Kathmandu Valley · Nepal

Discover Nepal’s living heritage, one walk at a time.

Courtyards, artisan neighbourhoods and the stone fountains that still water the valley’s towns — explored at your own pace, with local heritage partners.

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An initiative by Rivers & Roots, with local heritage partners.

Rivers & Roots connects people, places and nature. These walks treat heritage as part of everyday life — the courtyards people live around, the fountains they still draw from — and each walk names the organization that operates it.

Find your next walk.

Guided walks are booked on the Rivers & Roots site; this guidebook goes with you before, during and after. Patan can also be walked self-guided today.

Browse by destination

Three historic cities a short ride apart. All three are covered by the heritage map.

How it works

All current walks are self-guided. Guide-led bookings will get their own steps when they launch.

Choose a routePick a walk above and read what it will show you.

Open the map and start pointStop 1 is marked. GPS is optional — you can also tap stops, or simulate the walk from home.

Explore at your own paceEach stop asks you to look first, then explains what you saw. Notes save to your journal.

A heritage walk for your own group.

For families, friends, schools and teams looking for a more personal experience. An inquiry is not a confirmed reservation — we reply by email to arrange the details.

Request a Private Walk

About Rivers & Roots and local partners

Heritage Walks Nepal is an initiative by Rivers & Roots, which connects people, places and nature. The walks treat heritage as a living part of everyday life: courtyards people still live around, fountains they still draw from, squares where festivals still happen — and the links between heritage, community life, water and public space.

Experiences may be offered by different local heritage partners — community groups, guides and organizations — and each walk names who operates it. Rivers & Roots curates the listings and runs its own walks; it does not operate every experience.

Partner with us
Heritage organizations, community groups and independent guides who would like to list a walk can get in touch by email.

Contact us

Look a little closer.

The tools behind the walks — use them on their own, anywhere in the valley.

Chapter 1 · Patan

How did an entire city get water before modern pipes?

Patan ran on a gravity grid: a royal canal from the southern hills filled ponds, ponds recharged aquifers, and aquifers fed sunken stone fountains — hitis — maintained by neighborhood trusts for 1,400 years. This walk follows that system from the king's private bath to a fountain community that never stopped.

GPS optional — you can also tap stops on the map, or simulate the walk from home.

Schematic field map — not a survey. Streets simplified.

1

Patan Durbar Square

Orientation · Stop 1 of 10

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You should eventually recognize the feature before the app labels it. Terms appear on the walk exactly where you can see a strong example.