Nepal in 7 days: Kathmandu Valley and Pokhara

Pokhara instead of Chitwan, and Thamel at both ends

The Kathmandu Valley is what a first week in Nepal is for, and the second place is a choice between Pokhara and Chitwan. This plan takes Pokhara for its lake and Annapurna views. Yeti Airlines gives Kathmandu to Pokhara as about 25 minutes. The Nepal Tourism Board says mountains above 6,000 m can be seen unobstructed from Pokhara, from an altitude of 800 m and within 28 km. If the jungle is what you came for, give it a different week; our Chitwan guide covers the park.

The six nights run as a loop: Thamel on nights 1 and 2, Pokhara on nights 3 and 4, Thamel again on nights 5 and 6. Flying back on day 5 leaves day 6 without a flight; keep it free as a buffer before the flight home. Use Thamel Boutique Hotel on Bhagwati Marg for both Kathmandu stays.

Both transfers are flights. If a flight is cancelled, the fallback is a marked tourist bus in daylight, after checking that the road is open; allow a full travel day. The Nepal Tourism Board says intercity tourist buses to Pokhara, Chitwan and Lumbini leave from Kantipath in Kathmandu. Tourist-bus operators and fares are not listed on that page; check both when booking. Have the final boarding point written on your ticket. The transport guide covers both legs.

Day 1: landing in Kathmandu and an evening in Thamel

The Nepal Tourism Board says a visa can be obtained on arrival at Tribhuvan International Airport, and our entry guide covers who needs one before flying and what to have ready. The simplest way into Thamel is a car sent by your hotel; the alternatives are the prepaid taxi service outside the terminal, a taxi with the roof sign and a black licence plate, or a Pathao ride, which is available in the Kathmandu Valley.

Thamel Boutique Hotel stands on Bhagwati Marg in Thamel and lists its Deluxe Double with one queen bed for two guests at USD 55 per night, checked on 18 October 2026. The hotel includes an ensuite bathroom, Wi-Fi and daily housekeeping in every room, and offers paid airport pick-up. Breakfast and tax inclusions are not stated. For other bases in the capital, see our where-to-stay guide.

Once the bags are down, the Garden of Dreams at the entrance to Thamel is the gentle start. Field Marshal Kaiser Shumsher Rana built it in 1920 after seeing the garden of King Edward VII on a visit to the United Kingdom. It passed to the government in 1964, was neglected for decades and reopened in 2007 after nearly seven years of reconstruction. Pavilions are named after the six seasons, and there are ponds, European-style verandas, aviaries and the Kaiser Cafe. Entry to the garden is ticketed and is not in the budget below.

In Thamel, turn down any stranger who offers to export jewellery or gold abroad for a commission: France's foreign ministry reports it as a frequent scam that ends in blackmail. Keep away from demonstrations and large gatherings, as Germany and France advise.

Day 2: Durbar Square in the morning, Swayambhunath in the afternoon

Start in Kathmandu Durbar Square, in the middle of the old city, which the tourism board nicknames the Museum of Temples for its more than 50 temples. Hanuman Dhoka, the palace, was first built in the Licchavi period, between the 4th and 8th centuries AD, and King Pratap Malla extended it greatly in the 17th century. Look for the Taleju Temple, the tallest structure, built by King Mahendra Malla, the Kumari Temple, residence of the Living Goddess, the Jagannath Temple with the carved figures on its wooden struts, and the Tribhuvan Museum with the king's bedroom and study. Foreign visitors pay NPR 1,000, children under 10 are free, and the fee is paid at the entry point.

In the afternoon, take a taxi or a Pathao ride 3 km west to Swayambhunath, on a hillock above the city and the oldest stupa of its kind in Nepal. The tourism board dates it to about 460 AD and describes chaityas, statues and shrines of Buddhist and Hindu deities, with prayer wheels around the base of the hill. The stone steps up are exceedingly steep, but a motor road goes almost to the top, from where it is a short walk. Foreign visitors pay NPR 200. Our Kathmandu guide lists the other sights and fees in the capital if you want to swap one in.

Day 3: the flight to Pokhara and the first evening on Phewa Lake

Fly Kathmandu to Pokhara with Yeti Airlines or Buddha Air. Buddha Air says it operates more than 17 flights a day on the route, taking about 25 to 30 minutes, and more than 16 a day back. Foreign nationals other than Indian and Nepali citizens pay Yeti's USD fare, and Yeti charges NPR 150 per kilo of extra baggage on this route, checked on 18 October 2026. The UK government says internal flights in high mountain areas can be delayed by poor weather and that cancellations are common.

Aabas Pokhara is on Durbarmarg, a few minutes' walk from Lakeside according to the hotel's own page. Its Deluxe Room is 26 square metres with one queen bed or two twins, a private balcony or terrace and access to a rooftop pool. The two-night package, checked on 18 October 2026, lists USD 95 per double per night, the rate this budget uses, with daily buffet breakfast, a set-menu dinner, a glass of wine or mocktail at the rooftop bar, a soup and snack platter, evening tea or coffee and one hour of self-guided kayaking on Phewa Lake. The hotel also lists the package at NPR 12,500 and INR 7,500 per double per night; these are separate published rates, so choose the applicable currency when booking. The hotel names October to May as the package's best season.

Spend the evening at Lakeside, which the tourism board calls a thriving resort town of hotels, restaurants, bars and souvenir shops on the eastern shore of Phewa Lake. Boats can be hired around the lake, and boaters usually visit Taal Barahi Temple, dedicated to Ajima or Shakti, on a small strip of island. Agree the boat price on the shore before you set off.

Day 4: Sarangkot in daylight, then the mountain museum

Visit Sarangkot after breakfast, with both road journeys in daylight. The tourism board describes a panorama from Dhaulagiri (8,167 m) in the west to Machhapuchhre (6,997 m), the tent-like peak of Annapurna II (7,937 m) and Lamjung (6,983 m) in the east. From Lakeside, it gives the drive as 11.3 km and at most 30 minutes; arrange the car through your hotel.

Spend the middle of the day at the International Mountain Museum, run by the Nepal Mountaineering Association. It opens daily from 09:30 to 17:00 and lists admission at NPR 750 for foreigners and NPR 350 for SAARC nationals, checked on 18 October 2026. Its galleries are the Mountain People Gallery, the Mountain Gallery and the Mountain Activities Gallery, with a Living Museum, a library and a climbing wall named after Maurice Herzog.

If you would rather fly, paragliding launches from Sarangkot and lands by the lake, and it can replace the museum in the middle of the day. Sunrise Paragliding's prices, checked on 17 October 2026: a standard tandem flight at NPR 8,500 for about 20 to 30 minutes in the air, with take-offs at 9:30, 11:30 and 13:30, and photos and video NPR 2,000 extra; that is the operator's price, outside the budget below. Make sure your travel insurance covers the activity before you pay.

For the afternoon, cross Phewa by boat to the World Peace Pagoda, on a hill on the southern fringe of the lake. The tourism board describes a dome-shaped pagoda with four images of the Buddha facing the four directions, and says its hilltop commands a great view of the lake and of the Annapurna range. It puts the hike up from the far shore at about an hour, and says the descent on the other side leads towards the caves and Davi's Fall.

Davi's Fall, known locally as Patale Chhango, is a waterfall on the Siddhartha Highway. Its water comes from Phewa Lake and disappears into a complex of caves and tunnels; the Gupteshwar Mahadev cave on the other side of the fall is one of them, a Shiva shrine that the tourism board says is seldom missed. Entrance fees for the fall and caves are extra, so carry small notes. Dinner is part of the package, and the Pokhara guide covers the old bazaar and the caves further out.

Day 5: back to Kathmandu, then Boudhanath and Pashupatinath

Take the flight back to Kathmandu after breakfast, and return to Thamel Boutique Hotel. Drop the bags and use the afternoon for the two great sites on the east side of the valley, Boudhanath first and Pashupatinath afterwards, with the return to Thamel before dark.

Boudhanath, about 8 km east of the capital, is the largest stupa in the valley, with a dome 36 m across, and the Nepal Tourism Board calls it the centre of Himalayan Buddhism. It sits on what is believed to be the ancient trade route to Tibet: Tibetan merchants have rested and prayed here for centuries, and many Tibetan refugees settled around it from the 1950s. The city lists the stupa as open 24 hours, and the foreign-visitor ticket is NPR 400.

Pashupatinath is the most revered Hindu temple in Nepal, on the Bagmati river about 5 km east of the centre. The Pashupati Area Development Trust lists it open daily from 4:00 to 21:00, with the main sanctum for Hindus only and the ghats open to everyone. Non-Hindus watch from the terraces across the river to the east, and the Nepal Tourism Board says leather items, including shoes and belts, must be left outside the complex. The trust carries out cremations at Arya Ghat and Bhasmeswor Ghat, and non-Hindu visitors may watch from the surrounding ghats. The board calls the Pashupati Bagmati Aarati one of the most engaging rituals at the site; the trust posts the day's evening aarti time on its home page. The foreign-visitor ticket is NPR 1,000 per day.

Day 6: Patan, or Bhaktapur if you prefer

With no flight today, spend the day in Patan, 5 km south-east of Kathmandu and known as the city of artisans. Patan Durbar Square holds palace buildings, courtyards and pagoda temples in the Newari style of the Malla kings; the Krishna Temple, built in 1637 entirely of stone, has 21 spires. The Golden Temple is a five-minute walk west and north from the northern end of the square, and Mahabouddha, east of it, is a terracotta monument carved with thousands of images of the Buddha. Foreign visitors pay NPR 1,000, and the Patan Museum is part of that ticket. Our Patan guide covers the craft quarters.

If you would rather see Bhaktapur, 12 km east of Kathmandu, start at its Durbar Square, where the 15th-century Palace of 55 Carved Windows and the Golden Gate at its entrance face the square. Visit Nyatapola, the five-storied temple that the tourism board singles out for having withstood a devastating earthquake, and look for the pottery and woodcarving displayed in the town's squares; finish with juju dhau, the town's curd set in a clay pot. The tourism board lists Bhaktapur's Durbar Square at USD 18 or NPR 1,800 for foreign nationals other than SAARC nationals; the budget below uses Patan.

Day 7: the flight out of Kathmandu

On 15 September 2026 France's foreign ministry said works at the airport have partly closed it and may affect bookings on arrival or departure, so check your flight with the airline before you travel. Have the hotel arrange the car, and plan the morning around the check-in time your airline sets.

What to book first, in order

Book the international flights into and out of Kathmandu, then the two domestic flights to Pokhara and back with Yeti Airlines or Buddha Air. Every Nepali airline is on the EU and UK air-safety lists, according to the German and UK government pages. The UK, German and French government travel pages for Nepal were checked on 18 October 2026.

Then book the Aabas Pokhara package for days 3 to 5 and the Thamel rooms for nights 1 and 2 and nights 5 and 6. Sights are paid for at the gate.

Meals along the route

In Pokhara the package covers breakfast and dinner on both nights, so only lunch needs planning, and the package gives 15% off food and soft drinks at the hotel's restaurant and bar. In Kathmandu, the Nepal Tourism Board lists Thamel, Lazimpat, Durbarmarg, Jhamsikhel and Boudha as the districts with most of the city's restaurants.

What six nights cost for two adults

These are published prices for two adults other than SAARC, BIMSTEC or Chinese nationals sharing a room, checked on 18 October 2026, in the currency each source uses.

Rooms in USD: Thamel Boutique Hotel, Deluxe Double for two guests, 4 nights × USD 55 = USD 220; Aabas Pokhara package, 2 nights × USD 95 = USD 190, with breakfast and dinner. Rooms in USD total: USD 410.

Tickets in NPR for two adults other than SAARC, BIMSTEC or Chinese nationals: Kathmandu Durbar Square 2 × NPR 1,000 = NPR 2,000; Swayambhunath 2 × NPR 200 = NPR 400; International Mountain Museum 2 × NPR 750 = NPR 1,500; Pashupatinath 2 × NPR 1,000 = NPR 2,000; Boudhanath 2 × NPR 400 = NPR 800; Patan Durbar Square and Museum 2 × NPR 1,000 = NPR 2,000. Tickets in NPR total: NPR 8,700.

For the whole stay: USD 410 for the rooms plus NPR 8,700 for the tickets, or about NPR 70,870 at Nepal Rastra Bank's buying rate of NPR 151.64 per US dollar on 17 October 2026.

• On top, flights: the international flights and the Kathmandu to Pokhara return, at the fare shown on the airline's booking page for your date. Extra baggage on Yeti costs NPR 150 per kilo on this route.
• Not included: ground transport, lunches, meals in Kathmandu, the Garden of Dreams ticket, boats, paragliding, tips, visas and insurance.