Trekking Ghorepani Poon Hill independently (without a guide) is completely do-able. You’ll save yourself money on a guide and not have to worry about keeping pace with a group. Here is everything you need to know to make it happen for yourself.
If you are heading to Nepal, chances are you are looking for a trekking adventure in the Himalayan mountains. Home to Mount Everest and eight of the world’s fourteen tallest peaks, there is no shortage of those in Nepal.
Ghorepani Poon-Hill is one of the best if you’re looking for a time-friendly trek that still brings you up close and personal to mountain peaks. The trek can be completed in as little as 3 days.
Trekking Ghorepani Poon Hill independently was a life-changing experience for me. I’m here to share everything I know from the planning process to the trek itself so that you can experience it too. From hiking routes and transportation, to the costs and trekking advice, you’ll find everything you need to know to trek Ghorepani Poon Hill independently.
Your Comprehensive Guide to Trekking Ghorepani Poon Hill Without a Tour
Why You Should Trek Ghorepani Poon Hill
The Ghorepani Poon Hill trek is located in the Annapurna region of Nepal. It is a relatively accessible hike that offers trekkers massive rewards. This includes breathtaking panoramic views of Himalayan giants, such as Dhaulagiri, Annapurna South, and Machapuchare (aka the “fish’s tail”).
The trek brings you through traditional Gurung villages, terraced fields, picturesque forests, and immerses you in the rich culture and stunning natural beauty of Nepal’s mountain regions. The highlight is the pre-dawn climb to highest point on the trek, Poon Hill, where you’ll witness a spectacular sunrise bathing the snow-capped peaks in golden hues.
The trek is perfect for both novice and experienced trekkers. It is one of the shortest treks you can do in Nepal while still heading into the mountains.
The Benefits of Trekking Ghorepani Poon Hill Independently
There are a few ways to approach the Ghorepani Poon Hill trek. You can book a packaged experience with one of the many Nepali trekking agencies, hire a local guide and pay a daily rate, or tackle this trek independently without a guide.
If you’re here, you’re likely looking at tackling this hike without a guide. Some of the many perks of doing this include:
1. Trekking Ghorepani Poonhill Independently Can Save You $$$
Travelling with a trekking agency will cost you hundreds of dollars. This EXCLUDES travel insurance, tips for the guides, and transportation between Kathmandu and Pokhara. If you don’t mind handling the planning process yourself, then it is much cheaper to do this trek independently.
2. Freedom and Flexibility to Create Your Own Experience
Maybe you’re someone who wants to tackle the hiking at a fast pace and feel the rush of a challenge. Maybe you’d prefer to take it slow and not rush between each destination. Either way, it is nice to make that decision for yourself and not worry about the pressures of a group tour dynamic.
3. A Well-Established and Easy to Follow Route
Poonhill is such a well-established trek that the route is incredibly easy to follow without a guide. The trail itself is well-defined and small villages are frequently found along the way to assure you that you’re heading in the right direction. There are also maps in many of the villages that inform you of the distances between each stopping point. There is really no real need to hire a guide for the hiking portion of the trek.
4. Sense of Accomplishment and Adventure
Am I the only one who feels like a badass forging their way through the mountains without any professional assistance? Ok, maybe it is not so much forging as it is following along a well-worn path, but it can be quite an empowering experience to take on an adventure of this magnitude independently.
When to Trek Ghorepani Poon Hill
The peak season to trek Ghorepani Poon Hill is in Nepal’s spring (Late March – May) and fall (late September – November).
Peak season offers optimal weather for both comfortable hiking and mountain views. The weather is mild relative to the winter and monsoon season, with warmer days and cooler nights. Low chances of precipitation also result in the clearest skies for crisp and clear views of the Himalayan beauty.
It is still possible to take on this trek in the winter off-season. There are numerous perks that come with trekking this time of year. I completed Ghorepani Poon Hill in the beginning of January, which is right smack in the middle of Nepal’s winter season. Here are some of the benefits I experienced:
- There are wayyyyy less tourists on the trek, providing a more authentic experience and opportunity to connect with mother nature.
- The white winter landscape creates an added magic to the already astonishing views.
- Trekking in the snow is just plain fun.
If you are trekking in the winter season, make sure you are adequately prepared. To clarify, this is my advice for Poon Hill specifically, where avalanche risks and other winter obstacles are not as much of a factor. Read more about the pros and cons of trekking in Nepal’s winter off season here.
What to Arrange Before Embarking on the Ghorepani Poon Hill Trek
1. Travel Insurance
I’ll always recommend getting travel insurance for any trip you embark on. But for trekking in Nepal, travel insurance is a requirement. You must fill in your travel insurance policy number to get a trekking permit. This should be your first step in arranging your trek to Poon Hill.
2. Permits
All the national parks in Nepal require both a permit to enter the park and a Trekkers’ Information Management Systems (TIMS) card. This basically lets park management know where trekkers are within the park at all times in case of an emergency.
Together these cost 5000 NPR (about $43 USD). They can be acquired at the Nepal Tourism Board in either Pokhara or Kathmandu.
For this step, you’ll need a total of four passport photos. It makes the process easier to have these taken in advance, but the office does have the option to get the photos done there. Be careful though, we were told the photo booth closes at 2 pm despite the office being open until 5pm.
As mentioned above, you will need your travel insurance policy information for the TIMs card. The entire process took us about half an hour and we did it the day before we left for our trek. Super easy!
You will need to carry these permits with you at all times on the trek. There are numerous checkpoints along the way.
3. Transportation To and From Annapurna Conservation Area
You will be starting your trekking journey in the city of Pokhara. Pokhara is located about 8-hours drive from Kathmandu. It is the gateway to many of Nepal’s most beautiful and accessible treks, including Ghorepani Poon Hill. There are three transportation options for getting to the Annapurna Conservation Area (where you will be trekking to Poon Hill) from Pokhara:
- Hired Jeep
Hiring a jeep is the easiest of three options. A driver will take you to whatever starting point you desire and pick you up at your finish point. To arrange this, you can walk into any of the many travel agencies located in Pokhara. We did this the day before our trek. The cost for this was $170 US total roundtrip for 4 people.
This is definitely the pricier option, but it allows the opportunity to start past the main entrance point in Nayapul, saving hours of walking on a dirt road. You will also have a pre-arranged ride back to Pokhara, which can be amazing when you are tired from completing your trek. This is the option I chose and I am so grateful I did. Therefore, if your budget can spare this and you are going with some friends that can split the cost then I definitely recommend this route.
- Taxi
An alternative option is to pay for a taxi to take you to the main starting point in Nayapul. You can also arrange for the same taxi driver to pick you up on whatever day you intend to finish the trek. Just ask for their phone number.
For this option, you have to negotiate the cost in advance of the ride. From what I have heard from my friends that used a taxi, this should cost you about 3000 – 4000 NPR ($26 – $34 USD) each way, depending on your negotiating skills.
The ride takes about 2 hours to get to Nayapul. However, taking a taxi does not allow you get dropped off beyond Nayapul (only Jeeps can handle the terrain). This results in the first several hours of the hike solely consisting of a dirt road.
- Bus
The final transportation option is to take the bus. If you are feeling adventurous and want the cheapest option, then the bus is a great option. The bus ride will cost you only a few dollars and can be arranged at the Baglung Bus Park in Pokhara. Simply buy a ticket to Nayapul.
If you are not used to the local transport, get ready for a wild ride!
4. Equipment Rentals
Renting equipment is the last step to be arranged before embarking on your trekking adventure. Depending on what equipment you were able to pack with you, you may need to head to a trekking gear shop. You can rent anything you need; sleeping bags, down jackets, crampons, trekking poles, etc.
The shop I recommend is Yak & Yeti located along the main road in Pokhara. I trekked to Poon Hill in January, so I had to rent a sleeping bag. The cost of 3 sleeping bags for 3 days came to only 900 NPR, which is about $1/day for each one.
What to Arrange During the Trek
1. Accommodation
Your sleeping arrangements on the Poonhill trek will be in teahouses found in the local mountain villages along the route. Teahouses offer very basic forms of accommodation with your own room, sometimes shared bathrooms, and no internal heating.
In my opinion, the teahouses are one of the BEST parts of the Ghorepani Poon Hill trek. They are quaint, cozy and offer opportunities to meet other travellers and connect with the locals. You do not need to arrange accommodation in advance, you simply show up and ask for a room.
2. Food
I was actually quite impressed with the variety of food options that can be found. All of the teahouses offer a small variety of foods, with some even including pizza on their menu. You can buy treats like chocolate bars, cookies and chips along the way. You will quickly learn that snickers bars are the trekker’s holy grail of snacks! Keep in mind though, these treats can get pretty expensive on the trek (ex. 200 – 300NPR for a chocolate bar, which is roughly the equivalent of an entire Nepali meal).
Suggested Full Itinerary for Trekking Ghorepani Poon Hill Without a Guide
Due to limited time, we opted for a 3 day itinerary. While 3 days is very doable, I recommend going for at least 4-5 days if you have the time. Our itinerary wouldn’t have been possible if we hadn’t taken a jeep past Nayapul.
How I Completed the Ghorepani Poon Hill Trek – 3 Day Itinerary
Day One: Drive Pokhara to Kimche, Hike Kimche to Tadapani
- Starting Point | Kimche (1784m elevation)
- Finish Point | Tadapani (2706m elevation)
- Time Trekking | 4 – 5 hours
- Total Ascent | 922m
We started our Ghorepani Poon Hill trekking adventure bright and early, by meeting our Jeep driver outside of our hotel at 7am. Greeted by a bright blue clear sky, we were treated to breathtaking views of the mountains and rolling green hills for the entirety of our 3.5 hour drive to our starting point in Kimche.
From Kimche, we hiked for about an hour, passing locals herding their goats along the dirt road and looking out over lush farmland cutting terraces into the surrounding hills. We stopped for lunch in the popular Gurung village, known as Ghandruk.
After a delicious hearty lunch, we made our way through the village of stone steps into a dense forest where we would be hiking for the next several hours. While the ascent was steep, this portion of the hike was filled with little waterfalls and gorgeous glacial rivers that distracted us from our laboured breathe and working legs.
The hike to Tadapani takes about 3 – 4 hours from Ghandruk, where we were greeted by friendly “namaste”s, a burning fire to warm our feet, and another warm home-cooked meal.
Day 2: Trek Tadapani to Ghorepani
- Starting Point | Tadapani (2706m elevation)
- Finish Point | Ghorepani (2853m elevation)
- Time Trekking | 8 hours
- Total Ascent | 147m
The second day of our trek, we excitedly jumped out of bed to witness the most incredible sunrise I have ever experienced. The mountains towered over us and shimmered in the golden rising sun light. If you are not a morning person, I definitely recommend you become one while on this trek.
After a filling breakfast of oatmeal, honey and Gurung bread (*drool*), we departed nice and early at 8am to begin our longest day of the trek. This day was full of ups and downs, literally and figuratively. This portion of the trek involves hiking up, over and down several of Nepal’s “hills,” although they feel like mini mountains. This was also the point in which we realized that crampons are pretty useful when trekking up and down hills in the snow, as our main method of navigation consisted of crawling, sliding and stabbing sticks into the snow to gain leverage. But oh boy, was it fun!
Passing herds of buffalos, several mountain communities, and hiking along a ridge above the clouds, day two was certainly epic!
Day 3: Ghorepani to Poonhill, Poonhill to Hile
- Starting Point | Ghorepani (2853m elevation)
- Finish Point | Hille (1475m elevation)
- Time Trekking | 7 hours
- Total Ascent | 357m (up to Poon Hill)
Waking up at 5 am, we grabbed our headlamps and started the 1 hour hike up to Poon Hill in the dark to make it there for sunrise.
Note: There is a checkpoint about 15 minutes into the hike where you have to pay 100 NPR per person to proceed.
Sunrise at the top of Poon Hill was magnificent. The bright red sun rose above the ridge we had walked across the previous day. There was even a small shop at the top to purchase tea.
Once we had our fill of the amazing views, we journeyed back down to Ghorepani. We packed up our things and headed out for our final day of the trek. Day three’s hike almost entirely consisted of a descent, where we hiked down thousands of steep stone stairs. The legs were definitely burning!
We hiked for about 4 hours to Ulleri, where we stopped for lunch, and then another 3 to Hille. From Hille, we met our Jeep driver and journeyed back to Pokhara, saying goodbye to the mountains for now.
Recommended Route Based on 5 Day Itinerary
Day 1: Nayapul to Ghandruk (4 – 5 hours)
Day 2: Ghandruk to Tadapani (3.5 – 4 hours)
Day 3: Tadapani to Ghorepani (6 hours without the heavy snow)
Day 4: Ghorepani to Poon Hill, back to Ghorepani, then to Ulleri (2 hours roundtrip Poonhill, 4 hours to Ulleri)
Day 5: Ulleri to Nayapul (about 5 hours)
The direction I have recommended is optimal unless you want to face the endless stairs of death going upwards! I’m being dramatic, I know, but I’m not kidding when I say there are an insane amount of stairs on the route to Ulleri. It’s all steep stone stairs for hours. We did this downhill and the people heading up looked like they were going through it.
What is the Cost of Trekking Ghorepani Poon Hill Without a Guide?
- Permits: 5000 NPR (around $43 US)
- Transportation: $5 per person – $170 for the whole group US roundtrip
- Equipment Rentals: $0 (if you have your own stuff) – upwards of $20 if you need to rent a bunch of gear. Remember, we just needed sleeping bags which cost $3 each for the 3 days, so renting gear is pretty cheap
- Accommodation: For a triple room (3 people) it cost us about 900 NPR each night (about $8 US). This will likely cost a little bit more in the peak season, about a few hundred NPR ($2 – 3) more each night
- Food: Food is more expensive than elsewhere in Nepal, but considering they have to carry all the food up there, it makes sense. Each meal costs about 500 NPR ($5) per person. The portion sizes are pretty massive though, so we unintentionally cut down our food costs by sharing some meals. Chocolate bars costs about 200 NPR ($2) each if you want to splurge
- Admission fee to Poonhill: 100 NPR ($1) each
The Grand Total based on our 3 day costs per person: 11,000 NPR (about $95 US assuming cheapest transportation option and no equipment rentals) – 19,228 NPR ($168 US assuming a Jeep split between 3 people and each person needing to rent lots of equipment).
Essential Tips: How to Make Your Trek to Ghorepani Poon Hill a Success
The “Easy” Rating for this Trek Should be Taken Lightly | When looking at the difficulty rating for the different treks in Nepal, you’ll often find that Ghorepani Poon Hill is rated as “easy.” However, this rating is VERY relative. Trekking to Poon Hill is still a physically challenging adventure. Most of the trek consists of a lot of up and down portions, where you could be ascending for several hours up pretty steep terrain. Trekking experience is not required and there is nothing “technically” difficult, but decent physical endurance is recommended.
Bring Enough Cash For the Entire Trek | There are no ATMS located along the trek and you will have to pay everything in cash.
Wifi is Available But at a Cost | You can find wifi at a lot of the guesthouses (they will often advertise it), but you do have to pay to access it. It costs about 100 NPR / day, but this may increase by a 100 or more NPR in the peak season.
Prepare for Lack of Hot Showers | Hot showers are becoming slightly more common, but I wouldn’t count on it. The heaters used to warm the water rely on solar power so are not always reliable, especially in the off-season.
Bring a Re-Usable Water Bottle and Purification Tabs | This one is not strictly necessary, as teahouses will often sell bottled water along the trek. However, it is much cheaper and much better for the environment to bring your own bottle. Some teahouses will have purified water to fill your bottle and others may not, so water purification tabs can be pretty handy.
Pack your Own Toilet Paper | Toilet paper is only used by tourists. While some teahouses have started to offer it for tourists, this is not reliable when passing through communities during the day.
Is Female Solo Trekking to Ghorepani Poon Hill Possible?
Trekking Ghorepani Poon Hill independently as a woman comes with a few additional considerations. While I don’t have personal experience with this, I thought it might be useful to include that I met a few solo female travellers along the trek. We passed many people along the way, even in off-season, so you won’t be fully alone for very long. This is what I observed, do with it what you will!
Final Thoughts on Trekking Ghorepani Poon Hill Without a Guide
To sum up the entire adventure, trekking to Poon Hill was a life-changing experience that I recommend to everyone! I hope this guide will help you plan a badass trek through the Himalayas. Feel free to get in touch if you have anything to add/or have any further questions!
Happy Trekking!
Comment below if you have any more advice and tips for trekking Ghorepani Poon Hill.
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