Most short tours rush between Kathmandu and Pokhara on one long road day. The grand tour slows that down. It adds two places that most visitors drive straight past: Nagarkot on the eastern rim of the Kathmandu Valley, where the Himalaya stretches from Langtang to Gauri Shankar at sunrise, and Bandipur, an 18th-century trading town on a ridge above the Prithvi Highway. Breaking the drive there turns a 7-hour slog into two short legs and a free evening in one of Nepal's best-preserved bazaars.
The route suits photographers and anyone who wants to see how Nepal changes from hill to plain. You start in courtyards and temples at 1,400 m, sleep under the mountains at 2,175 m, walk Bandipur's flagstone street at 1,030 m, row on Phewa at 822 m and finish in the sal forest and grassland of Chitwan at about 150 m. Morning light is the theme: three of the nine days begin with a sunrise worth getting up for.
Highlights
- Sunrise over the Langtang, Jugal and Rolwaling Himalaya from Nagarkot
- A night in Bandipur's car-free Newar bazaar with Tundikhel views
- Bhaktapur's squares and the 464 CE inscription at Changunarayan
- Sarangkot sunrise and a rowing boat to Tal Barahi in Pokhara
- Jeep safari, Rapti canoe and Tharu village in Chitwan
- Five different overnight stops, from 2,175 m down to 150 m
Elevation profile
2,175 mWhere you sleepHigh point of the dayCheck acclimatisation
Day by day
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DAY1
Arrive Kathmandu, evening in Thamel
We meet you at Tribhuvan International Airport and drive to your hotel in Thamel. If you arrive by mid-afternoon, your guide walks you south from Thamel through the old merchant streets to Kathmandu Durbar Square, a 20-minute stroll that passes Thahiti stupa, the brass and spice shops of Asan and the six-way crossing of Indra Chowk. Late light on the pagoda roofs of Hanuman Dhoka and Kasthamandap, rebuilt in 2021 after the 2015 earthquake, is good for photographs. We go over the route, timings and kit for Nagarkot's cold mornings at a welcome dinner.
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DAY2
Pashupatinath, Boudhanath and Swayambhu
Morning at Pashupatinath on the Bagmati, the most important Shiva temple in Nepal. Hindu visitors can enter for darshan; everyone can watch the ghats from the east-bank terraces. A 10-minute drive takes you to Boudhanath, where you walk the kora and visit a working monastery to see monks at their morning prayers. After lunch near the stupa, cross the city to Swayambhunath and climb the 365-step eastern stairway in the late afternoon. From the top, the whole valley lies below, a useful map of where you have been and the eastern rim you will drive to tomorrow.
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DAY3
Bhaktapur and Changunarayan to Nagarkot
Drive 13 km east to Bhaktapur, the best preserved of the valley's three royal cities. Walk from the 55-Window Palace and Golden Gate to Taumadhi Square and Nyatapola, the tallest pagoda in Nepal at five tiers, then through Pottery Square and the Dattatreya quarter with its carved Peacock Window. After lunch, drive up to Changunarayan at 1,541 m to see its Licchavi sculptures and the stone inscription dated 464 CE. The road then climbs the ridge to Nagarkot at 2,175 m. Check in and watch sunset turn the snow pink from the hotel terrace; nights here can fall close to 0 °C in winter.
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DAY4
Nagarkot sunrise, long drive to Bandipur
Wake at about 5:30 am and walk or drive to the view tower south of the village. On a clear morning the line of peaks fills the northern horizon, from Langtang and Dorje Lakpa in the west through Jugal to Gauri Shankar, with Everest a small dark point to the east. After breakfast we descend through the valley and follow the Prithvi Highway west along the Trishuli. At Dumre, an 8 km road climbs to Bandipur at 1,030 m. Cars stop at the entrance, and you walk into a flagstone bazaar of three-storey Newar houses with carved windows.
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DAY5
Bandipur morning, afternoon in Pokhara
Bandipur is quiet at dawn. Walk to Tundikhel, the old parade ground at the edge of the ridge, for a view across the Marsyangdi valley to Manaslu, Himalchuli and the Annapurnas. Back in the bazaar, visit the Bindebasini and Khadga Devi temples and look at the carved merchant houses from the town's trading days, when caravans rested here between India and Tibet. Leave around 11 am for the 75 km, 2.5-hour drive to Pokhara. Spend the late afternoon on Phewa Lake in a rowing boat, landing at the island temple of Tal Barahi.
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DAY6
Sarangkot sunrise and the Pokhara valley
A third sunrise, and the closest one. From Sarangkot at 1,600 m, Machhapuchhre rises 6,993 m only about 30 km away, flanked by Annapurna South and Hiunchuli, with Dhaulagiri to the far west. After breakfast visit the International Mountain Museum, then Davis Falls and the Gupteshwor Mahadev cave. In the afternoon drive to the World Peace Pagoda for the view across Phewa to the town and the Annapurna range. Photographers often return to the lakeshore at dusk, when fishing boats and the mountains line up for a last frame.
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DAY7
Drive to Chitwan, Tharu village at dusk
Drive back to Mugling and down the Trishuli gorge to the Terai plains at Narayanghat, about 150 km and 5–6 hours. At Sauraha, on the northern boundary of Chitwan National Park, check in to the jungle resort for a late lunch. The afternoon starts at the small Tharu Cultural Museum and continues on foot through a Tharu village, where houses have mud walls with relief decoration and grain stores stand in the yards. Finish at the Rapti riverbank as the sun sets behind the forest, often with rhinos and deer coming down to drink on the far side.
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DAY8
Full day in Chitwan National Park
The day starts on the water. A dugout canoe takes you down the Rapti at dawn while mist lifts off the river, the best time for mugger crocodiles basking and for kingfishers, herons and storks. Land for a guided jungle walk to the elephant breeding centre at Khorsor. After lunch, set off on a three-to-four-hour jeep safari through tall grassland and sal forest to look for one-horned rhino, gaur, sambar, sloth bear and, very rarely, a tiger. The jeep stops at viewing towers and waterholes for photographs. In the evening, watch a Tharu stick dance in Sauraha.
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DAY9
Return to Kathmandu, depart
After an early breakfast and a last bird walk if you wish, we drive north to Mugling and up the Trishuli valley to Kathmandu, about 165 km and 5–7 hours depending on traffic at the Nagdhunga pass. We go directly to Tribhuvan International Airport, so book an international departure after 7 pm. If your flight leaves earlier, take our add-on flight from Bharatpur, 40 minutes from Sauraha, which reaches Kathmandu in 20 minutes and lets you spend a last hour shopping in Thamel before the airport.
Route map
- 1Kathmandu 1,400 m
- 2Pashupatinath 1,310 m
- 3Nagarkot 2,175 m
- 4Bandipur 1,030 m
- 5Pokhara 822 m
- 6Sarangkot 1,600 m
- 7Chitwan National Park 150 m
Included
- 2 nights at a 3-star hotel in Thamel, Kathmandu, with breakfast; welcome dinner on day 1
- 1 night at a mountain-view hotel in Nagarkot with breakfast and dinner
- 1 night at a heritage guesthouse in Bandipur with breakfast and dinner
- 2 nights at a 3-star Lakeside hotel in Pokhara, with breakfast
- 2 nights at a Sauraha jungle resort on full board, with all listed Chitwan activities and park fees
- Private car or van with driver for the whole route, plus airport transfers
- Licensed English- or Hindi-speaking guide in Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and Pokhara
- Early-morning sunrise transfers at Nagarkot and Sarangkot
- Fuel, parking, tolls, taxes and our service charge
Not included
- International flights and the Nepal visa fee for non-Indian passports
- Bharatpur–Kathmandu flight, available as an add-on
- Monument, museum and boat fees outside Chitwan (check current status before you travel)
- Lunches, and dinners not listed
- Paragliding, Everest mountain flight and other optional activities
- Travel insurance
- Tips for guides, driver and naturalists
- Drinks, laundry and personal shopping
Popular add-ons
- Bharatpur–Kathmandu flight on day 9, 20 min≈ ₹4,000 for Indian nationals · ≈ US$ 110 for other nationals (check current fares)
- Everest mountain flight from Kathmandu on day 2 or 3≈ ₹15,000 for Indian nationals · ≈ US$ 230 for other nationals
- Tandem paragliding from Sarangkot on day 6≈ ₹8,000–10,000 per person
Good to know
- The ₹48,000 price is per person for two sharing at 3-star level, with a private car, outside Dashain–Tihar and Christmas–New Year; the US$ price includes foreign park fees in Chitwan.
- Indian nationals pay SAARC rates at Bhaktapur, Patan, Changunarayan and other monuments, far below the foreign fee of about NPR 1,800 at Bhaktapur alone; check current status before you travel.
- Day 4 is the longest drive at 5–6 hours, and Prithvi Highway road works can add an hour or two.
- Bandipur guesthouses are simple heritage buildings with steep wooden stairs; travellers with limited mobility can sleep in Pokhara instead and visit Bandipur by day.
- Flying a drone at heritage sites, in national parks and near airports needs permission from the authorities; check current status before you travel.
Trip details
- Starts
- Kathmandu (Tribhuvan International Airport)
- Ends
- Kathmandu (Tribhuvan International Airport)
- Stay
- 3-star hotels in Kathmandu and Pokhara, a view hotel in Nagarkot, a heritage guesthouse in Bandipur, a jungle resort in Sauraha (full board); twin sharing
- Transport
- Private car or van with driver for the whole route; optional Bharatpur–Kathmandu flight at the end
- Walking days
- 8
- Styles
- Culture tours, Photography, Wildlife safari
- January good
- February good
- March best
- April best
- May good
- June avoid
- July avoid
- August avoid
- September good
- October best
- November best
- December good
Questions about this trip
How many days do you need to see Nepal?
Nine days is enough to see the main highlights of central Nepal without rushing: Kathmandu's heritage sites, a mountain sunrise, Pokhara's lakes and a wildlife safari in Chitwan. With five or six days you have to choose between Pokhara and Chitwan. Two weeks lets you add Lumbini, a short trek such as Poon Hill, or the Everest region by flight.
What does a 9-day Nepal tour package cost?
Our 9-day grand tour starts at ₹48,000 per person for two sharing at 3-star level, including hotels, a private car, a guide, and full board with safaris in Chitwan. Foreign nationals pay from US$ 680 because park fees are higher. With 4-star hotels the price is about ₹65,000–75,000. International flights, meals outside Chitwan and entry fees are extra.
Is Bandipur worth an overnight stop?
Yes, if you like old towns. Bandipur is a car-free Newar bazaar on a ridge at 1,030 m, with 18th- and 19th-century merchant houses and views to Manaslu and the Annapurnas. Most day visitors leave by late afternoon, so staying the night gives you an empty street at dusk and the Tundikhel viewpoint at sunrise. It also splits the long Nagarkot–Pokhara drive into two easy legs.
What can you see from Nagarkot?
On a clear morning Nagarkot shows a long sweep of the Himalaya, from Langtang and Dorje Lakpa through the Jugal range to Gauri Shankar, with Everest a small point far to the east. Views are best from October to early December and in February and March. In the monsoon the peaks are usually hidden, though the cloud seas below the ridge can be striking.
How much driving is there on this tour?
There are four main road days: Nagarkot to Bandipur (5–6 hours), Bandipur to Pokhara (2.5 hours), Pokhara to Chitwan (5–6 hours) and Chitwan to Kathmandu (5–7 hours). Other days involve under two hours in the car. All driving is in a private vehicle with stops every couple of hours. Adding the Bharatpur–Kathmandu flight removes the last long leg.
Can we do the grand tour in winter?
Yes, December to February brings some of the clearest mountain views of the year. Pack properly: Nagarkot and Bandipur drop to around 0–5 °C at night, and few hotels have central heating, though most supply heaters or electric blankets. Chitwan has thick fog most mornings until about 10 am, so we schedule the jeep safari for the afternoon. Days are sunny and around 18–20 °C.
Can I fly a drone on this Nepal tour?
Only with permission. Drones need approval from Nepal's authorities, and flying is not allowed over UNESCO monument zones, national parks such as Chitwan, or near airports without specific permits. Rules have tightened in recent years and are enforced at heritage sites. Check current status before you travel, and pack your drone in hand luggage, as customs may ask about it.
Can we add Lumbini to this tour?
Yes. Lumbini, the birthplace of the Buddha, is about 160 km from Sauraha, roughly 4–5 hours by road. We add one or two nights after Chitwan, then you fly from Bhairahawa to Kathmandu in about 35 minutes or exit overland to India at the Sunauli border, about 30 km away. Indian travellers often finish this way to connect with trains at Gorakhpur.
Is this tour suitable for travellers over 60?
Yes, the walking is light and the highest point is Nagarkot at 2,175 m, which healthy travellers manage without altitude problems. The things to plan for are the long drives, early sunrise starts and cobbled or stepped streets in Bhaktapur and Bandipur. We can swap the Bandipur night for an extra night in Pokhara and allow later starts on request.
