Australian Camp is the best two hours you can spend near Pokhara

A grassy shoulder at 2,060 m with nothing between you and Annapurna South. Also, it is not Australian, and never was.

By Dawa Gurung · 5 min read · Updated 1 August 2026

If we could send every visitor on exactly one walk, it would be this one. An hour and a half uphill from the road at Kande, through forest, and then the trees stop and you are standing on an open grassy shoulder with Annapurna South, Hiunchuli and Machhapuchhre filling the entire northern sky.

There is no viewing tower, no ticket, and no crowd. There is a meadow, a handful of simple lodges, and an uninterrupted wall of Himalaya about as close as you can get to it without a permit.

The name is a mistake, and a good story.

Austrian, not Australian

The site was used decades ago by an Austrian group who camped on the meadow. Locally the word came out as 'Australian', it stuck, and the Austrian original has been comprehensively lost. Every sign, map and lodge now says Australian Camp.

A small thing, and we like it. There is a decent illustration in it of how much of the trekking map of Nepal is made of names that arrived with visitors and were absorbed sideways. Nobody local minds. Ask about it in the lodge and you will get the story and a laugh.

The walk

Drive forty minutes from Lakeside to Kande on the Baglung highway. From the road it is a steady climb of around 400 m through oak forest and a couple of small settlements, on a good stone path. Ninety minutes at a relaxed pace, less if you push.

You can turn around and be back in Pokhara for lunch, or continue twenty minutes to Dhampus — a proper Gurung village strung along a ridge — and descend from there for a full and considerably more interesting day.

The first hour of this walk is the same trail that Mardi Himal trekkers use, so you are on a genuine Himalayan trekking route rather than a purpose-built viewpoint path. That is a large part of why it feels like more than a day hike.

Timing and conditions

Morning is better than afternoon for the mountains — cloud builds up the valley through the day for most of the year. If you are doing it as a day trip, leave Lakeside by seven.

October to April gives the reliable views. In spring the rhododendron in the forest section is excellent. During monsoon you will get a green, atmospheric forest walk and a decent chance of no mountains at all. The path can be slick after rain, and the descent is where people slip. Proper shoes, not sandals.

Walk it with us

Private departures on your dates, guided by the people who wrote this page.

Australian Camp Sunrise HikeFull day · 2,060 mRs 7,900 · See dates →Mardi Himal Trek5 days · 4,500 mRs 73,600 · See dates →Panchase Hill Overnight Hike2 days · 2,500 mRs 17,300 · See dates →

Questions we get asked

How fit do I need to be?

Reasonably. Four hundred metres of uphill on steps and path — a solid hour and a half of work, but nothing technical and you can go as slowly as you like. Children manage it comfortably.

Can I do it as a half day?

Easily. Leave Lakeside at seven, be back by one. Adding Dhampus makes it a full day and is worth it if you have the time.

Do I need a permit?

For the day hike to Australian Camp, generally not. If you continue toward Dhampus and beyond into the conservation area, that changes — tell us your plan and we will confirm.

Is it a good warm-up before a longer trek?

The best one available. This is the first section of the Mardi Himal route, so if you are trekking in a few days it doubles as a gear check and a legs check on the exact terrain you are about to walk.

Dhampus and Pothana: the ridge villages above PokharaTwenty minutes past the viewpoint everyone stops at, there are two working Gurung villages on a ridge with the whole Annapurna wall in front of them.5 min read →Four Pokhara day hikes, ranked by how little effort they needYou do not need a week and a permit to stand in front of the Annapurnas. Here are the four walks we send people on when they have one free morning.6 min read →Panchase, the hill nobody walks an hour from LakesideFive ridges, a 2,500 m summit, one of the richest orchid forests in Nepal, and a decent chance you will not meet another trekker all day.6 min read →Six more walks around Pokhara, including ones we do not sellDhampus, Kalikasthan, Naudanda, the Begnas–Rupa ridge, Astam and Pumdikot. No package, no guide needed for most — just go.7 min read →

Still deciding?

Tell us your dates and how much walking you have actually done, and we will tell you honestly whether this trek is the right one for you.

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