Khori Himal Trek from Pokhara

• Six Days, Pokhara to Pokhara: A complete Himalayan trek with no Kathmandu transfer days and only one road journey at each end.

• The Kori Danda Viewpoint (3,850 m): Stand on an open alpine ridge facing Annapurna II, Annapurna IV, and Lamjung Himal at close range.

• The Gurung Village of Sikles: Begin in one of the largest traditional Gurung settlements in Nepal, terraced up a hillside above the Madi valley.

• Forest Rich in Birdlife: Climb through dense oak and rhododendron between Sikles and Tasha, one of the best stretches of middle-hill forest in the region.

• Almost No Other Trekkers: Walk a recently developed trail where seeing another group on any given day is the exception rather than the rule.

March to May and October to December are both excellent. Spring puts the rhododendron forest between Sikles and Tasha into full flower and keeps the ridge pleasant through the afternoon. Autumn and early winter give the sharpest, clearest views of Annapurna II and IV from Kori, which is the whole point of the trek.

The low maximum altitude means the route stays walkable later into winter than most Annapurna trails, although the Kori ridge is exposed and may hold snow from January onward. Avoid the monsoon between June and August, when the forest section is leech-heavy, the ridge sits in cloud, and the road to Sikles is vulnerable to landslides.

For a month-by-month look at weather and trail conditions, see our guide to the best time to trek in Nepal.

This is a moderate trek with a short overall commitment. Four walking days, no pass, and a maximum sleeping altitude of 2,700 m at Tasha keep the demands manageable. The exception is the climb from Tasha to Kori Danda, which gains over 1,100 m in five to six hours on a steep forest and ridge trail — a genuinely hard day by any standard.

Aim to be comfortable walking five to seven hours with sustained ascent. Four to six weeks of regular hill walking is enough preparation for most people. Trekking poles are worth bringing for the descent from Kori back to Tasha, which reverses the same 1,100 m in one day and takes a toll on the knees.

To build that fitness step by step, follow our 12-week training plan for a Nepal trek.

Altitude is not the main challenge on this trek, but the profile is worth understanding. You sleep at 1,980 m in Sikles, 2,700 m at Tasha, and then make a day ascent to 3,850 m at Kori before returning to Tasha to sleep. That climb-high, sleep-low pattern is exactly what the body handles best, and serious altitude illness is uncommon on this route.

Even so, gaining 1,150 m in a single day is significant, and mild headache or breathlessness on the ridge is not unusual. Drink at least three litres of water a day, walk the Kori climb at a pace that lets you hold a conversation, and tell your guide if a headache does not settle after resting and rehydrating. Descending 500 m resolves symptoms quickly here, and the Tasha lodge is never far away.

Prevention, symptoms and treatment are covered in depth in our guide to altitude sickness in Nepal.

Most of this trek is mild, but the Kori ridge is exposed and cold at dawn. Bring waterproof trekking boots, two or three base layers, a fleece, a light down jacket, a waterproof shell, trekking trousers, a warm hat, sun hat, gloves, and wool socks. A sleeping bag rated to -5°C is ample for Sikles and Tasha, where lodges also provide blankets.

Also pack a 25-30 litre daypack, trekking poles, a headlamp, high-SPF sunscreen and lip balm, sunglasses, a reusable bottle with purification tablets or a filter, a small first aid kit with blister care, insect repellent for the forest section, a quick-dry towel, toiletries, and a power bank. Lodges on this route are small and charging capacity is limited, so arrive with everything topped up in Pokhara.

For the complete kit list, organised by the altitude you will reach, see our Nepal trekking packing list.

You stay in a homestay or small lodge at Sikles and in simple family-run teahouses at Tasha. This is a developing trekking region and the lodges are basic compared with the Annapurna Circuit — twin rooms with foam mattresses, shared toilets, and limited hot water — but they are welcoming, and your stay puts money directly into villages with very few other sources of visitor income.

Three meals a day are included on the trek. Menus are short and centred on dal bhat, noodle soup, fried rice, eggs, chapati, and porridge, using vegetables grown in the villages. Sikles has a well-earned local reputation for Gurung home cooking and its millet dishes are worth asking for. Water comes from spring-fed taps and streams and must be treated with tablets, a filter, or a UV pen — bottled water is not reliably sold above Sikles.

What the lodges are really like, from rooms and meals to showers and charging, is covered in our guide to teahouse trekking in Nepal.

• Khori Himal Trek: The Complete Guide to Kori Danda — Four walking days from one of Nepal's largest traditional Gurung villages to an empty ridge at 3,850 m, with Annapurna II, Annapurna IV.