Panch Pokhari Trek

Welcome to Nepal. You land at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu (1,400 m), where our representative meets you in the arrivals hall and drives you to your hotel in Thamel.

Your guide joins you for the briefing. We go through the eleven-day plan, the camping routine — how the crew moves ahead, when meals happen, how the toilet tent works — and check your kit against the list. The important items on this trek are your sleeping bag and a warm jacket for the evenings at the lakes; anything missing can be bought or hired a few minutes from the hotel.

The rest of the day is yours. Overnight in Kathmandu.

A half day in the jeep north-east out of the Kathmandu valley, on the Araniko Highway and then up the Melamchi valley.

The road passes the Melamchi water project works, the tunnel scheme that finally brought a reliable water supply to Kathmandu after decades of construction, and then climbs a rough hill road through terraced farmland and scattered Tamang villages.

Tempathang (1,800 m) is where the road gives out — a mixed Sherpa and Tamang village of stone and timber houses on the hillside, with the ridge you will climb tomorrow standing above it.

Around 5 hours including stops. The evening is a homestay, and the crew organises loads for the morning. Overnight at Tempathang.

The first walking day and a proper climb: 900 m up the ridge and into the forest.

The trail leaves the village through terraced fields of millet and maize and then enters oak and rhododendron woodland, climbing steadily. It is a working path used by herders taking stock up to the summer pastures, so it is clear on the ground but rough underfoot.

The forest is thick, mossy and full of birds — monal, blood pheasant and a great deal else — and in spring the rhododendron flowers overhead for hours at a time.

Kami Kharka (2,700 m) is a grazing clearing with water and flat ground, and the first camp of the trek. Around 5–6 hours. Overnight camping at Kami Kharka.

A second long climb, out of the forest and onto the open ridge.

The trail continues up through thinning rhododendron until the trees stop altogether at around 3,300 m, and then the whole route ahead becomes visible: a broad grassy ridge running north towards the lake basin, with the Jugal Himal appearing over the shoulder to the east.

This is where the trek changes character. The forest closes everything in; the ridge opens it all out, and on a clear afternoon you can see from the Langtang peaks in the west to the Rolwaling in the east.

Nasempati (3,650 m) is a line of open stone shelters built for the August pilgrimage, empty the rest of the year. There is water nearby and room for the tents.

Around 5 hours. Overnight camping at Nasempati.

A short day to the lakes, gaining the last 450 m on open ground.

The trail follows the ridge north with the ground turning from grass to rock and low alpine scrub. Cairns and small shrines mark the way, left by pilgrims, and the Jugal Himal fills the view to the north — Dorje Lakpa (6,966 m), Phurbi Chyachu and Madiya.

Panch Pokhari (4,100 m) appears over a final rise: five lakes in a shallow basin, the largest of them a few hundred metres across, with stone shelters and small shrines at the water's edge.

The lakes are sacred to Hindus as a dwelling place of Shiva, and for one week each August thousands of pilgrims walk up here for Janai Purnima. Outside that week you will very likely be the only party in the basin.

Around 3–4 hours, arriving by early afternoon. Overnight camping at Panch Pokhari.

A full day at the lakes with an optional climb to the ridge above them.

The main walk goes east and up to Namaskar Pass (4,620 m), the saddle on the ridge behind the basin. It is a steady three-hour climb on rock and grass, and the view from the top runs the length of the Himalaya visible from central Nepal — Langtang and Shishapangma to the west, the whole Jugal Himal directly north, and the Rolwaling peaks east towards Gaurishankar.

Back at the lakes there is time in the afternoon to walk the circuit of all five, which takes an hour or two and passes the shrines and the pilgrim shelters. The water changes colour through the day as the light moves.

This day also does the acclimatisation work, taking the group above 4,600 m and back down to sleep at 4,100 m. Overnight camping at Panch Pokhari.

An easy morning back down the ridge, with the mountains behind you rather than ahead.

The route retraces the pilgrim trail south, dropping steadily on open ground. Walking the ridge in this direction gives the long view down the Melamchi valley and, on a clear morning, all the way to the Kathmandu valley rim.

It is a short day by design — three to four hours — which leaves the afternoon free at Nasempati (3,650 m). Herders are often camped nearby in season with buffalo and goats, and it is worth an hour of your guide's translation to sit with them.

The night here is noticeably warmer than at the lakes. Overnight camping at Nasempati.

A long descent off the ridge on a different line from the way up, dropping back into farmland.

The trail leaves the pilgrim route and follows a village path south-west, losing height quickly through rhododendron and then oak forest. Poles are worth having for the steeper sections.

The forest opens into terraced fields, and the villages start again — millet, maize and buckwheat on the terraces, water mills on the streams, and cattle on the paths.

Deep Gaun (2,100 m) is a Tamang village on the hillside with a view back up at the ridge you have just come down. Tonight is a homestay, which after four nights in a tent is a welcome change.

Around 6 hours. Overnight at Deep Gaun.

A short, easy last walking day contouring west across the hillside.

The trail runs through a string of Tamang and Sherpa villages, dropping to cross streams and climbing back onto the shoulder each time. This is ordinary rural Nepal at close quarters — schools, tea shops, buffalo, and the constant business of a farming community — and it is a good final day for it.

Much of what you pass was rebuilt after the 2015 earthquake, which hit Sindhupalchok harder than any other district in the country. Your guide will explain what happened here, and local people generally talk about it readily.

Panchpokhari Thangpal (1,900 m) is the main village of the municipality that takes its name from the lakes. This is where the crew finishes and tips are given. Around 4 hours. Overnight in a homestay.

A half day back to the capital, starting on a rough hill road and improving as it goes.

The jeep descends to the Melamchi valley floor and joins the road to Melamchi Bazaar, then follows the Indrawati river down to the Araniko Highway and west into the Kathmandu valley.

Around 5 hours with a stop for lunch. You arrive in Kathmandu (1,400 m) in the afternoon and transfer to your hotel.

The evening is free. Thamel is ten minutes' walk from most of the hotels we use, and it is the place for a proper dinner and any last shopping. Overnight in Kathmandu.

Your last day in Nepal. If your flight leaves later in the day there is time for Boudhanath, Pashupatinath or the old town at Bhaktapur, all within easy reach with your guide.

Our representative collects you from your hotel and transfers you to Tribhuvan International Airport around three hours before departure.

Panch Pokhari is the quietest high country within a day of Kathmandu, and very few visitors ever see it. If you want more of the same, the Tilman Pass route continues north from the lakes over a glaciated 5,350 m col into Langtang, and the Helambu and Ama Yangri trails to the west are an easy few days. Safe travels.