Ghandruk Ghorepani Trek with Tibet Overland Tour

Arrive at Kathmandu after a scenic flight over the mountains. Meet the representative of Adventure Mission Nepal Treks & Expedition (AMN) and transfer to Hotel.

Kathmandu Durbar Square - Kathmandu Durbar Square lies in the center of the Kathmandu valley and has some of the most interesting monuments in Nepal. The Kasthamandap, the building from which Kathmandu derived its name, the Kumari Ghar, the House of the Living goddess Kumari, the Taleju temple and the most interesting the Hanuman Dhoka Palace, now a museum are some of the interesting buildings in Kathmandu Durbar Square. Besides that, the program of different kinds and gathering of people from all over Nepal makes it a lively place and the best place to understand Nepal.

Swayambhunath Stupa - Swayambhunath stupa is also referred to as the ‘Monkey temple’ and is one of the 7 UNESCO world heritage sites of Kathmandu. Situated on a hilltop about 4 Km from the city center this stupa is one of the oldest monument in Kathmandu and comes from the Vajrayana sect of Mahayana Buddhism. With a pair of eyes in each direction, this place is a spiritual center for the locals and tourist visiting this area. The hilltop also offers the scenic view of the Kathmandu valley and the Himalayas.

Khokana and Bungmati - These two Newar Villages are located in the outskirts of the Patan District and are proposed as Tentative UNESCO heritage sites by the Nepal government. Khokana has the temple of Rudryaini and is also famous for the Mustard oil production. Bungmati, 20 minutes walk from Khokana through paddy fields is full of old Newari houses and architecture. These twin villages are one of the best places to experience Nepal’s age-old heritages and to observe the daily life of the People. You will feel like walking in the 18th century Europe as you go through these streets.

After breakfast, we will drive or fly to Pokhara. (You can choose either flight or driving option based on the cost you want to pay). The drive is 7 hours and the flight will take only 30 minutes. Pokhara is a beautiful city which is in close proximity to the mountains and lakes in this city are very beautiful.

We will take a drive of 45 minutes to reach Nayapul from Pokhara after breakfast and start walking. We will walk past sub tropical valley forests, sometimes on the carved trail on the side of the cliff. After walking through Tikhedhunga we will reach the base of the hill that has around 3500 steps that lead to the village of Ulleri, where we will spend the night.

We start walking in the morning after breakfast along the path that leads to the Rhodendrons forest and you can see the Annapurna South, hidden by a ridge smiling at you. We will walk past the villages of Banthanti and Nangathanti through the forest to reach Ghorepani. Ghorepani is a settlement of Poon Magars and has the biggest collection of Rhododendron.

We will hike to Poonhill [3210m], early morning for 45 minutes for sunrise view over the Manaslu range, and after breakfast, we will leave Ghorepani through the rhododendron forest amidst the magnificent natural vistas. We will walk through the stone-paved trails for one hour and reach Sikha, a Magar village on a ridge. We will continue descending till Ghar Khola and climb for some time afterward to cross the Kali Gandaki River on a large suspension bridge. After crossing the bridge we will walk for half an hour to reach Tadapani for an overnight stay. It will be 6-7 hours of walk from Ghorepani to Tadapani.

Today is a short walk of around 4 hours when we reach Ghandruk from Tadapani. We will walk past the forest of Oak, Bamboo and Rhododendron and reach Ghandruk. Throughout the trail, we are able to see a magnificent view of Annapurna and Dhaulagiri range, especially the Annapurna south peak. The Gurung people of Ghandruk have a very rich culture and tradition. You can meet some ex-British Gurkhas who have served in the 2nd world war for the British government here.

We will walk downhill until we reach Birethanti. We step onto a staircase paved with stone slabs, curving in and out of the village and then terraced farms. Another half an hour walks from Birethanti we reach Nayapul from where we will take a bus to Pokhara. Rest and relax at Pokhara.

From Pokhara, you can either fly or drive to Kathmandu.

We will start our drive early morning towards the Nepal-Tibet border. The drive is about 4 hours. Upon reaching the border and clearing the frontier formalities we will head towards Nyalam. A Tibetan guide will accompany you from here onwards. Nyalam is about 35 km from the border. Explore the market area in the evening.

Today we have a scenic drive of about 8 hours. It is not tiring as the view along the highway is awesome. The mountains you can see from the drive include Mount Everest, Shishapangma. Melungatse and many smaller peaks of the area. We will drive past two high passes before reaching Lhatse overnight.

We will start our journey after breakfast and make the first stop at the Enroute visit Shakya monastery. The monastery is 26 km off from the main road. It is one of the oldest and most important Bonpo Monasteries of Tibet. This was the seat of Panchen Lama until his death in 1989 with its huge Thanka wall, which is clearly visible from the north side of the road.

We will visit the Tashilumpo monastery after breakfast and then continue our 2-hour drive to. Gyantse. After checking in at the hotel we will have some rest and then proceed for the sightseeing of Khumbum Stupa and Palkor monastery in Gyantse. Overnight stay in Gyantse.

This is yet another long day of driving. The scenic mountains are going parallel with us and we will make a few stops for photographs and rest. The most interesting part of the drive today is driving past the high passes Korala (5010m) and Kambala (4794m) and lake Yamdrok Tso. We will also cross the Great Yarlung Tsangpo also known as Brahmaputra River.

After breakfast, we will visit the Potala Palace, the Palace of the Dalai Lama. This architectural masterpiece is the symbol of unity of the Tibetans. This palace was built by King Soongtsan Gampo, who was married to Princess Wen Cheng Tang in 641 A.D. It has got 999 houses built on Hongshan Hill with a red building on top. It is one of the grandest Palaces in the world to date.

After lunch, we will drive towards the Jokhang Temple, the most scared temple for Tibetan Buddhists. After spending some time at the Jokhang temple we will walk through the Barkhor Street, a traditional old street in Lhasa.

We will start the sightseeing today from Norbulingka - the summer palace of the Dalai Lama, located along the Kyichu River and two kilometers west of the Potala Palace. This Palace has a huge garden covering 360,000 square meters, making it the biggest man-made garden in Tibet. It has got 374 rooms. The second site is Drepung Monastery, made by Chojey Tashi Palden in the 14th Century. It had four departments, of which Loseling, or "The Hermitage of the Radiant Mind," was the largest, housing more than three-quarters of Drepung's ten to fifteen thousand monks. Now it is one of Tibet’s premier monastic educational institutions.

The last site for today is Sera Monastery, built in 1419; this grand Monastery was home to more than 5,000 monks and five monastic colleges. Although much less active now, with only several hundred monks currently in residence, one of the most interesting times to visit the monastery is in the afternoon when monks, after finishing their morning scripture classes, can be seen debating in the courtyard.

Fly back home with best wishes and hope to see ya later.