Old Thimi: the town of capable people

Walk east from Sanothimi and the ground rises gently onto a long ridge. On top sits Thimi, one of the oldest Newar towns in the Kathmandu Valley. Unlike Bhaktapur it has no entry fee, few signboards and almost no tour groups, which makes it one of the most rewarding places in the valley to explore on foot.

The name

Thimi is known in Nepal Bhasa as Themi. A popular local tradition explains the name as coming from a word meaning capable or skilled. According to the story, the people of this town helped the king of Bhaktapur during a conflict with the neighbouring kingdoms of Kathmandu and Patan, and the grateful king called them the capable ones. Historians debate the etymology, but the people of Thimi are proud of the story, and it fits a town famous for its craftspeople.

Between two kingdoms

The official name of the municipality, Madhyapur, means the middle city. Thimi lies roughly halfway between Kathmandu and Bhaktapur, and for most of the Malla period (roughly the 13th to 18th centuries) it belonged to the kingdom of Bhaktapur. Its location on the main trade route made it strategically important, and its farmers supplied grain and vegetables to both capitals. The strong links with Bhaktapur can still be seen in its festivals, its dialect of Nepal Bhasa and its architecture.

Layout of the town

Old Thimi follows the classic Newar pattern: a dense core of three and four storey brick houses built around shared courtyards, with streets that open into small squares called tole. Each tole has its own shrine, water source and rest house (pati). Temples to Ganesh, Bhairav, Narayan and the mother goddesses mark important junctions and the edges of the town. At the heart of Thimi stands the temple of Balkumari, the town's most important deity.

Look up as you walk. Many houses still have carved wooden windows, some with lattice screens, and the struts supporting temple roofs are carved with deities and scenes from mythology. Look down, too — the stone waterspouts (hiti) and wells are part of an old water system that once served every household.

A town of makers

Thimi is famous across Nepal for two crafts: pottery and papier-mâché masks. Walk through the potters' quarter and you will see courtyards covered with drying pots, piles of clay, and kilns built from straw and ash. In other lanes, families make brightly painted masks of Bhairav, Ganesh, Kumari and other deities, used in dances and sold to collectors. See the separate page on Thimi's crafts for more.

Changes since 2015

The earthquake of April 2015 damaged many old houses in Thimi. Some families rebuilt in concrete, others restored traditional brick and timber houses, often with help from heritage organisations. The result is a patchwork of old and new that shows how a living town adapts rather than a preserved museum.

Walking tips

Start from the Araniko Highway at Sanothimi and walk uphill towards the Balkumari temple. From there wander north and south through the lanes; the town is small enough that you cannot get seriously lost. Be respectful in private courtyards, ask before photographing people at work, and remove your shoes if you enter a temple area where others have done so.