In areas adjoining the Kathmandu Valley, a minority indigenous people similar in language and culture to the Newars and resembling in physical appearance to the Tamangs live. They are known as Pahari. As regards the name, Pahari, there are several hypotheses. The Paharis are said to have been degraded from the Newars, they are said to have been so named as they had come from a place called Pahari in Dailekh in West Nepal (Ukyab and Adhikari, BS2057:36) or as they had gone to live in hilly areas (Pahad in Nepali). All these, however, are mere conjectures, and there is no confirmation of`them. As a group limited in number, there is, nonetheless, no doubt that the Pahari are a distinct indigenous people different from other indigenous peoples like the Newars and Tamangs and from caste groups like Chhetris.

The Pahari are predominant in Badikhel, Tikabhairav, Lele, Godavari and Chapagaun of Lalitpur district and Khopasi and Palanchok of Kavre district. Their population, according to the census of 2001, is 11,505. The Paharis have their own language. Linguists say that their language is closest to that of the Newars, but their pronunciation is akin to the Tamangs. Their language is similar to the Newari language spoken in areas far from Kathmandu like the outskirts of Dhulikel and Lalitpur (Gautam, BS2051/52:52).

When a Pahari child is born no one touches it on the first day. The child undergoes the naming ceremony on the seventh day. The most important activity during the ceremony is called Nangchuri, in which the nail and hair of the child are cut by the ancestral family barber. Nangchuri is a compulsory ritual in every purification ceremony of the Pahari. After naming, the child's Chhewar is carried out. During the coming of age ceremony (Bratabhandha), activities like tying of cloth around the Pheta (headgear) and wearing of dhoti (loincloth) are also undertaken. When asking for the hand of the bride during marriage, the groom and his family have to take beaten rice (Chiura), ginger, soybean and alcohol to the bride's home. The marriage ceremony, however, does not require elaborate sacred fire as in Hindu marriages. After tying the hands of the bride and groom with thread, the blood of a sacrificed chicken has to be poured. The Paharis cremate their dead. While selecting a site for the funeral pyre, the Paharis make sure that the smoke from the pyre can be seen from the house of the dead.

Pahari women pierce their nose, something which Newar women do not do. The Pahari women put vermilion on their head and wear Pote and Tilahari to denote their marital status. The Paharis do not marry outside their group, but if someone does, the children claim descent from the mother's side. This leads to the supposition that the Pahari society is or was at some time in the past matriarchal (Sharma, BS2052). Paharis live in joint families. The Pahari of Palanchok consider themselves superior to other Paharis. Guthi plays an important role in society of the Paharis. The most important deity of the Paharis is Banijkhane, which resembles a demon in appearance. Another deity is Gambar, for whom no statue is made. The Paharis celebrate festivals like Bhume Puja and Kuse Aunshi.

The Pahari of Lalitpur and Palanchok are farmers while those of Khopasi are engaged in trade and business. The economic condition of those Paharis involved in farming is not good.