Ghorepani Ghandruk Circuit Trek

The Panorama trek goes up to Ghorepani, climbs Poon Hill and returns down the same valley. This trek continues east over the Deurali ridge to Tadapani, down through the forest to Ghandruk, and out on the other side of the loop. It is two days longer, never repeats a section, and is the more complete of the two. We recommend the Panorama trek only if you are short of time.

Yes, it is one of the best first treks. You sleep in teahouses every night, the highest overnight stop is 2,874 m, a road is never far away, and you still see Dhaulagiri and the Annapurnas at sunrise. However, it is a proper trek, not a short introduction: five days of walking with two long staircases. People often underestimate it because it is at low altitude.

You need to be able to walk four to six hours on stone steps for five consecutive days, carrying a light daypack. The six-week training plan on this page is suitable for someone who is reasonably active. The most important thing to train on is stairs, both up and down, because the circuit consists largely of stone steps.

Yes. This is the trek we recommend for families. The minimum age is eight, with a parent. The days are short enough to keep children interested, and there is a hot shower and usually wifi at the end of each day. The early morning climb to Poon Hill is the only part children may find difficult.

You can book as a single traveller, but you will still have a guide with you: since April 2023, a licensed guide has been compulsory for foreign trekkers in the conservation area, and this is enforced at the Birethanti checkpoint. A private trek for one person runs on your dates for $1,240, regardless of other bookings.

It has more than three thousand stone steps, climbs around 500 m, and takes most people two to three hours. It is tiring rather than dangerous: the steps are wide, well built and dry in the trekking seasons. Porters climb it in under an hour, but that is not a useful comparison. Use poles, keep a slow rhythm and stop whenever you need to.

It depends on the condition of the road. Nayapul, at 1,070 m, was the traditional starting point, but the jeep track now continues beyond Birethanti and Hile, and in dry conditions almost to Ulleri. We drive as far as the road is in good condition on your dates and start walking from there, which keeps day 3 to three to four hours. We do not drive to Ulleri to avoid the staircase unless you ask us to.

The forest flowers from the bottom of the hill upwards. The lowest slopes near Ulleri start flowering in the first week of March, the forest around Ghorepani is in full flower between the last week of March and mid-April, and the highest trees are still flowering in early May. If the flowers are your main reason for coming, the first two weeks of April are the most reliable time to book.

In peak season, in October and early April, there can be a few hundred people at the top, and the last part of the path is a slow line of headtorches. It is busy. We leave earlier than most lodges, and by 8 am, once you are past Deurali on the ridge to the east, you will see very few other trekkers for the rest of the day.

Autumn is best for clear views and spring for colour. October and November have the most reliable mountain views of the year, and November is quieter once the festivals are over. March and April bring the rhododendrons in flower, the highlight of this route, though the horizon is slightly hazier.

It is unlikely. You sleep at 2,874 m for one night and reach 3,210 m for an hour, and acute mountain sickness is uncommon below 3,000 m. A few people sleep poorly at Ghorepani and some find the climb from Ulleri makes them breathless, and that is usually all. Your guide still checks your oxygen saturation at Ghorepani, because altitude sickness is rare but not impossible.

Yes. It is a condition of booking, even though you are unlikely to need it on this route. Cover to 4,000 m is sufficient. A rescue flight to Pokhara costs $2,000 to $3,500, and the helicopter will not fly without a guarantee of payment, which must be in place before an emergency.

The lodges are comfortable and better than most people expect. Ghandruk has some attractive stone houses with private bathrooms and good beds. Ghorepani is the busiest and coldest stop, with a large dining room heated by a central stove. Every stop on the circuit has a hot shower for two to four dollars, which is not the case on any high-altitude trek.

Yes, all three, and they all work. Mains electricity reaches the whole circuit, charging costs two to three dollars per device, and the wifi at Ghorepani and Ghandruk is good enough for a video call. Ncell and NTC cover almost the whole route; the forest between Deurali and Tadapani is the only area with weak signal.

At Ghorepani, the coldest overnight stop, temperatures fall to about -6°C in December and January and to one or two degrees above freezing in April and October. The lower villages are mild all season, and in April you can walk in a shirt. Bedrooms are not heated anywhere, which is why we provide a sleeping bag.

You need the Annapurna Conservation Area permit, at NPR 3,000 (about $22), issued by the National Trust for Nature Conservation, and a TIMS card at NPR 2,000 (about $15). Both are included in the price, and we arrange them using your passport details. TIMS checks have become inconsistent on this route, but we buy the card so that you have no problems at checkpoints.

Bring $150 to $250, changed into small rupee notes in Pokhara, to cover showers, charging, drinks, snacks and tips. There are cash machines at Ghorepani and Ghandruk, but they are not reliable, so plan to carry all the cash you will need.

A week's notice is usually enough for most of the year. For the middle two weeks of October, give us about three weeks, because Ghorepani becomes fully booked and we want to reserve beds in advance. Outside the peak season, we have started travellers on this trek at two days' notice.

Yes, and most groups make some changes. You can add a second night at Ghandruk to walk up to the Australian Camp viewpoint, finish at Jhinu for the hot springs, walk out via Landruk instead of Kimche, or split day 6 into two days to make the descent easier on your knees. For a group of five or more, a private trek on your own dates costs no more than joining a group.

Bring trekking poles and use them on the descents. Very few people have difficulty on the climb to Ghorepani, but many arrive at Ghandruk with sore knees that could have been avoided. Also, go to bed early at Ghorepani and leave for Poon Hill ten minutes before the other lodge guests.