The Royal Trek

No. We recommend this trek to people who have never trekked before. It involves four days of four to six hours of walking on paths that farmers use every day. If you can manage a long day walk at home, you can manage this trek.

A reasonably active lifestyle is enough. The first afternoon climbs 570 m and the last morning descends 900 m, and the ridge in between is gentle. Eight weeks of walking three times a week is ample preparation, and many people arrive having done less.

Yes. The trek is easy, but it offers four days experiencing life in the middle hills, the part of Nepal most trekkers pass through quickly on the way to higher routes. The mountains are in view throughout.

Yes, and this is the trek we recommend for families. Children aged eight or nine and older can manage it, the days are short enough to stop when someone is tired, and a jeep can reach every village if needed. Local families in the homestays are very welcoming to children.

No. We have run this trek for walkers in their eighties. With no altitude, no exposed sections and a road to every overnight stop, the factors that usually prevent people from trekking in Nepal do not apply.

No. The highest point you sleep at is 1,730 m, and altitude sickness is extremely rare below 2,500 m. There is no acclimatisation day on this itinerary because none is needed.

Yes, and December to February is one of the best times for it. Daytime temperatures on the ridge are around 15°C to 17°C in full sun, nights fall to about 3°C to 5°C, there is no snow at this altitude, and the mountain views are the clearest of the year. Very few treks in Nepal are suitable in winter.

We do not run this trek in July or August. Pokhara receives over 900 mm of rain in July, the mountains are hidden for weeks, the forest sections have leeches and the access roads are affected by landslides. June and September are borderline, and we will advise you on conditions for the part of the month you are considering.

In April and May the ridge reaches about 24°C to 25°C by midday, with very little shade, and it feels hotter on open sections. For this reason we start at half past eight and finish by mid-afternoon, and a sun hat is more important than a fleece.

Three nights on the ridge: a small village lodge at Kalikasthan and family homestays at Syaklung and Chisapani, with occasional changes depending on the month and which houses are open. There are beds, mattresses, quilts, shared bathrooms and a bucket of hot water. The accommodation is simple.

Yes, and this is how the trek was originally walked. For $195 we add a cook, kitchen, dining and toilet tents and a camp crew, so that you can camp at the viewpoints rather than stay in the villages. Camping offers better views but less contact with local families, and most people choose to stay in the houses.

At Kalikasthan, and usually at Chisapani, there is a plumbed hot shower, free or for a dollar. At Syaklung there is a bucket of hot water in a stone washroom, which is adequate after a warm day. You will be able to wash every day on this trek.

Ncell and NTC cover the whole ridge, and 4G works along most of it, which is better coverage than at 4,000 m in the Khumbu. Wifi is available at Kalikasthan and is unreliable elsewhere. Buy a SIM card in Kathmandu or Pokhara, as you cannot register one in a village.

In places, yes. Dirt roads reach all three villages, and two or three short sections of the route follow the road. We use footpaths wherever they still exist. Traffic is light, with only a few jeeps and motorbikes a day.

Dal bhat twice a day, cooked in the house where you stay, with three or four vegetable side dishes from the garden and a strongly flavoured pickle. Breakfast is roti, eggs and curd. The food is fresher than trail food at altitude, and there is no menu, which most people come to prefer.

Very few. In a busy week in November you might pass two or three other groups in four days, and in January you may see none. The road building that some trekkers dislike is one reason this ridge has remained quiet.

An Annapurna Conservation Area permit at NPR 3,000, about $22, issued by the National Trust for Nature Conservation in Kathmandu or at the Damside counter in Pokhara. We also buy you a TIMS card at NPR 2,000, about $15. Both are included in your trip price, and we arrange them using a copy of your passport and two photographs.

Sources disagree, and checks on this ridge are much less strict than at the Annapurna checkpoints at Birethanti. We buy one because it costs $15 and avoids any problem at a checkpoint.

$100 to $150, changed into rupees, covers drinks, snacks, the boat at Begnas, a shower or two and your tips, with some to spare. There are ATMs throughout Pokhara but none on the ridge, so withdraw what you need before you leave town.

A standard travel policy covering trekking, medical treatment and repatriation. You do not need the high-altitude cover or helicopter cover required for the Everest treks, because you never go above 1,730 m. Check that your policy does not exclude Nepal.

No. If you are already in Pokhara, we can run it as a six-day trip starting and finishing there, which is cheaper. Many people add it to the end of another trek or to a work trip, and it is easy to shorten to three walking days if you have limited time.

A maximum of ten on a set departure, which runs with a minimum of one. For groups of eleven or more, a second guide joins. Most people book private departures on their own dates, which costs the same for groups of five or more and is easier to arrange on this trek than on any other we run.

Yes, easily, because it is short and ends in Pokhara. Popular combinations are three days in Chitwan, a week on the Annapurna Base Camp trail afterwards, or the Panchase ridge on the other side of the lake. Tell us your plans and we will arrange the dates.