Ghorepani Poon Hill Trek

As you land at Kathmandu Airport (Tribhuvan International Airport), finish your custom formalities (visa, etc.) and get to the airport waiting terminal, where you will find our representative waiting to greet you. He/she will be holding Icicles Adventure Treks and Tour signboard. You will be then transferred to your respective hotel in our private vehicle.

You can either rest in your hotel or shop around Thamel streets for your gears needed in your trek.

Actual Ghorepani Poon Hill Trek starts today after an hour's drive to Naya Pul (42 km drive) in a public car/jeep through the prosperous village of Lumle. We start walking and we reach a large and flourishing town of Birethanti situated on the confluence of the Modi and Burundi Khola. We follow the main street going through bamboo forests and pass through a large waterfall and swimming fissure. Further we trek ahead, the path climbs gradually up the side of the valley taking us to Tikhedhunga.

Today is a demanding day as you have to conquer 3300 stone stairs. First, the trail crosses a stream on a suspension bridge. We climb through the steep stone staircase to Ulleri, a prosperous village at 2080m inhabited mostly by Magar ethnicity. Past the village of Ulleri, the trail climbs gently through meadows, cultivated fields and rhododendron forests. Further, after one hour’s gradual walk from Ulleri we come across two beautiful streams. If you are a keen birdwatcher, there is good chance of spotting different kinds of redstarts, varieties of kingfishers, dippers, forktails along the river, and magpies, treepies, parakeets, tits, many kinds of warblers, barbets, etc., around the cultivated areas. We further make a short climb to Nangethanti where we have our lunch. From Nangethanti we will climb to Ghorepani at 2850m. From Ghorepani we can see the magnificent panorama of Dhaulagiri I (8,167m), Annapurna I (8,091m), Tukuche, Nilgiri (6,940m), Hiunchuli (6,441m) and Tarke Kang (7,193m).

We get up early before sunrise today as we have to reach Poon Hill before sunrise so that we do not miss the magical moment. It is a wonderful experience watching first ray of sun over the mountains. This is one of the best mountain vistas and is well worth the effort taken to climb to Poon Hill (45 minutes climb). Himalayan view from Poon Hill is indescribable when the rising sun’s rays gradually strikes the Himalayan giants including Mt. Dhaulagiri (8,167m), Mt. Annapurna I (8,091m), Mt. Nilgiri (7,040m), Annapurna south (7219m),Annapurna II (7937m), Annapurna III (7555m), Annapurna IV (7525m), Hunchuli (6441m), fishtail or Machapuchare (6,997m), Lamjung Himal (6,986m), Tukuche peak (6,920m), Dhampus peak (6,012m) among others. We spend some time picturing at Poon Hill and return to Ghorepani, have a hot breakfast, and continue our trek to Tadapani through rhododendron forest. Specialty of this forest is that it hosts more than 15 species of rhododendron and if you are trekking in springtime the blooming colorful rhododendrons will fascinate you. We have our lunch at Banthanti and again continue through rhododendron forest. We have about thirty minutes climb before reaching Tadapani. From here we have great views of Annapurna South (7,219m), Huinchuli and Machapuchare (Fishtail 6,993m).

The trail starts descending steeply off from Tadapani. The first part of the trek today will be through a thick forest of old rhododendron trees. When the rhododendron trees are in bloom, these forests actually turn into gardens of dazzlingly beautiful flowers, mostly red and pink. By afternoon, depending upon the season of travel, we will be pleasantly surprised by the sight of some cherry blossoms in bloom on the slopes on the other side of the gorge. After trekking some more time, we enter the village of Ghandruk, an undulated settlement with stone houses mostly inhabited by the Gurung people. Along with enjoying the stunningly close-up towering views of Fishtail, Annapurna South, and Hiunchuli mountains, we also walk through the village and also visit the Gurung Museum in Ghandruk to acquaint ourselves with the simple but rich cultural traditions of the Gurung people.

Today, we trek from Ghandruk to Naya Pul then drive back to Pokhara. The trek will be downhill all the way to Birethanti. We step onto a staircase paved with stone slabs, curving in and out of the village and then terraced farms. It keeps on going down almost without breaks from Ghandruk until Modi Khola river valley. By the time, we arrive at Birethanti, some of us would feel like having made a downhill marathon. But our marathon is not over yet. From Birethanti, a half-an-hour’s walk takes us into Nayapul. The journey on foot comes to an end at Nayapul. Then, we drive from Nayapul to Pokhara. We can hang around Pokhara lakeside at the evening time. Overnight at hotel. 

Driving Time: 1 hr

Your Ghorepani Poon Hill Hike is complete today. If you have some time left before your departure flight home, you can shop around Thamel for souvenirs for your friends and relatives. Our airport representative will drop you at the international airport in Kathmandu for your departure flight from Nepal. We hope beautiful Nepal, the awesome Himalayan sceneries, the cultural experience you got along your Poon Hill hike will stay in your memory lifelong and you will go back home with a sense of conquest.