Nepal Highlights: Kathmandu, Chitwan and Pokhara

You will be met in the arrivals hall at Tribhuvan International Airport and driven to your hotel, usually 30 to 45 minutes depending on traffic. Nepal issues visas on arrival: fill in the form at the electronic kiosks before the payment desk, and bring a passport photograph and cash in a major currency to speed it up.

Once you have settled in, your guide will come to the hotel for a full briefing: the day by day plan, the gear check, what the weather is doing, and any questions you have been saving up. This is also when we collect passport details for permits if we do not already have them.

Kathmandu sits at about 1,400 m so there is no altitude concern tonight. If you arrive early enough, the walk from Thamel down to the Durbar Square area is a good first hour in the city.

Altitude: 1,350 m  |  Overnight: 3-5 Stars  |  Meals: Breakfast

Explore the cultural and historical sites of Kathmandu, including Kathmandu Durbar Square, Swayambhunath (Monkey Temple), Pashupatinath Temple, and Boudhanath Stupa. Overnight at a hotel in Kathmandu.

Kathmandu Durbar Square is the old royal complex of the Malla kings and later the Shah dynasty, a dense cluster of pagoda temples, courtyards and palace wings built between the twelfth and eighteenth centuries. The Kumari Ghar here houses Nepal's living goddess, a young girl selected from the Newar Shakya community who appears at her carved window most afternoons. Much of the square was damaged in the 2015 earthquake and the restoration work, done with traditional joinery and reused timber, is itself worth watching.

Pashupatinath is the most important Hindu temple in Nepal and one of the great Shiva shrines of the subcontinent, a UNESCO site on the banks of the Bagmati. Non-Hindus cannot enter the main temple but the far bank gives an open view across the ghats, where open-air cremations take place through the day. It is confronting the first time and it is also completely ordinary here, a public part of life rather than something hidden. Sadhus in ochre sit along the terraces, and the evening aarti draws a crowd.

Swayambhunath sits on a hill west of the city, reached by 365 stone steps through a forest full of rhesus macaques, which is where the nickname Monkey Temple comes from. The stupa is one of the oldest religious sites in the valley, with the Buddha's eyes painted on all four sides of the harmika and a spire of thirteen gilded rings. The terrace gives the best single view over Kathmandu, and it is at its best in the early morning when the kora is busy with local worshippers.

Boudhanath is one of the largest stupas in the world and the centre of Tibetan Buddhist life in Nepal, particularly since 1959 when refugees settled around it. The white dome is 36 m across, ringed by prayer wheels, and surrounded by more than fifty gompas belonging to different lineages. Walk the kora clockwise at dusk with the local crowd and the monks coming out of evening puja: it is the single most atmospheric hour in Kathmandu.

Altitude: 1,350 m  |  Overnight: 3-5 Stars  |  Meals: Breakfast

Drive to Chitwan National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site known for its wildlife. Upon arrival, check into your lodge and enjoy some leisure time. Overnight at a lodge in Chitwan.

Chitwan National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage site in the Terai lowlands and one of the best places in Asia to see greater one-horned rhinoceros, which number over six hundred here. Jeep safaris, guided walks with an armed naturalist, canoe trips on the Rapti and an elephant breeding centre fill the days. Bengal tigers are present and occasionally seen; leopard, sloth bear, gharial crocodile and more than five hundred bird species are all resident.

Altitude: 415 m  |  Overnight: Lodge  |  Meals: Breakfast

Spend the day exploring Chitwan National Park. Activities include jungle safaris, bird watching, canoe rides, and visiting the elephant breeding center. Overnight at a lodge in Chitwan.

Chitwan National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage site in the Terai lowlands and one of the best places in Asia to see greater one-horned rhinoceros, which number over six hundred here. Jeep safaris, guided walks with an armed naturalist, canoe trips on the Rapti and an elephant breeding centre fill the days. Bengal tigers are present and occasionally seen; leopard, sloth bear, gharial crocodile and more than five hundred bird species are all resident.

Altitude: 415 m  |  Overnight: Lodge  |  Meals: Breakfast

Drive to Pokhara, a beautiful city known for its lakes and mountain views. Check into your hotel and enjoy the rest of the day exploring the lakeside area. Overnight at a hotel in Pokhara.

Pokhara sits at 820 m beside Phewa Lake with the Annapurna range rising 7,000 m above it, which is the largest relief from lake to summit anywhere in the world. The Tal Barahi temple on its island, Devi's Fall, the Gupteshwor cave, the International Mountain Museum and the World Peace Pagoda on the southern ridge fill an easy day, and a boat on the lake at dawn with Machhapuchhre reflected in it is the reason people stay longer than they planned.

Altitude: 827 m  |  Overnight: 3-5 Stars  |  Meals: Breakfast

Hike to Sarangkot, a popular viewpoint for sunrise and sunset views over the Annapurna and Dhaulagiri mountain ranges. Enjoy the sunset and return to Pokhara. Overnight at a hotel in Pokhara.

Pokhara sits at 820 m beside Phewa Lake with the Annapurna range rising 7,000 m above it, which is the largest relief from lake to summit anywhere in the world. The Tal Barahi temple on its island, Devi's Fall, the Gupteshwor cave, the International Mountain Museum and the World Peace Pagoda on the southern ridge fill an easy day, and a boat on the lake at dawn with Machhapuchhre reflected in it is the reason people stay longer than they planned.

Sarangkot is the ridge above Pokhara at about 1,600 m, reached by a short drive before dawn, and it gives the classic Annapurna sunrise: Dhaulagiri, Annapurna South, Machhapuchhre and Manaslu lighting up in sequence over the lake. It is also the main paragliding launch site in Nepal.

Altitude: 1,600 m  |  Travel: 3 to 4 hours  |  Overnight: 3-5 Stars  |  Meals: Breakfast

Wake up early to catch the sunrise from Sarangkot. After breakfast, explore Pokhara's attractions, including Davis Falls, Gupteshwor Cave, the World Peace Pagoda, and the International Mountain Museum. Overnight at a hotel in Pokhara.

Pokhara sits at 820 m beside Phewa Lake with the Annapurna range rising 7,000 m above it, which is the largest relief from lake to summit anywhere in the world. The Tal Barahi temple on its island, Devi's Fall, the Gupteshwor cave, the International Mountain Museum and the World Peace Pagoda on the southern ridge fill an easy day, and a boat on the lake at dawn with Machhapuchhre reflected in it is the reason people stay longer than they planned.

Sarangkot is the ridge above Pokhara at about 1,600 m, reached by a short drive before dawn, and it gives the classic Annapurna sunrise: Dhaulagiri, Annapurna South, Machhapuchhre and Manaslu lighting up in sequence over the lake. It is also the main paragliding launch site in Nepal.

Altitude: 827 m  |  Overnight: 3-5 Stars  |  Meals: Breakfast

Drive back to Kathmandu and continue to Nagarkot, a hilltop village known for its panoramic views of the Himalayas. Enjoy the sunset views from Nagarkot. Overnight at a hotel in Nagarkot.

Nagarkot is a ridge village at about 2,175 m on the eastern rim of the valley, an hour and a half from Kathmandu, and it is where people go for the Himalayan sunrise. On a clear morning the view runs from Dhaulagiri in the west through Ganesh Himal, Langtang and Gauri Shankar to Everest on the far eastern horizon. The clearest months are October to March; in summer you may see nothing at all.

Altitude: 2,175 m  |  Overnight: Hotel  |  Meals: Breakfast

Wake up early to witness the sunrise over the Himalayas. After breakfast, visit the ancient cities of Patan and Bhaktapur, exploring their rich cultural heritage and historic sites. Return to Kathmandu in the evening. Overnight at a hotel in Kathmandu.

Patan, or Lalitpur, has the finest concentration of Newar architecture in Nepal. The Durbar Square holds the Krishna Mandir, carved from stone in 1637 in a distinctly north Indian shikhara style, the Golden Temple with its gilded facade and resident tortoises, and the Patan Museum, which is widely considered the best museum in the country and is housed in a restored palace wing. The surrounding lanes are still full of working metalworkers and thangka painters.

Bhaktapur is the best preserved of the three medieval cities in the valley and the one where the old town still functions as a town rather than a monument. Brick lanes open into Durbar Square, Taumadhi Square with the five-tiered Nyatapola temple, and Dattatreya Square with the Peacock Window. Pottery Square is genuinely a working pottery, not a display. Give it a full half day rather than an hour, and try the juju dhau, the local king curd served in a clay bowl.

Nagarkot is a ridge village at about 2,175 m on the eastern rim of the valley, an hour and a half from Kathmandu, and it is where people go for the Himalayan sunrise. On a clear morning the view runs from Dhaulagiri in the west through Ganesh Himal, Langtang and Gauri Shankar to Everest on the far eastern horizon. The clearest months are October to March; in summer you may see nothing at all.

Altitude: 2,175 m  |  Overnight: 3-5 Stars  |  Meals: Breakfast

Transfer to the airport about three hours before your international flight. If you have a late departure we will hold a day room or arrange a final few hours in the city rather than leave you sitting in the terminal.

If you would rather not go home yet, this is the easy point to extend: a few days in Pokhara, a wildlife stay in Chitwan or Bardiya, a short Bhutan add-on, or a rest week somewhere quiet. Tell us before you travel and we will build it in at cost rather than as a late upgrade.

Altitude: 1,350 m  |  Meals: Breakfast