The Royal Trek, the ridge Prince Charles walked in 1980
Four low, warm days east of Pokhara through farming villages, finishing at Begnas Lake. No altitude, no crowds and no other trekkers at all.
By the Lakeshore team · 5 min read · Updated 5 October 2026
In 1980 Prince Charles walked a low ridge east of Pokhara with a sizeable entourage, and the route has been called the Royal Trek ever since. Few trekking names in Nepal have an origin you can check, and this is one of them.
It has also been almost completely ignored for forty-odd years, because it tops out around 1,730 m and Nepal's trekking industry runs on altitude. Everyone wants a base camp.
What you get instead is villages, ridge walking, rice terraces, a huge amount of birdlife, and a decent chance of not meeting another foreign trekker for four days.
What the walking is like
Gentle. From Bijayapur, a short drive from Pokhara, you follow the ridge east through Kalikasthan, Syaglung and Chisapani, with the Annapurnas and Machhapuchhre along the northern horizon and terraced farmland dropping away on both sides.
Days are short, four to five hours, and the climbing is modest. At no point on this trek is fitness the limiting factor, which is unusual in the Annapurna region. Finishing at Begnas Lake is one of the nicer endings in Nepali trekking. It's a quiet, green, mostly undeveloped lake where you can swim and eat fresh fish, twenty minutes from Pokhara but nothing like Lakeside.
The villages are the point
Because the route stays low, it passes through farming country instead of trekking infrastructure. You'll see Gurung and Brahmin-Chhetri villages, buffalo, millet and rice depending on the season, schools, and people going about an ordinary day.
There's very little trekking economy here, which cuts both ways. You sleep in basic homestays and there's no menu in English. In exchange, nobody is trying to sell you anything.
The birdlife along the ridge is excellent, and the low altitude means far more species than on the high routes. Birding groups ask us for this trek specifically in spring.
Who it's for
Choose it if you want to walk in Nepal without the altitude, because of age, health, a heart condition or small children, or simply because you don't enjoy being cold and out of breath.
Anyone visiting in deep winter or at the edges of the monsoon should look at it too, because the high routes are unpleasant or closed then. If your goal is a big mountain moment, choose another trek. You see the Annapurnas across a valley all day, but you never get among them.
Walk it with us
Private departures on your dates, guided by the people who wrote this page.
Questions we get asked
Did Prince Charles really walk it?
Yes, in 1980, and the name stuck. Local guides who were young at the time still talk about the size of the support party.
Is 1,730 m too low to be interesting?
It depends what you want. You won't stand among the peaks. You will walk through working villages in comfortable weather with the whole Annapurna skyline in view, and you'll have it to yourself.
Is it good for children?
It's one of our best options for them, with short days, no altitude, warm nights and villages full of other children.
What is the accommodation like?
Homestays and very simple lodges, clean and friendly but with limited facilities. Bring a sleeping bag liner and a headtorch.
Can I do it in monsoon?
Better than most treks, though it will be humid and green, there will be leeches, and the mountains are often hidden. Spring and winter are the best seasons.
Still deciding?
Tell us your dates and how much walking you've done, and we'll tell you whether Sikles Gurung Heritage Trek 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