Poonhill 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 Poon Hill trek is the most popular short walk in Nepal, and with good reason: it reaches a viewpoint at 3,210 m with two eight-thousanders in a single panorama, without ever going high enough for altitude to be a serious concern. It suits first-time trekkers, families and anyone with limited time.

Because the route stays below 3,300 m and the walking days are moderate, the kit list is lighter than for a high trek — but Ghorepani is cold at night in any season, so warm layers still matter. Anything missing can be bought or hired in Thamel. The rest of the day is free. Overnight in Kathmandu.

After breakfast we leave the Kathmandu Valley on the Prithvi Highway and drive west to Pokhara (822 m), following the Trishuli River through its gorge for most of the 200 km.

The journey takes the better part of the day and is scenic throughout — terraced hillsides, roadside bazaars stacked with produce, suspension footbridges across the river, and rafting groups on the green water below. We break for lunch at a riverside restaurant.

Pokhara appears in the late afternoon on the shore of Phewa Lake, with the Annapurna massif rising directly behind the town. From the lakeside you can see the whole skyline you will look at from Poon Hill in two days' time — Annapurna South, Hiunchuli and the fishtail summit of Machhapuchhre. Overnight in Pokhara.

An early jeep departure west out of Pokhara through Nayapul and Birethanti, then up the rough road that climbs the Bhurungdi Khola valley. The track switchbacks steeply past Tikhedhunga to Ulleri (2,050 m), saving you the famous stone staircase of some 3,000 steps that trekkers on the classic itinerary climb on foot.

From Ulleri the walking begins, and it is a steady uphill through magnificent forest. The trail climbs through Banthanti and Nangethanti into old rhododendron woodland — in March and April these hillsides turn crimson, pink and white as the trees flower, and it is one of the finest displays anywhere in Nepal.

Ghorepani (2,860 m) sits in a ridge saddle at the head of the valley, a tight cluster of blue-roofed lodges with Dhaulagiri visible to the west. You have gained over 800 m on foot today. Overnight in Ghorepani.

The alarm goes at about 4:30 am for the head-torch climb to Poon Hill (3,210 m) — roughly 45 minutes of stone steps above the village. You will not be alone; this is the most popular sunrise in Nepal, and in season a few hundred people make the climb together.

It earns the crowd. The summit is a broad platform with a 180-degree wall of Himalaya: two eight-thousanders — Dhaulagiri (8,167 m) and Annapurna I (8,091 m) — along with Nilgiri, Tukuche, Annapurna South, Hiunchuli and Machhapuchhre, lit one after another as the sun comes up over the ridge.

We descend to Ghorepani for a full breakfast and then take the ridge trail east. The path climbs to Deurali at around 3,000 m, then contours and drops through ancient rhododendron forest — moss-hung, gnarled, and quiet — to Tadapani (2,630 m), a forested spur with a superb head-on view of Annapurna South and Machhapuchhre. Overnight in Tadapani.

Step outside at first light — Tadapani's view of Machhapuchhre turning gold is the quieter counterpart to yesterday's Poon Hill scrum, and you will usually have it almost to yourself.

After breakfast the trail descends steeply through dense forest toward Ghandruk, losing around 700 m on stone steps and root-bound path. This is excellent birding country: watch for the Himalayan monal, Nepal's national bird, whose iridescent green and copper plumage flashes when it breaks cover.

Ghandruk (1,940 m) is the finest Gurung village in the region and worth more than a passing look — stone-paved lanes, slate-roofed houses stacked up the hillside, and a small museum showing traditional Gurung life. The Gurung community here has long supplied soldiers to the Gurkha regiments. From Ghandruk a jeep takes us down to Pokhara (822 m), arriving late afternoon. Overnight in Pokhara.

A relaxed morning by the lake. If you are up early, sunrise over the Annapurnas from the lakeside is worth it — the same skyline you watched from Poon Hill, now seen from 2,400 m lower. A rowing boat on Phewa Lake or the walk up to the World Peace Pagoda both fit before breakfast.

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

Arriving in the capital in the late afternoon, you transfer to your hotel and the evening is free. Thamel is a short walk for last-minute shopping — pashmina, singing bowls, Himalayan tea and prayer flags are all easy to find. 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 a short drive away and each worth an hour.

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

The Poon Hill trek is the best short introduction to Himalayan trekking there is — two eight-thousanders from a single viewpoint, rhododendron forest, and Gurung villages, all inside a week and without serious altitude. If it has given you the taste for something longer, Annapurna Base Camp and the Mardi Himal ridge both start from the same valleys. Safe travels.