After completing the Ghorepani Poon Hill trek without a guide myself, I’m here to tell you everything you need to know to make it happen.
The Ghorepani Poon Hill trek is one of the best short treks to do in Nepal. The trek can be completed in as little as 3 days, bringing you close and personal to impressive mountain peaks.
Many people ask “Do I need to hire a guide to trek to Poon Hill?” The answer is no! I completed the Ghorepani Poon Hill Trek without a guide and it was a life-changing experience.
In this guide, you’ll find everything you need to know about the planning process, the route, safety on the trail, transportation, costs, and more.
Your Comprehensive Guide to the Ghorepani Poon Hill Trek Without a Guide
About the Ghorepani Poon Hill Trek
The Ghorepani Poon Hill trek is located in the Annapurna region of Nepal. It is a relatively accessible hike with breathtaking views of Himalayan giants, such as Dhaulagiri, Annapurna South, and Machapuchare (aka the “fish’s tail”).
The nearest city that trekkers travel to before trekking Poon Hill is Pokhara. It is about 200 km west of Kathmandu and the starting point for numerous famous hikes in this region.
The Ghorepani Poon Hill trek brings you through traditional Gurung villages, terraced fields, and through mountainous foothills. You’ll immerse yourself in the rich culture and stunning natural beauty of Nepal’s mountain villages.
The highlight is the pre-dawn climb to the 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 Doing the Ghorepani Poon Hill Without a Guide
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 it without a guide.
If you’re here, you’re likely looking at completing the Ghorepani Pool Hill trek without a guide. Some of the many perks of doing this include:
1. Trekking Ghorepani Poonhill Without a Guide Saves You $$$
Traveling 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
I loved completing the 3 day Ghorepani Poon Hill trek at my own pace, relaxing in some of the many villages between my destinations. You’ll have the choice to start the day, rest, and explore when you want to.
3. Poon Hill is a Well-Established and Easy-to-follow Follow Route
The Ghorepani Poon Hill trek is a very well-established route so it is really easy to follow without a guide. The trail itself is well-defined and there are several villages along the way to keep yourself assured you’re going in the right direction. There’s really no need to have a guide for keeping on track.
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.
The Best Time to Do the Ghorepani Poon Hill Trek
The peak season to trek Ghorepani Poon Hill is in Nepal’s spring (Late March-May) and fall (late September-November).
Peal season offers mild weather conditions and less precipitation. You’ll experience warmer days hiking in t-shirts and cooler nights. The skies will also have the clearest views of the Himalayan peaks.
Can You Trek Ghorepani Poon Hill in Winter?
Yes! In fact, I hiked Ghorepani Poon Hill in January. There is no avalanche risk on this route and it sits at low enough elevation that the snow conditions are manageable.
I actually found there to be numerous perks to trekking in Nepal in winter. Here’s why:
- There were almost no other tourists on the trails, providing a more authentic opportunity to connect with nature and the local communities.
- The white winter landscape adds magic to the already astonishing views.
- Trekking in the snow is just plain fun.
💡 Tip for Hiking Poon Hill in Winter: Rent crampons and trekking poles for the snowy sections! You can rent -20 sleeping bags at most of the trekking shops in Pokhara.
5 Steps to Plan the Ghorepani Poon Hill Trek Without a Guide
There are only five things you need to plan in advance of hiking the Ghorepani Poon Hill Trek without a guide.
- Travel Insurance for trekking
- Permits to hike in the Annapurna Region
- Transportation to and from the trailhead
- Equipment
- Withdrawing enough cash
There are small villages along the route that provide accommodation and cheap food. This makes planning and executing the trek without a guide really easy. You won’t have to worry about carrying heavy backpacks with your food and housing.
1. Travel Insurance
I always recommend getting travel insurance no matter the type of trip you’re 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.
I recommend World Nomads travel insurance for more adventure coverage.
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).
You can get the permit in person at the Nepal Tourism Board in Phokara. I recommend going the day before your trek. You can also get the permit a few days before in Kathmandu if it fits better with your itinerary.
⭐️ IMPORTANT: You need to have 4 passport photos to get your permit. The tourism board sometimes has access to get the photos done there, but it is often closed. Get them done in advance at home or in Kathmandu.
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
The trekking journey to Ghorepani Poon Hill starts in the city of Pokhara. There are three transportation options to get to the starting point in the Annapurna Conservation Area:
- Hired Jeep to Trailhead
Hiring a jeep is the easiest of the three options. A private driver takes you to whatever starting point you desire and picks you up at an arranged endpoint. To arrange this, all you have to do is walk into any of the travel agencies in Pokhara. We chose this option and arranged it the day before our trek.
The cost for this option is about $170 USD round trip for 4 people. It is definitely the pricier options, but allows you to start past the main entrance point in Nayapul, saving you hours of walking on a dirt road to get to the trail. You’ll also have a pre-arranged ride at the end once you are exhausted from trekking. I am so glad we did it this way and really recommend it if your budget allows it.
- Taxi to Nayapul
You can pay 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 who 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 to Nayapul
The final transportation option is to take the bus. If you are feeling adventurous and want the cheapest option, then the bus is great. The bus ride will cost only a few dollars and can be arranged at the Baglung Bus Park in Pokhara. Buy a ticket to Nayapul.
If you are not used to the local transport, get ready for a wild ride!
4. Equipment
You’ll need to get some equipment if you’re doing the Ghorepani Poon Hill trek without a guide. Unless you are hiking in the winter, the only things you should need (aside from your own hiking attire) are a sleeping bag and maybe some trekking poles.
If you need to rent this equipment, I recommend Yak & Yeti located along the main road in Pokhara. The cost of 3 sleeping bags for 3 days came to only 900 NPR, which is about $1/day for each one.
5. Withdrawing Enough Cash
The final step to planning a Ghorepani Poon Hill trek without a guide is to make sure you have enough cash with you for the entire duration of your hike. There are no ATMs along the route and credit cards are not widely accepted. You want to plan to pay for everything with cash.
I break down the budget and how much cash you’ll need below.
Accommodation & Food – Ghorepani Poon Hill Trek Without a Guide
As mentioned above, there are small villages along the route with “teahouses” that provide accommodation and food to travelers.
Accommodation
Teahouses offer very basic accommodation with your own room, sometimes shared bathrooms, and no internal heating. They provide a single blanket, but no matter the season, I always recommend bringing your own sleeping bag. It gets cold at night in the mountains so you’ll need more than a blanket and it’s a bit cleaner.
You do not need to arrange accommodation in advance, you just show up and ask for a room.
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.
Food
I was quite impressed with the variety of food options on the Ghorepani Poon Hill Trek. The teahouses have numerous Nepali dishes on the menu and some even include pizza, pasta, and other more American-style foods.
You can buy treats like chocolate bars, cookies, and chips and several shops along the trail. You’ll learn quickly that Snickers bars are the trekker’s holy grail of snacks. Treats can get pretty expensive the further you get into the trek (ex. 200 – 300 NPR for a chocolate bar, roughly the equivalent of an entire Nepali meal).
Suggested Itinerary for Trekking Ghorepani Poon Hill Without a Guide
Due to limited time, we opted for a 3 day Ghorepani Poon Hill Trek. 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 without taking a jeep past Nayapul.
I’ve provided both my 3 day Poon Hill itinerary, as well as a 5 day Poon Hill itinerary that accounts for the cheaper transportation options.
My 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 trek without a guide bright and early, meeting our Jeep driver outside of our hotel at 7 am. There were stunning views of Fishtail Mountain and the rest of Annapurna’s peaks on the drive. The drive took about 3.5 hours from Pokhara to the starting point in Kimche.
From Kimche, we hiked for about an hour before stopping for lunch in the popular Gurung village called Ghandruk. We passed locals herding their goats and enjoyed views of lush farmland terraces into the surrounding hills.
After a delicious hearty lunch, we walked through the village of stone steps into a dense forest where we hiked 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 breath and working legs.
The hike to Tadapani took 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
On 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 sunlight. If you are not a morning person, I definitely recommend you become one for this trek.
After a filling breakfast of oatmeal, honey, and Gurung bread, we departed at 8 am 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 where 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.
The 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 is almost all downhill. We hiked down thousands of steep stone stairs. But doing the hike in this direction meant we didn’t have to go up those thousands of stairs instead.
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 Ghorepani Poon Hill Trek 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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