Kathmandu and Pokhara Tour

Highlights & Route

Kathmandu and Pokhara are the two faces of Nepal that every first-time visitor should see: the dense temple city of the valley and the calm lake town beneath Machhapuchhre. This five-day plan gives two nights to each, joins them with a 25-minute flight, and keeps the mood of a family holiday with a strong thread of darshan running through it. It is a popular choice for New Year and school-holiday weeks.

In Kathmandu the first evening is kept for Budhanilkantha’s sleeping Vishnu, and the next day covers Pashupatinath, Boudhanath, Swayambhunath and Patan Durbar Square. In Pokhara the centrepiece is the new Pumdikot Shiva statue, 51 feet of Mahadev seated above the lake with the Annapurna range behind, followed by Bindhyabasini temple, Devi’s Fall, the Gupteshwor cave and a boat to the Tal Barahi island temple.

Hotels are tourist-class with vegetarian breakfast and dinner, transport is private, and the free hours on the Pokhara lakeside are deliberate. If you want a Muktinath darshan too, the 7-day Muktinath and Pashupatinath package extends this same route by two days.

Route

Kathmandu airport → Budhanilkantha → Pashupatinath → Boudhanath → Swayambhunath → Patan → Pokhara (flight) → Pumdikot → Bindhyabasini → Devi’s Fall → Gupteshwor cave → Tal Barahi (Phewa Lake) → Kathmandu (flight)

Good to know before you book

• Price on request, per person on twin-sharing; family rooms and a deluxe hotel category can be quoted.
• Kathmandu–Pokhara flights are short but weather-sensitive in monsoon; the road alternative is 6 to 8 hours.
• Indians enter Pashupatinath free; SAARC-rate tickets apply at Boudhanath, Swayambhunath and Patan, paid at the gate.
• October to April is the clear season; December and January are cold in the mornings but reliably sunny.
• Passport or voter ID for adults; Aadhaar only for under-15s and over-65s.
• Indian notes up to Rs 500 are allowed, total Rs 25,000 per person.

Darshan, puja and timing notes

At Pashupatinath the inner gates are open in the morning and close around 2 pm, reopening in the evening (about 6 pm in winter, 7 pm otherwise), so our Day 2 begins there early. Indians enter free; the main sanctum is for Hindus only. In Pokhara, the temples are simpler and follow daylight hours:

• Bindhyabasini: the town’s oldest Devi temple is busiest early in the morning and on Saturdays, when local families come for puja. Our Day 4 visit is timed after the first rush.
• Tal Barahi: reached only by boat across Phewa Lake. Saturdays are crowded; life jackets are compulsory on the boats.
• Gupteshwor Mahadev: the cave is reached by a long stairway and is damp inside; wear shoes with grip. The underground view of Devi’s Fall is closed or limited in the monsoon.
• Pumdikot: the Shiva statue is best in the morning, when the Annapurna range behind it is clear; cloud usually rises by noon.

Festivals to plan around. Maha Shivaratri (early March 2027) brings very large crowds to Pashupatinath. Dashain and Tihar (October–November) are Nepal’s main holidays, when flights and hotels are full and some shops close; Bindhyabasini is crowded throughout Dashain. Teej (August–September) is a women’s festival centred on Pashupatinath.

Is this yatra right for you?

This is a gentle yatra-cum-family holiday at low altitude, suitable for senior citizens and children. The only climbs are the steps at Swayambhunath, Bindhyabasini and the Gupteshwor cave, each manageable slowly. Adults need a passport or voter ID; Aadhaar is accepted only for those under 15 and over 65.

It is not the right choice if your sankalp is Muktinath; for that, choose our Muktinath and Pashupatinath Yatra, which follows this same route and adds Muktinath and Manakamana. If you have only three nights, our Kathmandu Valley Darshan Yatra skips Pokhara but includes the Everest mountain flight. If you want more free time on the lake, the Twin Valley yatra spreads the same two valleys over six days.

How this differs from our other Kathmandu and Pokhara yatras

Getting there

Kathmandu–Pokhara flights now use the new Pokhara International Airport, a little east of the old lakeside airstrip. The flight is only about 25 minutes, but in the monsoon cloud can delay it for hours, so we never plan darshan on a flight morning. If you choose the road instead (six to eight hours), the Manakamana temple, reached by cable car from Kurintar on the highway, can be added on the way. See all our Nepal yatras.