Six more walks around Pokhara, including ones we don't sell
Dhampus, Kalikasthan, Naudanda, the ridge between Begnas and Rupa, Astam and Pumdikot. Most of them need no package and no guide, so just go.
By the Lakeshore team · 7 min read · Updated 5 October 2026
We sell four day hikes. There are far more than four good walks within an hour of Lakeside, and it would be silly to pretend otherwise just because we haven't built a package around them.
You can do most of these on your own with a taxi, a bottle of water and this page. A few link into treks we run, and we say so where that's the case. If you have a spare morning and you've done the obvious walks, start here.
Dhampus, twenty minutes past the famous view
Almost everyone who walks up to Australian Camp turns round there. Carry on for another twenty to thirty minutes and you reach Dhampus, a long Gurung village strung along the ridge at around 1,650 m, facing the same wall of Annapurna South and Machhapuchhre.
Dhampus is a working village, not a viewpoint, with lodges, a school and a lot of buffalo. Of the two places it's the more interesting, and getting there takes hardly any extra effort. Go down to Phedi instead of back to Kande and you get a completely different route through farmland. It takes about an hour and a half, and a taxi will meet you at the bottom.
Kalikasthan, on the Begnas side
East of Pokhara, above Begnas Lake, a ridge runs up to Kalikasthan at around 1,370 m. The walking is gentle and green, few foreigners go there, and the view takes in both Begnas and Rupa lakes with the Annapurnas behind.
It's also the first day of our Royal Trek. If you walk it and enjoy it, you'll know whether you want the four-day version, with homestay nights and a porter.
Start from Begnas, allow four to five hours there and back, and finish with lunch by the lake. Begnas is much quieter than Lakeside and worth the trip on its own.
The ridge loop between Begnas and Rupa
Between Begnas and Rupa lakes there's a long wooded ridge. The loop over it and back around the water is five to six hours of easy walking, and you'll meet hardly anyone on it.
Rupa is the smaller, shallower and greener of the two lakes, and it sees very few visitors. The farmland between them is some of the prettiest low country around Pokhara. We suggest this walk when someone wants a full day out that isn't uphill. There are no stairs and no altitude, and there are boats and fish at the end of it.
Naudanda and the Sarangkot ridge
Sarangkot is only the eastern end of a long ridge that runs west through Kaskikot to Naudanda, which sits at about 1,500 m on the Baglung highway.
Walking that ridge line is one of the better half-days in the region. You have views north to the Annapurnas and south over Phewa the whole way, through hill villages that see plenty of traffic but few walkers.
The easy way to do it is a taxi up to Sarangkot for sunrise, then three or four hours walking west along the ridge, and transport back from Naudanda. It turns the standard sunrise trip into a full day out.
Astam and Pumdikot
Astam sits northwest of the lake, out toward the foothills of Machhapuchhre. It's terraced and quiet, with a couple of eco-lodges and a very good view, and it works as a gentle overnight if you want village air without a trek.
Pumdikot is on the ridge south of Phewa, past the World Peace Pagoda. It has a large Shiva statue and a viewpoint that has become popular with Nepali visitors, though few foreign visitors know it yet.
Walk the ridge from the Peace Pagoda to Pumdikot and you have a good half-day, with two very different kinds of religious site at either end.
Why we don't sell most of these
There has never been enough demand to build a package, and most of these walks don't need a guide. Sending you off with directions costs us nothing, and you'll come back and book something else.
A guide earns the fee on Panchase, where the junctions are unclear, and on any of these walks in the monsoon, when paths get slick and overgrown. If you'd like any of these guided, ask us. We'll quote it as a custom day and won't pretend it's a package.
Walk it with us
Private departures on your dates, guided by the people who wrote this page.
Questions we get asked
Can I really do these without a guide?
Yes, comfortably, in good weather: Dhampus, Kalikasthan, the Begnas loop, the Sarangkot ridge and Pumdikot. Panchase is the one where people go wrong at junctions.
How do I get to the trailheads?
By taxi from Lakeside for all of them, agreed as a return fare or a drop-off. Your hotel will know the going rate, and Begnas also has local buses.
Do I need a permit for these?
For the walks right around Pokhara, generally not. Anything that crosses into the Annapurna Conservation Area does. Tell us your plan and we'll confirm.
Which is best if I only have one spare morning?
Australian Camp to Dhampus. You get the best view for the effort and a working village at the end, and you're back for lunch.
Still deciding?
Tell us your dates and how much walking you've done, and we'll tell you whether Australian Camp Sunrise Hike is right for you. If it isn't, we'll say so.
Nothing to pay online. We confirm your dates first.
Or call the office +977 61-457830