Khopra Danda Trek

You arrive at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu (1,400 m), where our representative meets you and drives you to your hotel in Thamel.

Your guide runs the pre-trek briefing. The Khopra Danda trek climbs to a ridge at 4,020 m looking directly across the Kali Gandaki gorge at Dhaulagiri (8,167 m) — one of the most head-on views of an eight-thousander anywhere in Nepal, and from a trail that sees a fraction of the traffic of the neighbouring Poon Hill circuit.

The itinerary includes an optional day hike to the sacred Khayer Lake at 4,827 m, which is the highest point of the trip and a genuinely demanding day. Because of that, warm layers, gloves and a good sleeping bag matter here in a way they do not on the standard Poon Hill route. The rest of the day is free. Overnight in Kathmandu.

We leave after breakfast on the Prithvi Highway, dropping out of the Kathmandu Valley and following the Trishuli River west through its gorge for most of the 200 km journey.

The drive takes the better part of the day and is scenic throughout — terraced hillsides, roadside bazaars, suspension footbridges, and rafting groups on the green water below. We stop for lunch at a riverside restaurant along the way.

Pokhara (822 m) arrives in the late afternoon, on the shore of Phewa Lake with the Annapurna massif rising directly behind the town. Dhaulagiri is not visible from here — it sits behind the Annapurna wall — which makes the first sight of it from Khopra all the more striking. Overnight in Pokhara.

A short drive of about ninety minutes west along the Baglung highway to the roadhead at Nayapul (1,070 m), where the Modi Khola valley begins.

The trekking starts here. The trail follows the river upstream through Birethanti and Syauli Bazaar, then climbs steadily through terraced farmland — rice, millet and orange trees — on a well-made stone path. It is a warm, green, gentle introduction with villages every hour or so.

The climb to Ghandruk (1,940 m) is the effort of the day, gaining around 870 m. Ghandruk is the largest and most attractive Gurung village in the Annapurna region: slate-roofed stone houses stacked up the hillside, paved lanes, and a small museum of traditional Gurung life. The Gurung community here has long supplied soldiers to the Gurkha regiments. From the upper village Annapurna South and Machhapuchhre stand directly ahead. Overnight in Ghandruk.

A steady climbing day of around 690 m, mostly through forest, and short enough to leave a relaxed afternoon.

The trail climbs north out of Ghandruk on stone steps, passing through the small settlement of Kimrong and then entering dense rhododendron and oak forest. The canopy closes overhead and the walking is shaded and cool, with the occasional clearing giving views back down to Ghandruk and across to the Annapurna wall.

This is excellent birding terrain. The Himalayan monal — Nepal's national bird, iridescent green and copper — is regularly flushed from the undergrowth here, and langur monkeys move through the canopy overhead.

Tadapani (2,630 m) sits on a forested spur, and the reason to be here is the view: Annapurna South (7,219 m) and Machhapuchhre (6,993 m) head-on from the lodge terraces, particularly good at sunset and again at first light. Overnight in Tadapani.

The day you leave the busy trails behind. From Tadapani most trekkers turn west toward Ghorepani; we turn north instead, and the traffic drops away almost immediately.

The trail climbs steadily through thick rhododendron forest, gaining around 720 m. In spring this section flowers spectacularly overhead, and because so few people walk it you will often have whole hours to yourself. The forest is mossy, damp and quiet, with the path narrowing as you gain height.

Higher up the trees thin into dwarf rhododendron and open scrub, and the views begin to open north and west. Dobato (3,350 m) is a small huddle of basic lodges in a clearing just below the treeline — simple accommodation, cold at night, and a long way from anywhere. Tomorrow's sunrise viewpoint is directly above. Overnight in Dobato.

A pre-dawn start for the climb to Muldai Viewpoint (3,637 m), around 45 minutes of steep walking above the lodges by head torch.

Muldai is one of the finest and least-known viewpoints in the Annapurna region. The 360-degree panorama takes in Dhaulagiri (8,167 m), Annapurna South (7,219 m), Annapurna I (8,091 m), Nilgiri, Hiunchuli, Tukuche and Machhapuchhre — the same skyline Poon Hill is famous for, from higher up, and usually with fewer than a dozen people on it.

We return to Dobato for breakfast and then descend north-west through rhododendron forest and open pasture, following a ridge trail with mountain views for most of the way. Chistibung (3,000 m) is a summer grazing settlement — a handful of herders' huts and a simple lodge in a meadow. Overnight in Chistibung.

A steady climb of around 1,000 m to the highest overnight point of the trek, and the day everything has been building toward.

The trail leaves the last of the trees behind almost immediately and climbs open ridge — grass, scrub and rock, entirely exposed, with the views widening continuously behind you. It is a long, sustained ascent rather than a steep one, and the altitude makes itself felt in the last hour.

Khopra Danda (4,020 m) is a narrow grassy ridge with a community-run lodge perched on it, and the position is extraordinary. Directly across the Kali Gandaki gorge — the deepest in the world — stands the entire south face of Dhaulagiri (8,167 m), filling the western horizon from base to summit. Annapurna South, Nilgiri and Tukuche complete the view. Sunset here is exceptional, and the lodge is owned and run by the villages below. Overnight in Khopra Danda.

The hardest day of the trek, and an optional one — around 800 m of ascent and the same in descent, taking seven to nine hours at altitude with no shelter along the way.

We start before dawn. The trail climbs north-west along an open ridge and then across high alpine pasture and boulder field, gaining height steadily with Dhaulagiri in view for most of the way. There is no vegetation beyond grass and cushion plants, and the wind is usually strong.

Khayer Lake (4,827 m) sits in a bare basin directly beneath Annapurna South, and it is a sacred site — Hindu pilgrims come here during the Janai Purnima festival in August to bathe in the freezing water, and there is a small shrine on the shore. For most of the year it is frozen and completely deserted.

We return by the same route to Khopra Danda (4,020 m). Those who would rather not attempt it can spend an easy day on the ridge instead. Overnight in Khopra Danda.

Be outside for sunrise — Dhaulagiri lighting up directly opposite the ridge is the single best view of the trek, and worth the cold.

The day is then a long descent of around 1,750 m off the high ridge and back into farming country. The trail drops steeply at first over open grass and scrub, then re-enters rhododendron and oak forest, losing height quickly on a rough path. Poles are worth having.

Lower down the forest opens into terraced fields and the trail reaches Swanta Village (2,270 m), a Magar settlement of stone houses set among barley terraces and orchards. Swanta is part of the same community tourism scheme as Khopra, and the village runs a cheese-making operation and a school funded partly by trekking income. It is a quiet, welcoming place that sees very few visitors. Overnight in Swanta.

A moderate day of around 600 m of ascent, rejoining the main Annapurna trail network at the end of it.

The trail climbs east out of Swanta through terraced fields and into forest, crossing the Chitre ridge before dropping to the settlement of Chitre itself. From there it joins the well-trodden path north to Ghorepani, climbing gently through some of the finest old rhododendron woodland in Nepal.

The change in traffic when you join the main trail is abrupt and slightly jarring after five days of empty ridges — you will pass more trekkers in the last hour than in the previous three days combined.

Ghorepani (2,860 m) is a busy village of blue-roofed lodges packed into a ridge saddle, with hot showers, bakeries and a lively evening. After the community lodges of Khopra and Swanta, the bustle is a genuine contrast. Overnight in Ghorepani.

A 4:30 am start for the 45-minute climb to Poon Hill (3,210 m), Nepal's most famous sunrise viewpoint. Having already stood on Muldai and Khopra, you will notice that the crowd here is the main difference — but the panorama of Dhaulagiri (8,167 m) and Annapurna I (8,091 m) is still one of the great mountain views.

We descend to Ghorepani for breakfast and then begin the long walk out, dropping south through rhododendron forest to Nangethanti and Banthanti, then down the notorious Ulleri staircase — some 3,000 stone steps, far easier going down than up, though hard on the knees.

The trail continues through Tikhedhunga and follows the Bhurungdi Khola down to Birethanti (1,025 m), where the walking ends. A vehicle takes us back to Pokhara (822 m), arriving in the afternoon. Overnight in Pokhara.

A relaxed morning by the lake. If you are up early, sunrise on the Annapurnas from the lakeside is worth it — though after Khopra Danda the bar is high. A boat across Phewa Lake or the walk up to the World Peace Pagoda both fit before breakfast.

We then drive east on the Prithvi Highway to Kathmandu (1,400 m), following the Trishuli river back through its gorge. It is a full day on the road with a lunch stop, arriving in the capital in the late afternoon.

After transferring to your hotel the evening is free — a hot shower, a proper meal, and shopping in Thamel if you want it. Overnight in Kathmandu.

Your final day in Nepal. If your flight leaves later there is time for one more part of the Kathmandu Valley — Boudhanath Stupa, Pashupatinath Temple and Swayambhunath are all within a short drive of Thamel.

Our representative will collect you from your hotel and transfer you to Tribhuvan International Airport around three hours before your scheduled departure.

The Khopra Danda trek is the thinking trekker's alternative to Poon Hill: the same mountains, a higher ridge, a sacred lake at 4,827 m, community-owned lodges, and long stretches where you will not see another group. If you would like more of this, the Mohare Danda route runs through the same community scheme, and Annapurna Base Camp is a natural step up. Safe travels.