Ghorepani Poon Hill trek
There are lots of beautiful short treks in Nepal. One of the best short treks is the Ghorepani Poon hill trek which is also popular by the name Ghorepani Poon hill Ghandruk trek after the name of the beautiful villages which are included in the trekking route. The trekking is very special due to its beautiful scenery, wonderful Gurung and Magar culture, the beautiful villages on the way, relatively easy access and quiet a better conditioned tea houses compared to other short treks. As this trek goes only up to the elevation of 3,210 meters above sea level, insignificant chance to suffer from any types of altitude related issues. The views from Poon hill are simply stunning and incomparable from any other points in the Annapurna area. This could be the test trek to figure out one’s ability to do higher elevation serious treks. Ghorepani poon Hill trek is one of the easiest trek and an ideal trek for novice trekkers.
Ghorepani poon hill trek overview
Number of days: 5 days of walking,
Distance covered: 55 kilometers from Nayapul to Nayapul
Highest point in the trek: Poon Hill (3.210 meter) and Gurung hill
Trek starting point: Nayapul, 40 kilometers away from Pokhara, 2 hours drive from Pokhara
Trek finish point: Nayapul
Available accommodation: Guest house
Best time to go: September to June
Types of permit required: TIMS and ACAP Entry
Major attractions of Ghorepani Poon hill trek
This five day trek is full of excitement, ups and downs, villages and landscapes. The major highlights of this trek are:
Poon Hill, from where one can get beautiful sunrise with whole Annapurna range, People compares Ghorepani, Poon hill as part of paradise come to the earth,
Ghandruk, a beautiful Gurung village where the ACAP headquarter is located is popular for its housing patterns, lively Gurung culture and the land from where the Gurkhas get recruited,
The beauty of walking in the nature, as one is inside the protected area full of different type of vegetation, can sight different type of protected birds and animals and see the blossoming rhododendron specially in spring,
Relatively cheap, comfortable, luxurious and all the basic facilities like WIFI, hot shower are available and trek can be done with small back packs,
Easily accessible as there are no engagements with flights and no need to worry about weather and flight cancellation before and after the trip,
Can be done independently too but we really appreciate to do trekking with our professional guide who are the great companions in the mountain and help you to sort out things like accommodation, foods and itineraries so you have more time to be immersed and inspired during the trek.
Ghorepani Poon hill trek itinerary
Day 01: A short drive from Pokhara, a second popular tourist town in Nepal. The drive will take two hours and cover 40 kilometers and follow Pokhara- Baglung road and reach Nayapul. Now some people drive even up to Birethanti. From Nayapul start walking and the view of Fishtail is already beautiful. Before crossing the Modi River there is a TIMS check post, where one has to show TIMS card. After crossing the river there is an ACAP permit check post, after registering the permits start trekking towards clockwise direction which leads towards Tikhedhunga. After three hours of continuous walking one can easily reach Tikhedhung which is ideal place for overnight stay. You can go down to a stream and see the small waterfall and enjoy the natural cold water from the mountains.
Day 02: The toughest day of the whole trip will be done easily if you start early. Early morning start help to do trek quiet easy as late morning the sun will be already high and the trail does not have mush shades. There are more than 3,000 steps up to Ulleri. The trail ascends slightly after Ulleri and passes through beautiful forest. Mostly people are reaching Nangethanti for Lunch. An hour and half of pushing up there comes the beautiful village of Ghorepani. Ghorepani has quite a few good hotels and this is one of the biggest villages in the area located in the top of the hill.
Day 03: Early morning climb to poon hill for the stunning view of the whole Annapurna range with beautiful sunrise. Poon hill is about 45 minutes’ walk up hill from Ghorepani and the highest point during the entire trek. They sell cup of tea, coffee and hot chocolate at extra cost at the top and really appreciable in the cold mornings. The view from Ghorepani covers from Dhawalagiri to the west up to Fishtail to the east. The unique day in the trek, this gives unforgettable view of one of the eight thousand meter peak. Go down to hotel for breakfast after observing the beautiful sunrise from Poon hill. After breakfast the trail passes through beautiful rhododendron forest and climbs to Gurung Hill. The entire climb has the beautiful view of the mountains. The trail starts descending and pass through small village of Deurali. The trail now goes down sharply without views of the mountains and follows the stream. In rainy season this part of the trail is quiet muddy, everyone should be cautious to go down slowly and safely. There are leeches here during rainy season. An ideal lunch place will be Banthanti where there are few tea houses where they serve hot lunch. The trail goes straight for another half an hour up to the last tea house from where one can get a view as far as Ulleri. After the tea house there is a steep trail down to the stream where one can see the small micro hydro to generate power for the village. After crossing the river the trail ascends sharply to reach the hidden village of Tadapani. Tadapani is the smallest village of the whole trek and has spectacular view of Annapurna South, Hiuchuli and Fishtail.
Day 04: After gazing the beautiful view of snowcapped peaks from Tadapani. Tadapani is the village from where there is a bifurcation to go towards Annapurna Base camp and take clockwise route to reach the village of Ghandruk. At the beginning the trail goes straight and passes through dense rhododendron forest to reach the small village of Bhaisikharka. After Bhaisaikharka, the trail descends sharply for few minutes. The vegetation keeps changing and now enters to the area with dense Uttis tree. Uttis is grown in the area where it rains a lot. After three hours of walking one can reach the biggest and beautiful village of the entire trek. Ghandruk is one of the biggest villages in whole Annapurna area. The slate roofed traditional houses and relatively compact living as well as the lively Gurung culture is the major attraction for foreigners here. There is a museum and ACAP head office as well as strolling in the village in the free afternoon is really appreciable for all the visitors.
Day 05: From Ghandruk one can see the beautiful view of Annapurna, Hiuchuli and Fishtail. The last day of walking descends gently at the beginning to reach Kimche and descends sharply after Kimche to reach Syaulibazar. After Syaulibazar, the trail follows a rough road where there might be little local public transport to reach Birethanti. The trail follows the Modi River downstream from syaulibazar all the way to ACAP check post in Birethanti. After the ACAP check post there are few tea houses where one can stop for lunch. Continue walking another 45 minutes to reach Nayapul and take a transfer to Pokhara.
Ghorepani Poon hill trek can be combined with Annapurna Base Camp Trek or Mardi Himal Trek. If you wish to make Annapurna Base Camp continue from Tadapani towards Annapurna Base camp and retrace back to Nayapul following the Modi River downstream from Machhapuchhre Base camp. If you like to combine Mardi Himal with Gorepani Poon hill trek from Ghandruk go sharp down to the Modi River and cross the river to ascends sharply to Landruk and to Deurali.
Ghorepani Poon Hill trek Cost
The cost for this trek depends with from how you book and what you want to include in the trek. If you want to join the group the cost might be lower but they have their own pros and cons. You can check our group joining treks, things to consider for more information regarding this issue. There are different price for all inclusive trek, trek with guides only and trek with guide and porter. Please remember your porter is not your guide but we might help you find porter cum guide who will carry your small day pack and guide you too. Porter cum guide has less language proficiency than our professional trekking guide.
Things to remember for Ghorepani Poon hill trek
The permits are valid only for single entry, once you exit the area to reenter the area the new permits are necessary so be aware with the boundary of the conservation and protected areas.
Carrying sleeping bags is not necessary if you compromise the cleanliness of the blanket available in the tea houses. Most of the time everybody gets clean blankets and quilts but that has smell of other trekkers who used before you. A thin liners or clean sheets will solve the problems.
Plastic water bottles are discouraged now inside most of the protected area as it generates huge piles of waste so look for other solutions for drinking water.
Organized trek with reliable agencies with guide and porter makes different experience in you and you are also contributing to generate jobs for locals. You are highly appreciated at least hire somebody to do the trekking.
Travel insurance with reliable insurance company is recommended as the trek has high ups and downs. Please leave your insurance detail to the concerning staff in Kathmandu so they can handle the difficulties more comfortably in case of any emergency needs.
Be prepared for muddy trails and leeches for rainy season and there are part of the trek which is just natural trail without any man made steps and they are often slippery when it rains. Do not enter to the bushes to avoid the leeches though the leeches are not harmful but everybody feels itching after getting leech bite.
