Kathmandu, Pokhara Tour with Everest Flight

Overview

See the best of Nepal in six days. This Kathmandu and Pokhara tour with Everest flight starts with an early-morning flight past Mount Everest and the highest mountains in the world. The same day, a local guide shows you four of Kathmandu's UNESCO World Heritage Sites: Swayambhunath, the hilltop stupa with monkeys and city views; Boudhanath, one of the biggest stupas in the world; Pashupatinath, the holy Hindu temple on the river; and Patan Durbar Square, full of old palaces and fine wood carving. If the valley is all you have time for, we also run a Kathmandu UNESCO heritage sites day tour.

Then you go to Pokhara, Nepal's lake city, for a boat on Phewa Lake out to the island temple, the World Peace Pagoda above the water, Devi's Falls, Gupteshwor Cave, the International Mountain Museum and the Tibetan settlement. You finish with sunrise over Annapurna, Machhapuchhre and Dhaulagiri from Sarangkot, then drive back to Kathmandu with a free evening in Thamel.

Choose from three packages, from good-value hotels with a tourist coach to top hotels with a private car. The trip is run by our own team at Himalayan Social Journey (HSJ). We plan everything, so you just enjoy it.

What happens on the Everest flight?

The mountain flight is the first thing you do on Day 2, and it is early for a reason: the air over the Himalayas is clearest at dawn. It lasts about an hour, every seat is a window seat, and each passenger gets a turn in the cockpit for the best view. You are back at the hotel in time for breakfast, so the rest of the day is still yours for the temples. Weather can delay a mountain flight, and if yours cannot go on Day 2 we move it to the morning of Day 6. If you only want the flight and not the tour, we also sell the daily Everest scenic flight on its own.

Should you fly or drive to Pokhara?

The tour drives, by tourist coach in the Standard package and by private car in Comfort and Premium. It is 6–7 hours along the river and through green hills and villages, and most guests enjoy the day. The flight takes 25 minutes instead, and we can book it for an extra cost if you would rather spend those hours by the lake. Pokhara also sits lower than Kathmandu, at 820 m against 1,400 m, so it is a little warmer when you arrive.

How much walking is there?

Very little. The tour is graded easy and no special fitness is needed. There are steps at Swayambhunath and up to the World Peace Pagoda, and some walking around the temples, but everything else is by car or coach. The highest point of the whole trip is Sarangkot at 1,600 m, which is nowhere near altitude sickness territory, so the tour works for children and for older travellers. If you want something livelier from Pokhara, there is paragliding over Phewa Lake, which we can add to the sightseeing day.

When is the best time to go?

The tour runs every day of the year and you can start on any date that suits your flights. October to April gives the clearest mountains and the best chance the Everest flight goes on schedule. June to September is the monsoon: green hills, warm days, more cloud over the peaks and a higher chance the mountain flight is put back a morning. If you have a few days more, the jungle at Chitwan National Park fits straight onto the end of this tour, and Bhutan and Tibet both work from Kathmandu.