Seven World Heritage sites and a lake under the Annapurnas
The Nepal border is 35 km from our office, which makes this the one international trip you could start after breakfast. Most people fly one leg and drive the other, and we will tell you which way round suits your dates.
The Kathmandu valley alone holds seven UNESCO World Heritage sites, and they are close enough together to see properly in three days: the Durbar Squares of Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur, the stupas at Swayambhunath and Boudhanath, and the temples at Pashupatinath and Changunarayan.
Pokhara is the counterweight: a lake town under the Annapurna wall, where the sunrise from Sarangkot catches Machhapuchhre first and then works along the range. Finish at Nagarkot on the valley rim for one more Himalayan dawn.
This is the plan as we would run it. Days can be swapped, dropped or added — say what you want changed and we will rebuild it before you pay anything.
Day 1
Met at the airport, or at the border if you are coming overland from Siliguri. Check in at Thamel, and spend the evening walking it: the old traveller quarter, still the best place in the city to eat and to buy anything.
Day 2
Kathmandu Durbar Square and the Kumari house; Swayambhunath, the hilltop stupa with the eyes, reached up a long flight of steps through the monkeys; Pashupatinath on the Bagmati, which is a working cremation site and should be approached as one; and Boudhanath, one of the largest stupas in the world, best at dusk when the whole neighbourhood walks the circuit.
Day 3
Patan Durbar Square in the morning, with the Patan Museum, which is the best museum in the country. Then Bhaktapur, the most complete of the three old cities: brick streets, the five-storey Nyatapola temple, potters squares still in use, and much less traffic than the other two.
Day 4
West along the Trishuli river, about six to seven hours by road, or 25 minutes by air if you would rather buy the day back. Pokhara sits on Phewa Lake with the Annapurnas standing behind it. Boating on the lake in the late afternoon, and the lakeside for the evening.
Day 5
Up to Sarangkot before dawn, where the light hits Machhapuchhre, the fishtail peak, before anything else. Then Davis Falls, the Gupteshwor cave beneath it, Bindhyabasini temple, the Tibetan settlement, and the World Peace Pagoda across the lake.
Day 6
The return to the Kathmandu valley, and on up to Nagarkot at 2,175 m on the eastern rim, where the whole Himalayan skyline from Annapurna to Everest is visible on a clear morning. Sunset from the ridge tonight, sunrise tomorrow.
Day 7
Out for the dawn, then down to Kathmandu airport, about an hour and a half, or to the border for the overland return to Siliguri.
Hotels are named on your written itinerary before you pay. The properties below are the ones we normally use in this band; if one is full on your dates we substitute a hotel of the same standard and tell you which, rather than leaving you to find out at check-in.
A private vehicle with driver throughout inside Nepal. The Kathmandu to Pokhara leg can be flown instead of driven, which we will price on request.
Up to 4 travellers normally ride in a Wagon R, Swift Dzire or similar; 5 to 7 in an Innova, Xylo or Scorpio; 8 and above in a Tempo Traveller or a second vehicle. On the North Sikkim and Silk Route legs the vehicle is always a Bolero, Sumo or Scorpio, because that is what those roads take.
Your written confirmation carries the exact advance, the balance date and the cancellation schedule for your trip. Those numbers, not this page, are the ones that apply. Full terms are on the booking conditions page.
General questions: permits, seasons, packing and how to get here
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Fill this in and we will come back with a proper day-by-day itinerary for your dates, with named hotels and one all-in price. No payment is taken at this stage and nothing is confirmed until you say so.
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Dates, how many of you, and anywhere you have your heart set on — that is enough for us to start. You will get a day-by-day plan with named hotels and one all-in price, in writing, before you pay anything.
