One week in Nepal: three itineraries that actually fit
Seven days is enough for one thing done properly and two things done briefly. Here are the three combinations that work, and the one everybody tries that does not.
By Dawa Gurung · 6 min read · Updated 1 August 2026
A week is the most commonly wasted length of trip in Nepal, because it is just long enough to make people think they can do everything and just short enough that trying ruins it.
The two fixed costs are arrival and departure — realistically a day at each end once flights, the Kathmandu–Pokhara leg and jet lag are accounted for. That leaves five usable days.
Three itineraries that fit into five, and the one that does not.
The one that does not work
Kathmandu, then a trek, then Chitwan, then out. It appears on a lot of enquiries and it is four days of travelling inside a seven-day trip.
Annapurna Base Camp specifically does not fit in a week. Seven days on the trail plus travel at both ends is nine or ten, and the compressed versions people are sold cut acclimatisation days.
If you have a week and you want ABC, come for ten days or pick something else. We will say this rather than sell you the compressed version.
Itinerary one — the trek week
Land, night in Kathmandu. Fly to Pokhara in the morning, sort gear and permits, sleep. Then four days walking: Ghandruk and Poon Hill as a loop, or Mardi Himal if you are fit and want the ridge.
Back to Pokhara for a night, fly or drive to Kathmandu, out.
You get a real trek, mountain sunrises, teahouse evenings and Gurung villages. You do not get Kathmandu's heritage sites or the jungle, and that is the trade.
This is what most people with a week actually want and it is the itinerary we build most often.
Itinerary two — the sampler
Two days Kathmandu — Boudhanath, Patan, the old city. Drive to Pokhara breaking at Bandipur for a night. Two days in Pokhara: Sarangkot at dawn, the lake, the Peace Pagoda, and a day walk to Australian Camp for the mountains.
Fly back to Kathmandu, out.
No trek, but you see three quite different Nepals — a medieval city, a hill town and a lake valley — without a single rushed day. For a first visit with a week, this is the more interesting trip.
Itinerary three — mountains and jungle
Fly straight to Pokhara. Three days walking Ghandruk and back, then drive to Chitwan for two nights of canoe and jeep safari, then fly or drive to Kathmandu and out.
It is the biggest contrast available in a week — 2,000 m Gurung villages and then subtropical grassland with rhinos in it. It suits families particularly well, because the jungle half requires no walking and children generally rate it above the mountains.
Rules for a short trip
Do not put a domestic mountain flight in a seven-day itinerary unless you can absorb losing two days. Lukla and Jomsom cancel routinely; Pokhara is far more reliable but not immune.
Sleep the first night rather than starting at dawn. A tired first day costs more than the hour it saves.
Pick one thing to do properly. A week does not stretch, and the trips people remember from a short visit are the ones with a centre of gravity rather than a checklist.
Walk it with us
Private departures on your dates, guided by the people who wrote this page.
Questions we get asked
Can I see Everest in a week?
Only from the air — a mountain flight from Kathmandu, or the Everest View trek at fifteen-plus days if you want to walk. Everest Base Camp does not fit and nobody should tell you it does.
Is it worth coming for only a week?
Yes, if you accept one centre of gravity. Four days walking in the Annapurnas is a real trek and a real trip.
Should I fly or drive to Pokhara on a short trip?
Fly at least one way. Twenty-five minutes against six to eight hours is a fifth of your usable time on a seven-day trip.
What is the shortest trek worth doing?
Three days to Ghandruk or Poon Hill. You sleep in teahouses, walk between villages and wake up in the mountains, which is the thing you came for.
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Still deciding?
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