Nepal has hundreds of trekking routes and the marketing does not distinguish between them well. A first trek should not be chosen on how famous it is. It should be chosen on how many days you have, how high you are willing to go, and how much you mind sleeping cold.
Here are the routes we recommend to people doing this for the first time, and who each one suits.
4 to 5 days. Maximum altitude 3,210 metres.
If you have under a week, this is the one. You walk through rhododendron forest and terraced hillsides to a viewpoint that looks straight at Annapurna South, Dhaulagiri and Machhapuchhre at sunrise. Teahouses are comfortable, the altitude is low enough that sickness is unlikely, and the trailhead is an hour from Pokhara.
It is popular, and in October the sunrise at the top is crowded. It is still the best return on four days of walking in Nepal.
7 to 12 days. Maximum altitude 4,130 metres.
You walk into a glacial amphitheatre ringed by peaks on almost every side. The sense of enclosure at the sanctuary is something no viewpoint trek gives you. Harder than Poon Hill, considerably easier than Everest, and it can be combined with Poon Hill on the way in.
12 to 16 days. Maximum altitude 5,545 metres at Kala Patthar.
The best-known trek in the world and a genuinely serious undertaking. Two weeks, real altitude, cold nights, and a flight into Lukla that may not run when you want it to. Do it if the mountain itself is what you came for, and give it the acclimatisation days it needs. Our Everest Base Camp Trek runs fourteen days with two acclimatisation stops.
12 to 16 days. Maximum altitude around 4,000 metres.
Moderate walking through Tibetan borderland almost nobody visits, behind the Himalaya in the rain shadow. It costs more because of the restricted permit, and that is precisely why the trail is empty. It is also the only one on this list you can walk during the monsoon. See our Upper Mustang Trek.
Season. October and November are the clearest months. March to May is the second season, warmer and hazier.
Guides. Nepal requires licensed guides for trekkers in national park areas. It is also simply sensible: a guide notices altitude symptoms in you before you do.
Insurance. It must cover helicopter evacuation at the altitude you are going to. Standard travel insurance usually does not.
Acclimatisation. Ascend slowly and take the rest days. Nobody has ever regretted an extra acclimatisation day.
Accommodation on trek, all meals while trekking, licensed guide, porter support and the permits. Domestic flights, city hotels, insurance and tips are quoted separately rather than folded into one figure.
Poon Hill, four to five days with a maximum altitude of 3,210 metres and comfortable teahouses throughout.
No, for Poon Hill or Annapurna Base Camp. For Everest Base Camp, previous multi-day walking experience makes a considerable difference.
October and November for clarity and stable weather. March to May is the good second season.
Only in the rain shadow. Upper Mustang and Dolpo stay dry when the rest of the country does not.
Tell us how many days you have and we will tell you honestly which of these fits.
