Bhaktapur's food is built on what its farming families grow and the buffalo they keep. Our trail starts at about 4 pm near Taumadhi Square with wo, the local Newar name for bara: black-lentil batter fried flat on an iron pan and eaten hot from a leaf. From there we work through the lanes towards Durbar Square, stopping at small family kitchens with low benches and a single pan over the flame. Each stop is a tasting rather than a meal, so you can pace yourself across five or six places.
Next comes chatamari, a thin rice-flour pancake topped with minced meat or egg, followed by samay baji, the festival plate of beaten rice, roasted soybeans, fresh ginger, potato achar and boiled egg. Meat eaters can try kachila, minced buffalo marinated raw with mustard oil, ginger and spices, a Newar speciality that is an acquired taste and best skipped if your stomach is new to Nepal. Vegetarians are well looked after with potato and soybean dishes, meatless chatamari and fresh sweets from the market stalls.
The finale is juju dhau, the king of curds. Buffalo milk is boiled, sweetened and left to set overnight in unglazed clay bowls, making a curd thicker and creamier than ordinary dahi, and the Bhaktapur version is the one Nepalis carry home as a gift. We stop at a long-running shop where you eat a small bowl on the spot and can buy a sealed one for your hotel. Allow two hours, come hungry, and bring small notes for any extra snacks you want to buy along the way.
Good for
- Couples
- Families
- Groups
- Solo
Questions travellers ask
What is juju dhau and why is Bhaktapur famous for it?
Juju dhau means king of curds in Newari. It is a sweet, thick curd made from buffalo milk and set overnight in porous clay bowls that draw out water, giving a firm, creamy texture. Bhaktapur's shops have made it for generations, and Nepalis visiting the town often take a bowl home as a gift.
Is the Bhaktapur food trail okay for vegetarians?
Yes. Vegetarians can eat wo, chatamari without meat, the potato and soybean parts of the samay baji plate and juju dhau, which together make a filling trail. Tell us when you book and the guide will choose kitchens that keep meat separate. Strict Jain diets are harder, because onion and garlic go into most savoury dishes.
Can I carry juju dhau back to Kathmandu or India?
To Kathmandu, yes: a sealed clay bowl keeps for a day or so in cool weather if you carry it upright. Taking it on a flight is harder, because curd counts as a liquid or gel in hand luggage and may be refused at security. Eat it in Nepal and buy pottery as your souvenir instead.
