting rivers, but you reach all of these through slow traffic.

Both cities have one excursion that matters and little beyond it. From Kathmandu it is Bhaktapur, a complete royal town of brick squares and potters, with Changu Narayan in the same day. Patan, Kirtipur and the carving villages add more Newari life on the same theme.

From Thimphu the trip is Paro, worth it for the Tiger's Nest climb and Rinpung Dzong, and many travellers stay a night there anyway. Dochula fits into half a day. Punakha is so far by winding road that it is better as an overnight stop than a day trip.

Neither city is easy with small children, but Thimphu is the gentler of the two. It is safe and calm, and the takin, the prayer wheels and short forest walks hold children's attention. The long drives and altitude are its main drawbacks.

Kathmandu has monkeys at Swayambhunath and the prayer wheels at Boudhanath. Against that are lanes without pavements, motorbikes, dust, poor winter air and the care needed with food and water. Both suit older children better, especially ones heading off on a hike or trek.

Thimphu is easier day to day. The centre around Norzin Lam is small and calm enough to walk, and a policeman directs traffic at the main junction instead of lights. For the hillside sights most visitors already have a car and driver, though that leaves little room for wandering on your own.

In Kathmandu you can walk around Thamel and the old city, but you share the lanes with motorbikes. Beyond them you rely on bargained taxis or ride-hailing apps. Crossing to Patan, Boudhanath or the airport through dust and traffic often takes much longer than the distance suggests.

Kathmandu has much more to buy. Patan's workshops cast bronze statues, the shops around Boudhanath sell carpets and thangkas, and Thamel's stalls are stacked with pashmina, singing bowls and trekking gear, though much of the gear is copied. Expect to bargain everywhere.

Thimphu's shops are smaller and more focused. Handwoven kira cloth and yak-wool textiles are the real prize, sold through the government emporium and the craft bazaar. Neither city offers fashion or luxury shopping.

This is where the two differ most. In Kathmandu, comfortable guesthouses, momos and taxis cost very little. Entry fees, imported drinks, trekking permits and mountain flights are where the money goes.

Everyday prices in Thimphu are modest too, but Bhutan's daily fee for foreign visitors applies to every night. Add the usual guide, car and tourist-standard hotel, and the same week costs many times more.

Neither city has much of a stage, and the best performances in both follow the religious calendar. Kathmandu has more on a normal evening. Thamel bands play rock covers and Nepali folk, there are cultural dinner shows, and an autumn jazz festival runs each year, while Indra Jatra brings masked dances to the streets.

In Thimphu, almost everything centres on the Tshechu. For several autumn days, masked cham dancers perform in the courtyard of Tashichho Dzong, and it is worth planning a trip around. The rest of the year there are the Royal Academy's folk performances and the drayangs.

Thimphu is calmer to begin with. The slow pace, early nights and monks chanting at dusk do much of the work, and a dotsho hot-stone bath after a hike is a real local tradition. The upscale lodges add spas.

Kathmandu offers more structured inner work, including meditation and Buddhist philosophy courses at Kopan and other monasteries, plus yoga, Ayurveda and cheap massage on every Thamel lane. The city itself is loud, though, so for calm you have to go to a monastery, a garden or the stupa at dusk.