Arrival in Kathmandu (1,340 m)

After landing at the Tribhuvan International Airport, Adventure Ascent representative will be there to greet you and take you to the hotel. We will then check-in at the hotel, freshen up, and take a rest. Welcome dinner will be hosted in the evening. Overnight in Kathmandu.

City tour in Kathmandu and trek preparation

After an introduction with the city tour guide at the hotel, you will begin your tour to Pashupatinath temple, Swayambhunath stupa, and Bouddhanath stupa, which are all world heritage sites. Pashupatinath temple is one of the most important places of pilgrimage for all Hindus. Swayambhunath is also known as the Monkey Temple and Baudhanath Stupa is one of the largest stupas in the world. After the tour you will meet with your trekking guide, briefing about the trek and checking your trek gears will be done afterward.

Fly to Pokhara drive to Shyauli Bazaar, trek to Ghandruk (1950m)

We begin our Khopra Danda adventure by taking a flight to Pokhara, experiencing a spectacular half-hour flight along the mighty Himalayan Range to Pokhara. Once you land at Pokhara you will have a scenic one and a half hour drive to Nayapul. Afterward, it is the off-road drive for an hour to Shyauli Bazaar. We will have lunch here and then start our trekking journey. Starting our trek with a steep climb (on the first of the many, many steps on this trek) up to kimchee and then a gentle ascent up to Ghandruk, with amazing views of the Machapuchhre and Hiunchuli Mountains. We stay here in a

Charming little family-owned lodge and can enjoy an organic coffee and the great views

Trek to Tadapani

This morning we start our second day of trekking through the beautiful old houses of Ghandruk and climb on an undulating trail to a tea house in the forest with an amazing view of the Annapurna’s. From here we continue through the rhododendron forest, which just keeps on getting more and more astonishing throughout the day.

We begin to hear the roar of waterfalls and then, for a time, we follow a stream which is literally hurtling down the hill we are climbing up. We cross a bridge and the real climbing starts with a very steep section up to the tea houses at Bhaisi Kharka, where we are quite likely to see Langur monkeys playing in the trees while we rest our legs and wait for lunch.

We continue on our trail through the lush rhododendron forest, with gigantic old-growth trees keeping out the light and with orchids and mushrooms growing everywhere. After enjoying this remarkable section of the trail for about half an hour we have a short, steep climb up into Tadapani.

Trek to Upper Chisthang (2975 m)

In the morning it is highly recommended to get up an hour before sunrise and walk up to the viewpoint above Dobato and return to the lodge for breakfast. This extraordinary side trip will give you a great view up to Kopra Danda and remarkable views of the Annapurnas and Dhaulagiri further to the west.

As soon as we finish our breakfast, we start out across a gravelly hillside and then have a short climb to a small pass, where we can see the full view of Dhaulagiri and Tukuche. From here we descend along the ridgeline through the rhododendron trail then have a short ascent before we cross to the western side of the ridgeline saying goodbye to those huge snowcapped peaks until we see them again at Kopra. From here we walk down towards Ghorepani, Poon Hill, and Santa, far down in the valley below. We have a short climb and then head towards two teahouses at Bayel, where we will have an early lunch.  From here we can see Chistibang, far away across the valley, but to get there we must first descend and trek through sparse rhododendron trees and barber's bushes before crossing some streams.

Trek to Kopra Danda (3660 m)

Today we start another day of our trek towards Khopra Danda which is the main attraction of our trek. We ascend through alpine meadows and pastures and we should keep on the lookout for yaks and crossbreds (called Dzopkyo), as well as possible sightings of Himalayan Tahr and the beautiful Danphe Pheasant, the national bird of Nepal.

As we head up towards Kopra Ridge we can see the tip of Annapurna South start to appear. However, it is only on arrival at Kopra Community Lodge when the unbelievable panorama of Mount Dhaulagiri, Nilgiri, Fang, and Annapurna South is fully revealed. After lunch, it is well worth going for a short walk down to Kopra Ridge to a viewpoint overlooking the Kali Gandaki river, far below in this deep valley.

Trek to Swanta (2200 m)

Sadly we are bidding farewell to the amazingly close-up views of the Himalayas, knowing we will have plenty more panoramic views on this trek yet, but none quite like this.

We descend for about an hour back down to the Chistibung Community Lodge, where we stop for a drink and then continue descending towards Swanta village. From the treeless ridgeline we re-enter into the scanty vegetation of beriberi’s and tiny rhododendron trees and then we come into the truly incredible oak and pine forest on a steeply descending but astonishing trail through this old-growth forest.

As we approach Swantha we see Mount Dhaulagiri re-emerge and it provides a lovely backdrop to the terraced fields and traditional houses of Swantha.

Trek to Ulleri (1960 m)

Today we descend through the terraced fields to the river before climbing up to Ghorepani where we rejoin the main trail. From Ghorepani, we can see our trek routes so far and marvel at how far we have come in a few days.

We come to a fascinating shrine and then we cross the river and enter a spectacular steep gorge. We trek downwards for about an hour with the roaring sound of the river below until we finally emerge into the sunlight again and the open vistas of the valley as it opens up to show us the villages on the way to Ulleri. About an hour further and we check into our tea house for the night and enjoy a final sunset on the trail.

Drive to Pokhara and fly to Kathmandu

It is going to be a long day so this morning we head out early, in order to get to Pokhara for lunch before taking the mid-afternoon flight back to Kathmandu. We have a steep section of seemingly never-ending stairs down to Tikhedhunga, where we cross a suspension bridge and then enjoy an easier walk for the rest of the trek. The valley opens up more and we reap the benefits of newly built dirt road, our weary legs enjoying the gentler grade, and the complete lack of steps.

We meet the river and if it’s warm it’s nice to jump in and cool off in one of the beautiful pools.

We continue along the road (taking a short detour off the road through the beautiful but tiny village of Manthali) and arrive in Birenthanti. We have a half-hour walk remaining, initially along the road (busier now) and then on the old trekking trail to Nayapul, where we meet our vehicle for one and half hour drive back into Pokhara. Once we reach Pokhara, we take a midafternoon flight to Kathmandu and escort towards Hotel for the night.

Extra Day in Kathmandu

This day will be an extra buffer day just in case the domestic flight gets canceled due to bad weather. You can either have a rest day or catch up on some last-minute souvenir shopping. We will have a farewell dinner in the evening.

Final departure

Our adventure in Nepal ends today. An Adventure Ascent representative will drop you off at the Tribhuwan International Airport a few hours before the scheduled flight for final departure towards your sweet home.