10 days in Nepal
Three days of temple towns, a flight west, and 4 days walking to the classic Annapurna sunrise, arranged the way the rules now require.
Last updated . Nepal's trekking permit rules have changed repeatedly, including the 2023 guide mandate and the Khumbu region's replacement of TIMS with local permits. Verify the current rules on ntb.gov.np and with a registered agency before booking; fee amounts especially move.
The first decision in Nepal is no longer where to walk but who walks with you. Since 2023, the Nepal Tourism Board requires foreign trekkers on the main regulated routes to go with a licensed guide arranged through a registered agency, and the permit map split by region: Annapurna still runs on an ACAP entry permit plus the TIMS card, while the Everest region dropped TIMS entirely for a local municipality permit plus the national park fee. Fighting this buys nothing; a good agency solves guide and paper in 1 email and costs less than most people's airport taxi budget. So this route spends its own effort where effort pays: 3 days among the seven monument zones of the Kathmandu valley, then west to Pokhara for the 4 day Poon Hill loop, the short trek that hands you the Annapurna and Dhaulagiri ranges at sunrise without ever crossing the altitude line where things get medical.
Do you need a guide to trek in Nepal?
On the main regulated routes, yes: since 2023 foreign trekkers need a licensed guide booked through a registered agency, which also arranges the permits.
Enforcement and scope have shifted since the rule landed, and day walks around Pokhara sit outside it. Confirm the current position on ntb.gov.np or with your agency before you build plans on an exception.
What permits does the Poon Hill trek need?
2 documents: the Annapurna Conservation Area Permit and a TIMS card, both arranged by the agency that supplies your guide.
The Everest region works differently: TIMS is not used there, replaced by the Khumbu municipality's own permit plus the Sagarmatha park fee. Fees on both sides change often enough that quoting exact rupees here would rot; your agency invoices the current ones.
How do you get a Nepal visa?
On arrival at Kathmandu airport for most nationalities: 1 form, a fee in cash or by card, with 15, 30 and 90 day versions.
The kiosks queue badly after big landings, so filling the online form up to 2 weeks ahead and carrying the printout is the cheap upgrade. Check your own nationality against the official list; a handful cannot use the on arrival lane.
When should you go?
October and November are the classic window: post monsoon clarity, stable trails and the 2 great festivals, Dashain and Tihar; March and April are the second season with rhododendron forests in bloom.
June to September is monsoon, with leeches on the trails and the mountains behind cloud; winter treks at Poon Hill's altitude work but need real layers for the minus figures before dawn.
The plan at a glance
- Days
- 1 to 3
- Where
- Kathmandu, Bhaktapur, Patan
- What needs arranging
- Visa printout, agency confirmed before you fly
- Days
- 4
- Where
- To Pokhara
- What needs arranging
- The 25 minute flight, or a full day by road
- Days
- 5 to 8
- Where
- The Poon Hill loop
- What needs arranging
- Guide, ACAP and TIMS, all via the agency
- Days
- 9
- Where
- Pokhara lakeside
- What needs arranging
- Nothing
- Days
- 10
- Where
- Back to Kathmandu, fly out
- What needs arranging
- The return flight, morning slot
| Days | Where | What needs arranging |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 3 | Kathmandu, Bhaktapur, Patan | Visa printout, agency confirmed before you fly |
| 4 | To Pokhara | The 25 minute flight, or a full day by road |
| 5 to 8 | The Poon Hill loop | Guide, ACAP and TIMS, all via the agency |
| 9 | Pokhara lakeside | Nothing |
| 10 | Back to Kathmandu, fly out | The return flight, morning slot |
The route at a glance
14 mapped stops · 10 days
Live route map
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Route stops
Follow the numbered order through each day.
Day 1: Kathmandu's sacred circuit
- 1Boudhanath · about 2 hours
- 2Pashupatinath · about 2 hours
- 3Swayambhunath · about 2 hours
Day 2: Bhaktapur
- 4Bhaktapur Durbar Square and the old town · the day
Day 3: Patan and old Kathmandu
- 5Patan Durbar Square and museum · about 3 hours
- 6Kathmandu Durbar Square and Thamel · about 3 hours
Day 4: West to Pokhara
- 7Kathmandu to Pokhara · morning
- 8Phewa Lake and lakeside · about 3 hours
Day 5: Trek day 1, into the hills
- 9Nayapul to Ulleri · the day
Day 6: Trek day 2, to Ghorepani
- 10Ulleri to Ghorepani · the day
Day 7: Poon Hill sunrise, then Tadapani
- 11Poon Hill · about 3 hours with the descent
- 12Ghorepani to Tadapani · about 4 hours
Day 8: Trek day 4, out through Ghandruk
- 13Tadapani to Ghandruk to Pokhara · the day
Day 9: Pokhara, earned
- 14Sarangkot or World Peace Pagoda · about 3 hours
- ·Lakeside at ease · the afternoon
Day 10: Back and out
- ·Pokhara to Kathmandu to home · the day
Day 1: Kathmandu's sacred circuit
The two great stupas and the cremation ghats, the capital's spiritual triangle in one day.
- On foot
- About 7 km on foot between rides
Morning
Boudhanathabout 2 hours
The great white dome with the painted eyes, circled clockwise by monks, pilgrims and pigeons. Rooftop cafes on the ring watch the whole choreography.
Pashupatinathabout 2 hours
Nepal's holiest Shiva temple on the Bagmati river, where cremations burn on the ghats in public view. Go respectfully and with a local guide who can explain what you are seeing; the main temple itself admits Hindus only.
Afternoon
Swayambhunathabout 2 hours
The hilltop stupa above the city, 365 steps up through the monkeys, with the valley spread below as orientation for everything that follows.
Day 2: Bhaktapur
The best preserved of the valley's three royal cities, worth a full unhurried day.
- On foot
- About 6 km of brick lanes
All day
Bhaktapur Durbar Square and the old townthe day
The 55 window palace, the five tiered Nyatapola pagoda and pottery squares where the wheel still turns. The entry ticket funds the ongoing earthquake restoration; buy it, and stay for juju dhau, the town's famous sweet yogurt.
Day 3: Patan and old Kathmandu
The second royal city's museum and metalworkers, then the capital's own Durbar Square.
- On foot
- About 6 km
Morning
Patan Durbar Square and museumabout 3 hours
The finest of the three squares and, in the old palace, what many call South Asia's best museum: bronze gods explained well in 2 hours of quiet rooms.
Afternoon
Kathmandu Durbar Square and Thamelabout 3 hours
The capital's own monument zone, still carrying 2015 earthquake scars and scaffolds, then Thamel for last gear checks before the trek. Anything forgotten exists here in triplicate.
Day 4: West to Pokhara
The 25 minute mountain flight or the long road, into the lake town under the Annapurna wall.
- On foot
- Light: a travel day with a lakeside evening
- Book before you go
- The flight, morning slot, since afternoon weather cancels more often
Morning
Kathmandu to Pokharamorning
25 minutes by air with the Himalaya out the right side windows, against 6 to 8 hours by road. The flight costs more and gives you the afternoon; most people call that arithmetic easy.
Afternoon
Phewa Lake and lakesideabout 3 hours
A boat to the Tal Barahi island temple, Machhapuchhre's fishtail summit reflected on still evenings, and the trek briefing with your guide over dinner.
Day 5: Trek day 1, into the hills
Drive to the trailhead, then the first walking day up the Modi Khola valley to Tikhedhunga or Ulleri.
- On foot
- About 4 to 5 hours walking
All day
Nayapul to Ullerithe day
About 90 minutes by road from Pokhara, then stone villages, suspension bridges and the first of the famous steps: some 3,300 of them climb to Ulleri, best split with a teahouse lunch. Your guide sets the pace; let them.
Day 6: Trek day 2, to Ghorepani
Through rhododendron and oak forest to the ridge town at about 2,860 metres.
- On foot
- About 5 hours walking
All day
Ulleri to Ghorepanithe day
The forest day: mossy oaks, waterfalls, and in spring whole hillsides of red rhododendron, Nepal's national flower. Ghorepani's teahouses stack up the ridge with Dhaulagiri filling the northern windows. Early night; tomorrow starts by headtorch.
Day 7: Poon Hill sunrise, then Tadapani
The pre dawn climb to the viewpoint, then onward along the ridge.
- On foot
- About 6 hours walking including the sunrise climb
Morning
Poon Hillabout 3 hours with the descent
45 to 60 minutes up by headtorch to 3,210 metres, and then the payoff of the whole trip: dawn igniting Dhaulagiri, the Annapurnas and Machhapuchhre across 180 degrees of horizon. Cold up top even in October; bring the down jacket and buy the viewpoint tea.
Afternoon
Ghorepani to Tadapaniabout 4 hours
Back for breakfast, then the ridgeline east through Deurali and down the mossy gorge to Tadapani, whose name means distant water and whose lodges look straight at Annapurna South.
Day 8: Trek day 4, out through Ghandruk
Down to the great Gurung village and back to the road, Pokhara by evening.
- On foot
- About 5 hours walking, then the drive
All day
Tadapani to Ghandruk to Pokharathe day
Two hours down to Ghandruk, the big slate roofed Gurung village with its small museum and last full frame mountain views, lunch there, then the walk out to the road and the drive back. Hot shower, real bed, the good tiredness.
Day 9: Pokhara, earned
The recovery day the trek design deliberately banks: lake, cafes and the optional dawn viewpoint.
- On foot
- As little as you like
Morning
Sarangkot or World Peace Pagodaabout 3 hours
For the unsated, Sarangkot's dawn viewpoint repeats the mountain panorama with paragliders launching below; the white pagoda across the lake is the gentler half day with the best view of town.
Afternoon
Lakeside at easethe afternoon
The International Mountain Museum for context on everything just walked, or a rowing boat and a book. Both are correct.
Day 10: Back and out
The morning flight to Kathmandu with a buffer, then home.
- On foot
- Airports
All day
Pokhara to Kathmandu to homethe day
Take the morning flight, not the tightest connection: mountain weather delays are routine and a 4 hour buffer at Kathmandu is the difference between calm and drama. Boudhanath sits near the airport if the buffer stretches.
The options below are separate choices rather than a package. Read how RoamWeek chooses and orders suggestions before using any of them.
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The agency booking is the load bearing one; flights and rooms follow it.
You book each service directly with its supplier. These separate bookings do not form a RoamWeek package.
- Flights
KTM connects through the Gulf and Delhi rather than direct from most of Europe, and October seats price up fast as the season peaks.
Search on Aviasales
- Stays
Thamel and Lakeside cover every budget, and the trek nights are teahouses your agency assigns, so you only book the city ends.
Search on Booking.com
- Activities
The guide is not optional on regulated routes since 2023, so the trek purchase is really an agency purchase: guide, ACAP and TIMS in one booking.
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What is worth the time, and what is not
Worth your time
- A full day for Bhaktapur. It is the valley's most complete medieval city and day trippers who give it 2 hours see the square and miss the town.
- Flying Kathmandu to Pokhara. 25 minutes against 6 to 8 hours of switchbacks buys a whole extra afternoon for less than a teahouse dinner budget.
- The pre dawn Poon Hill climb. It is the entire mountain payoff of the trip for 1 hour of headtorch effort, and sunrise there does not repeat at 9am.
Skip it
- Squeezing Everest Base Camp into 10 days. The walk alone needs 12 to 14 days plus acclimatisation, and compressing it is how altitude sickness ends trips.
- The Everest scenic flight on a cloudy forecast. It sells regardless of visibility, and a socked in flight is an expensive hour of grey; book it only against a clear morning.
- Arranging permits yourself to save agency fees. The guide requirement routes you through an agency anyway, so the paperwork saving does not exist anymore.
Why this order
Kathmandu comes first because jet lag and temple towns mix well and because the agency handover, the briefing and any gear gaps all resolve easiest in the capital. Pokhara and the trek sit in the middle so that day 9 exists as a buffer: mountain weather delays flights often enough that a route ending with trek, flight, international connection in 24 hours is a route asking for trouble. The trek itself runs the classic anticlockwise lasso, taking the stone staircase up at Ulleri when legs are freshest and saving the knee heavy descent for Ghandruk's gentler line, with the sunrise placed on the middle morning so 1 cloudy dawn still leaves the ridge walk to redeem it.
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Read next
- 8 days in Mongolia
The batch's other trip where the booking unit is the arranged journey, not the hotel.
- 10 days in Peru
The Andes counterpart, with altitude order doing the same structural work.
What we checked
- Nepal Tourism Board, official portal read 31 August 2026
- Nepal Tourism Board, trekking permits read 31 August 2026
- UK government travel advice, Nepal read 31 August 2026
Why this page exists. This route is written against Nepal's post 2023 trekking reality and says so plainly: a licensed guide through a registered agency on the regulated routes, ACAP and TIMS for the Annapurna side, and the fact that the Everest region now runs local permits instead of TIMS, which most older guides still get wrong.