Mountain biking from Pokhara: a rough guide to rough ground
Sarangkot down, the Begnas back roads, and the multi-week Himalayan routes for people who really mean it.
By Dawa Gurung · 5 min read · Updated 1 August 2026
Nepal is a superb place to ride a bicycle and a difficult place to ride one casually. The terrain is steep, the traffic on main roads is unforgiving, and the good riding is on trails that were made for feet and hooves.
Pokhara is the best base for it in the country, because you can be on dirt within twenty minutes in any direction. We do not run bike trips. Here is what is here, and what to know before you rent something.
The obvious one: Sarangkot down
Get a jeep to lift you and the bike to Sarangkot at 1,592 m, then ride down. There are several lines — the road, which is fast and dull, and a set of trails through the villages, which are neither.
It is roughly 800 m of descent to the lake and it is technical in places, with steps, loose surface and drops. This is not a beginner's descent, and the local riders who make it look easy have been doing it since they were children.
Combined with a sunrise at the top it makes an excellent morning: watch the light come up, drink tea, and ride back down before the day heats up.
The gentle riding
East toward Begnas and Rupa is the friendliest riding near Pokhara — rolling back roads and farm tracks, low altitude, villages, and lakes to stop at. A whole day out with no serious climbing.
The Pokhara valley floor itself is flat, and a bike is a good way to reach the old bazaar, the caves and Begnas without a taxi. The road north toward Ghachok and the Machhapuchhre foothills climbs steadily on a decent surface and gives you mountains without technical ground.
The serious routes
The Annapurna Circuit is ridden as a multi-week mountain-bike route, including Thorong La — which mostly means carrying the bike over the pass rather than riding it. It is a well-established trip and it is hard.
Upper Mustang by bike is the other classic, on jeep track and old trail through the rain-shadow desert, and it needs the same restricted-area permit and agency arrangement as trekking there.
Both are specialist trips with support vehicles and mechanics. If that is what you want, we will put you in touch with the operators who do it properly rather than pretending we do.
Renting, and what to check
Lakeside has plenty of rental. Quality ranges from good full-suspension bikes to things that should not leave the shop. Check brakes and tyres yourself before you pay, and ride it round the block.
Take a helmet — offered inconsistently and non-negotiable on the Sarangkot descent. Take a basic repair kit; you will be a long way from a shop within half an hour of leaving Lakeside. Traffic on the Prithvi and Baglung highways is the main hazard in the whole country for cyclists. Get off the main roads as quickly as you can and stay off them.
Walk it with us
Private departures on your dates, guided by the people who wrote this page.
Questions we get asked
Can I hire a bike for a day?
Easily, in Lakeside, by the day or the week. Inspect it before you pay — brakes and tyres especially.
Is the Sarangkot descent suitable for a novice?
The road, yes, with care. The trails, no — they are steep, loose and stepped. Ride the road first and look at the trails before committing.
Do you organise bike trips?
No. We will happily recommend the operators who specialise in it, and we will not take a cut for doing so.
Best season for riding?
October to April. Monsoon turns the trails to mud and the leeches find you when you stop.
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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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