Mohare Danda has Poon Hill's panorama and none of the queue

Five days on eco-lodges owned outright by the villages, at 3,300 m, with the same Dhaulagiri-to-Annapurna sweep and none of the queue.

By Dawa Gurung · 6 min read · Updated 1 August 2026

Mohare Danda is the best-known community trekking trail in Nepal and the model that most of the others copied. The lodges along it are owned and operated by the villages themselves, built with community forestry money, and the profits fund schools and health posts rather than a private operator.

It reaches about 3,300 m on a ridge west of Ghorepani, with a panorama that runs from Dhaulagiri across to the Annapurnas — essentially the Poon Hill view, from a similar height, on a trail that sees a small fraction of the traffic. Five days, moderate walking, and the strongest argument in the region for where your money goes.

What community ownership actually changes

The lodges are run on a rota by households from the villages below, with a management committee and audited accounts. A share of every bed night goes into a community fund that has paid for classrooms, drinking water schemes and trail maintenance.

You will notice it in small ways. The person serving dinner may be a farmer doing a two-week rotation rather than a career lodge worker. Service is warm and occasionally slow. The building is solid and plain.

You will also notice solar power and proper waste management, because the same committee that owns the lodge has to live with the consequences of a badly run one.

The walking

In from Galeshwor or Beni through terraced farmland and forest, climbing steadily through Nangi — a village known for its community school and its own paper-making and IT projects — and up to the ridge at Mohare Danda.

The forest between Nangi and Mohare is superb: rhododendron, oak, and a lot of birds. This is one of the better birding treks in the Annapurna region and the community runs it with that in mind.

Sunrise from the ridge gives you Dhaulagiri, Annapurna South, Nilgiri and Machhapuchhre. There is a small tower and, on most mornings, almost nobody on it.

Combining with Khopra and Poon Hill

Mohare links naturally to Khopra Ridge, the other big community route, and on to Ghorepani and Poon Hill. The full circuit is eight or nine days and is the best community-trekking itinerary in Nepal.

Done that way you sleep in community lodges for most of the trip and finish on the classic Poon Hill sunrise, which gives you a direct comparison between the crowded version and the quiet one. Most people come back and say the ridge they had to themselves meant more than the famous one. We would still send you to both.

Walk it with us

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

Mohare Danda Community Trek5 days · 3,300 mRs 64,200 · See dates →Khopra Ridge Community Trek6 days · 3,660 mRs 87,000 · See dates →Poon Hill Sunrise Trek3 days · 3,210 mRs 46,800 · See dates →

Questions we get asked

How does it compare to Khopra Ridge?

Both are community-run. Khopra is higher at 3,660 m and faces Dhaulagiri across a gorge, which is the more dramatic single view. Mohare is gentler, greener and better for birds. If you can, walk both.

How comfortable are the lodges?

Simple and clean — twin rooms, shared bathrooms, solar lighting, dal bhat and a short menu. Warmer and better built than most community accommodation in Nepal, because these were purpose-built with development funding.

Is it hard?

Moderate. Five days, steady climbing, no altitude problems at 3,300 m and no technical ground. If you can walk five hours a day you will be fine.

Best season?

October to December for the clearest views, March to April for rhododendron, which on this trail is exceptional. Winter is cold but walkable.

Khopra Ridge beats Poon Hill at its own gameA 3,660 m ridge with Dhaulagiri directly across the valley, lodges owned by the villages themselves, and a fraction of the crowd.7 min read →The Machhapuchhre Model Trek — a trail the villages built themselvesFive days out of Ghachok on a community-run route through tea gardens and ridge villages, designed so the money stays where you walk.6 min read →Khayer Lake, sacred, high, and walked by almost nobodyEight days past Khopra Ridge to a glacial lake under the Annapurna south wall, where pilgrims come once a year and trekkers almost never.7 min read →Staying in someone's house: how homestays actually work hereSimpler than a lodge, warmer than a hotel, and the version of Nepal most visitors say afterwards they wish they had had more of.6 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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