Nepal 6 Day Itinerary
Six-Day Itinerary for Exploring Nepal
Nepal has eight of the world’s ten tallest mountains and gets visited by people who mostly never see them from closer than a city café. This itinerary takes six days and covers three distinct landscapes: the Kathmandu Valley’s medieval temple cities, the lowland jungle of Chitwan, and the lakeside mountain town of Pokhara. That is enough to understand why people come back on longer trips.
Visas and Arrival
Most nationalities receive a tourist visa on arrival at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu. The standard 30-day tourist visa costs $50 (paid in US dollars at the counter; local currency is generally refused). A 15-day visa costs $30 and a 90-day visa $125. Bring one passport-sized photograph and ensure your passport has at least six months’ validity. You can also obtain a visa online before arrival through the Nepal government’s e-visa portal, which speeds up the arrival process.
The airport is about 6 kilometres from Thamel, Kathmandu’s main tourist neighbourhood. Pre-paid taxis from the official desk outside the terminal run around NPR 700 ($5-6) to the city centre during the day, rising to NPR 1,300 after 9:30pm. A private hotel transfer runs about $13-15. Walk past any touts and use the pre-paid desk.
Day 1: Kathmandu Valley
Start at Pashupatinath Temple on the banks of the Bagmati River, the most sacred Hindu site in Nepal and one of the most significant Shiva temples in Asia. Non-Hindus cannot enter the main inner sanctum but can walk the outer precinct, observe the ghats from across the river, and watch cremation ceremonies that take place openly here as part of a centuries-old practice. Allow 90 minutes. Entry for foreigners is NPR 1,000.
Walk or take a short taxi ride to Boudhanath Stupa, one of the largest stupas in the world and the centre of Tibetan Buddhist life in Nepal. The whitewashed dome with its golden spire, watched over by the Buddha’s painted eyes, draws Tibetan pilgrims who circumambulate (walk clockwise) around the base every morning and evening. The ring of monasteries, cafes and shops built around the stupa makes this the most practical place in Kathmandu to sit and watch Nepali religious life at a slow pace. Rooftop cafes around the stupa serve good coffee and set lunch meals for NPR 400-700.
Afternoon at Kathmandu Durbar Square, the old royal palace complex at the heart of the old city. The Kumari Chowk courtyard is where the living goddess (the Kumari) occasionally appears at a window. The temples here suffered significant earthquake damage in 2015; restoration is ongoing and entry is NPR 1,000 for foreigners.
Dinner in Thamel at Yangling Restaurant for buff momos (steamed dumplings with water buffalo filling, a Kathmandu staple). The dumplings are the reason locals eat here: tight-skinned, well-seasoned and cheap. A plate of 10 runs about NPR 200-300. This is not a romantic dinner destination; it is a hole-in-the-wall where the food is the point.
Stay in Thamel, where mid-range guesthouses run NPR 1,500-4,000 per night (roughly $11-30). The neighbourhood is safe, walkable and has everything within a few minutes on foot.
Day 2: Bhaktapur and Nagarkot
Bhaktapur is 13 kilometres east of Kathmandu and is the best-preserved of the three Durbar Squares in the valley. Where Kathmandu’s square has been encroached on by modern buildings, Bhaktapur’s medieval core still reads as a coherent medieval city. The 55-Window Palace, the pottery square and the Nyatapola Temple (a five-tiered pagoda that somehow survived the 2015 earthquake intact) are the highlights. Entry for foreigners is NPR 1,800, which covers the whole Bhaktapur area.
Lunch in Bhaktapur at a café near the pottery square. Juju dhau (king curd, a thick sweet yoghurt served in clay pots) is Bhaktapur’s signature food; buy it from any of the small shops near the pottery area for NPR 50-80 per pot. It is the best version of yoghurt you will eat in Nepal.
Drive from Bhaktapur up to Nagarkot (another 18 kilometres into the hills, about 45 minutes) for the night. Nagarkot sits at 2,175 metres and on clear days gives a panoramic view of the Himalayan chain from Dhaulagiri to Everest. The hill is primarily a one-view hotel strip, but the view justifies the stay. Check in, walk to the Nagarkot Tower at sunset, and watch the light change on the snow peaks.
The best hotels in Nagarkot have heated rooms (it gets cold at altitude, even in summer) and serve set meals. Budget NPR 3,000-6,000 per night for a decent mid-range option.
Day 3: Nagarkot to Chitwan
Wake before 6am for the sunrise view. The early light on Ganesh Himal and the Langtang range is what the overnight is for. Then breakfast and the drive to Chitwan National Park, roughly 150 kilometres and 4-5 hours by road.
Chitwan National Park is Nepal’s oldest national park and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is flat lowland terai jungle, entirely different in character from the mountain landscapes further north, and home to one-horned rhinoceroses, Bengal tigers (harder to spot), sloth bears, gharial crocodiles and over 600 bird species.
Book into a jungle resort on the park boundary. Mid-range options like Temple Tiger Green Park or Kasara Resort run $50-150 per night with activities included.
A word on elephant experiences: elephant-back safaris at Chitwan remain available but carry serious welfare concerns. Young elephants taken into tourism in Nepal endure training processes that reputable wildlife organisations have documented as cruel. The jeep safari is both more ethical and, practically, more effective for wildlife viewing since it covers more ground at speed. Skip the elephant rides and choose the jeep.
Afternoon jeep safari into the park (included in most resort packages; standalone cost around NPR 3,000-5,000 per person). Late afternoon is prime rhino time near the river edges. An evening Tharu cultural dance program at the resort is worth watching once.
Park entry fees: foreigners NPR 2,000 per day, SAARC nationals NPR 1,000.
Day 4: Chitwan
Morning canoe ride on the Rapti River is the quietest and most atmospheric activity in Chitwan. Dugout canoes drift silently past mugger crocodiles basking on sandbanks while kingfishers, storks and bee-eaters work the riverbanks. The wildlife sees you before you see it; silence is the whole point. Most resort packages include one canoe trip.
Afternoon options: a guided jungle walk (where the guide, not a vehicle, is the thing between you and the rhinos), birdwatching from a fixed platform, or simply sitting at the resort by the river. The rhinoceros population in Chitwan has recovered from under 100 animals in the 1960s to over 700 today, one of conservation’s genuine success stories. Seeing one at close range from a canoe or on foot is a more memorable experience than the same animal viewed from a jeep.
The Gharial Conservation and Breeding Centre on the park boundary is worth an hour if you have genuine interest in reptile conservation. Gharials, the fish-eating crocodilians with long narrow snouts, were near extinction in Nepal; the breeding program has returned hundreds to the river system.
Dinner at the resort. Most include set Nepali meals (dal bhat: lentil soup, rice, curried vegetables and pickle) which are eaten with the right hand in traditional style.
Day 5: Chitwan to Pokhara
The drive from Chitwan to Pokhara takes about 4-5 hours (165 kilometres) on the Prithvi Highway, which follows the Trishuli River for much of the route. The views of the river and the hills are good, and the road passes through the commercial town of Mugling, the standard lunch stop for all vehicles on this route.
Arrive in Pokhara in the afternoon. Pokhara is the gateway city for Annapurna Circuit trekking and sits beside Phewa Lake with a direct sight-line to the Annapurna massif on clear days. The lakeside (Lakeside, locally called Baidam) is full of trekking shops, restaurants and cheap guesthouses.
An afternoon boat ride on Phewa Lake to Tal Barahi Temple on the island takes about 30 minutes round trip (rental boat NPR 600-800 per hour). The reflection of the Annapurna peaks in the lake on a clear morning is what fills every Nepal travel photo portfolio; go at 6-7am for the best light.
For a less-visited alternative to Phewa Lake, Begnas Lake is 12 kilometres east of Pokhara’s centre. It is quieter, cheaper for boat hire, surrounded by hills rather than tourist shops, and almost completely absent of the vendor pressure that defines Phewa’s shoreline.
Dinner at a Lakeside restaurant overlooking the lake. The restaurants here are tourist-oriented and fine without being memorable; budget NPR 500-1,000 per person.
Day 6: Pokhara and Departure
Sarangkot Hill, 5 kilometres from Lakeside, gives the best ground-level view of the Annapurna and Dhaulagiri ranges from Pokhara. The sunrise from the viewpoint at 1,592 metres is the standard activity: leave the hotel at 5am, drive or walk up, and watch the mountains turn from grey to orange to white. If the sky is clear, you will see Fishtail (Machhapuchhre), Annapurna I through IV, and on clear winter mornings, Dhaulagiri. Paragliding launches from Sarangkot run daily in the morning and cost $80-120 USD per tandem flight with a 30-minute soaring time.
Davis Falls, a waterfall that drops into an underground tunnel and disappears, is 2 kilometres south of Lakeside and takes 20 minutes to visit. It is not on most tourist shortlists and is worth the diversion.
Pokhara to Kathmandu options: the 25-minute Buddha Air or Yeti Airlines flight costs around $80-100 (book at least a few days ahead; morning flights often sell out). The road journey is 6 hours and significantly cheaper (bus NPR 600-1,200 per person) but takes most of the day. For an afternoon or evening international flight from Kathmandu, take the morning Pokhara flight and allow extra time since Kathmandu’s airport has chronically delayed domestic arrivals.
Final shopping in Thamel: genuine Nepali crafts include Thangka paintings (expect NPR 3,000-15,000 for quality work; the NPR 500 versions are mass-produced), hand-knitted wool products, lokta paper notebooks and singing bowls.
Things to Know
As of 2026, solo trekking in Nepal on major routes including the Annapurna Circuit and Everest Base Camp requires a licensed guide and a TIMS card. The regulations changed following the disappearance and deaths of several solo foreign trekkers and, separately, a large-scale fraud scandal involving fake helicopter evacuations that defrauded insurance companies of nearly $20 million. Make sure your travel insurance specifically covers high-altitude trekking and helicopter evacuation to at least 6,000 metres, and buy it before you book the guide.
The helicopter rescue scam is the specific risk to know about: a guide or teahouse owner tells an altitude-affected trekker that symptoms requiring immediate evacuation are present, when mild headache and nausea at altitude almost always resolve with rest, extra hydration and no further ascent. If you feel unwell on a trek, the correct first response is stopping and resting. Descent is necessary if you cannot walk, are deteriorating despite rest, or show symptoms of HAPE or HACE.
Nepal’s best trekking weather is October-November (post-monsoon, clear skies, settled trails) and March-May (pre-monsoon, rhododendrons flowering). The monsoon (June-September) brings heavy rain, leeches on jungle trails, and clouds over the mountains, but the valley temples and Chitwan remain accessible. October is the single best month if you can only choose one.
The currency is the Nepali Rupee (NPR). At 2025-2026 rates, approximately 130 NPR equals $1. Cash (USD or NPR) is preferred at temples, markets and smaller restaurants. ATMs are available throughout Kathmandu and Pokhara but can run out of cash in peak season; withdraw a daily buffer rather than going to empty machines on a Sunday morning before a long drive.