Nightlife means a social life or collective entertainment taking place in the late evening up to the late morning hours. It may include pubs, bars, nightclubs, parties, live music, and everything through which one can get entertainment. Generally, Nepal does not have the most active nightlife. Nepal’s nightlife is focused around touristic areas. While talking about the nightlife in Kathmandu especially the heart of the city i.e. Thamel comes at the center where people seem swamp in their works. It has been the center of the tourism industry in Kathmandu for over four decades. We can find lots of restaurants, cocktail bars, live music and relaxing bars and pubs scattered around but close to each other where each one has its style.
Thamel has often referred to as a ‘ghetto’ by several tourists. It happens to be the hotspot for the low budget travelers who come to explore Nepal. It is distinguished by its narrow alleys crowded with bicycles, cars, motorcycles, and of course the pedestrians. It boasts a wide range of mountaineering gear shops that acts as the pre-base camp for mountaineers. Travel agencies, small grocery stores, budget hotels, and restaurants also line the street. In comparison to other places, the price rate is significantly higher than in non- tourist areas. But if you are a music and dance lover, then you can listen to different types of music either it is jazz or rock performed by the local bands and some famous bands too as well as you can shake your body with the flow of music.
Thamel is considered as the only place where you can feel the nightlife of the city. It is almost crowded the whole day mostly by the tourist and the local people. Some consider it to be overcrowded it has been used by westerners since the 1970s when hippies in the region discovered it. Though now it has become quite commercial. It stands as the heaven for tourists as well as for some local people too. Normally, most of the restaurants close at around 10:00 P.M, but the bars and clubs of Thamel area remain open until the early hours of the mornings. It means when whole Kathmandu is preparing to sleep, Thamel starts to awake with music, dance parties, and rock bands.
Similarly, Jhamsikhel, Patan is also the most visited place for the best nightlife in Kathmandu. Jhamsikhel is also called as Jhamel. Here, you have an incredible variety of cuisine and bars. Likewise, another cluster of popular bars can be found at Pulchowk in Patan, which also escaped the worst in the tremors. All these places do have their significance yet nightlife in Thamel is rather more exciting.
In this way, Nightlife in Kathmandu is concentrated only on Thamel which serves for both entertainment and employment purposes and stands as a home to a wide range of the Nepalese population.
