10-Day Nepal: Kathmandu, Pokhara, Chitwan & Lumbini (Self-Launched)

Land at Tribhuvan International Airport, grab a prepaid taxi (~NPR 800-1,000 / £5-6) into Thamel and check into a guesthouse lane away from the loudest bars. Sort a Nepali SIM/eSIM with Ncell or NTC data (passport photo needed, ~£3-5), draw cash from an ATM (Nepal is still very cash-based outside hotels), and take an easy evening wander: Thamel, the small gardens, and dinner of dal bhat or momos at a local spot (~£3-4). Your visa on arrival: 15 days is US$30, 30 days US$50 — bring USD cash and a passport photo to skip card queues.

🚌Airport taxi ~£5-6; everything else on foot

🛏Budget guesthouse in Thamel, private room with hot shower (~£12-15/night)

• →Airport transfer to Thamel
• →Buy Ncell/NTC SIM and data package
• →Kathmandu visa on arrival
• →Evening orientation walk in Thamel

Do the heritage circuit yourself or join a small-group day tour booked through GetYourGuide/local operators (~£30-40 with transport and a guide, or ~£12 in entry fees plus taxis if you self-navigate). Start at Kathmandu Durbar Square (NPR 1,000), then take a taxi to Swayambhunath 'Monkey Temple' (NPR 200) for city views, swing by Pashupatinath (NPR 1,000) for the ghats and evening aarti ritual, and finish at Boudhanath Stupa (NPR 400) for sunset kora circumambulation and a rooftop momo dinner. Buy the combined Kathmandu Durbar Square ticket if you plan to also visit Patan or Bhaktapur within a week.

🚌Taxis/Pathao app rides between sites ~£8 total, or a day tour with transport

🛏Same Thamel guesthouse

• →Kathmandu Durbar Square
• →Swayambhunath (Monkey Temple)
• →Pashupatinath Temple and evening aarti
• →Boudhanath Stupa at sunset

Either take a tourist bus from the Kantipath/Sorhakhutte bus park (~7-8 hrs, NPR 1,200-1,800 / £8-11, book the day before at any Thamel agency) or fly with Buddha Air/Yeti Airlines (~25 min, £70-100) for Annapurna views on approach. Buses are the budget backbone of this trip and are perfectly comfortable in the 'deluxe' class. Arrive in Pokhara, walk to Lakeside (Baidam), and settle into a guesthouse. Evening stroll along Phewa Lake and dinner with lake views.

🚌Tourist bus Kathmandu–Pokhara ~£9 (or domestic flight ~£85)

🛏Lakeside guesthouse in Pokhara, private room (~£12-16/night)

• →Scenic tourist bus over the Prithvi Highway
• →Lakeside evening walk along Phewa Lake

Hire a scooter (~£8-10/day) or share a taxi (~£15 round trip) up to Sarangkot for sunrise over the Annapurna range, Dhaulagiri, Manaslu and Machhapuchhre — leave ~5am. Back down for breakfast, then hit Phewa Lake: row a boat out to Barahi Temple (boat ~£3-4), and cycle or ride to Gupteshwor Cave, Davis Fall and Mahendra Cave. Late afternoon hike or taxi up to the World Peace Pagoda for sunset. If you want adrenaline, book paragliding through a Pokhara operator or GetYourGuide (~£65-80 including photos) — the operator's optional add-ons here are paragliding, zipline and bungee.

🚌Scooter hire ~£9/day or shared taxi to Sarangkot ~£15

🛏Same Lakeside guesthouse

• →Sarangkot sunrise viewpoint
• →Phewa Lake rowboat and Barahi Temple
• →Gupteshwor Cave and Davis Fall
• →Mahendra Cave
• →World Peace Pagoda sunset
• →Optional paragliding ~£70

Take a tourist bus from Pokhara to Sauraha/Tadi Bazaar (~5-6 hrs, NPR 700-1,000 / £5-7), arriving early afternoon. Check into a Sauraha guesthouse or community homestay, then take an easy guided nature walk along the Rapti River with a local naturalist (~£8-12). In the evening, catch a Tharu cultural stick-dance performance in Sauraha village (~£3-5 entry, often free with dinner).

🚌Tourist bus Pokhara–Sauraha ~£6; local transport by bicycle or on foot

🛏Sauraha guesthouse or Tharu community homestay (~£12-18/night, often half-board)

• →Scenic bus through the Middle Hills to the Terai
• →Guided nature walk along the Rapti River
• →Tharu cultural stick dance performance

Book your park activities through your guesthouse or a Sauraha operator the night before. The best-value independent combo: a shared jeep safari deep into the park (~£25-35 per person, park permit NPR 2,000 extra), a canoe trip down the Rapti (~£5-8) for gharial and crocodile spotting, and a guided jungle walk with two licensed guides (mandatory in the park, ~£15-20). Skip elephant-back safaris — they're increasingly seen as harmful and most ethical operators no longer offer them. Evening birdwatching in the buffer zone is free and excellent.

🚌Jeep safari and canoe arranged locally; on foot otherwise

🛏Same Sauraha guesthouse

• →Chitwan National Park jeep safari
• →Rapti River canoe trip
• →Guided jungle walk with licensed naturalists
• →Birdwatching in the buffer zone
• →Optional Gharial Breeding Centre visit

Local buses run Sauraha/Tadi Bazaar to Bhairahawa or Lumbini (~4-5 hrs with a change, NPR 400-700 / £3-5) — ask your guesthouse to write the route in Nepali. Alternatively take a shared jeep to Narayanghat and connect. Arrive in Lumbini, hire a bicycle (~£3/day) since the Sacred Garden zone is huge and flat, and have a quiet first wander at dusk. Budget hotels cluster near the Lumbini gate and the monastic zone.

🚌Local bus Sauraha–Lumbini ~£4-6

🛏Budget hotel near Lumbini gate (~£12-16/night)

• →Local bus journey across the Terai
• →Evening cycle around the Lumbini monastic zone

Cycle the Sacred Garden: Maya Devi Temple and the marker stone of Buddha's birth, the Ashoka Pillar (249 BC), the Puskarni pond, and the Lumbini Museum (small entry fees, NPR 200-500 total). Then spend the afternoon exploring the international monastic zone — the Myanmar, Korean, German and Chinese monasteries are free to enter and architecturally wild. If you want the archaeology context, hire a local guide at the gate (~£12-15 for a half day). Tilaurakot, Kudan, Gotihawa and Niglihawa (the wider Kapilavastu sites) need a hired scooter or car — ~£20-25 for a half-day if you're keen; otherwise skip them without regret.

🚌Bicycle hire ~£3; optional scooter/car for outlying sites ~£22

🛏Same Lumbini hotel

• →Maya Devi Temple and Ashoka Pillar
• →Puskarni pond
• →Lumbini Museum
• →International monastic zone (Myanmar, Korean, Chinese monasteries)
• →Optional Tilaurakot/Kapilavastu half-day

Options: a direct tourist bus Lumbini–Kathmandu (~10-11 hrs, NPR 1,300-1,800 / £8-11, leaves early morning) or fly Bhairahawa (Gautam Buddha Airport) to Kathmandu (~45 min, £65-90) — worth it if you're short on time. Arrive in Kathmandu, check back into Thamel, and spend the evening souvenir shopping: pashmina, singing bowls, trekking gear and Thamel's rooftop bars.

🚌Tourist bus ~£9, or Bhairahawa–Kathmandu flight ~£75

🛏Thamel guesthouse (~£12-15/night)

• →Cross-country bus or short flight to Kathmandu
• →Thamel souvenir shopping and rooftop dinner

Final breakfast, any last-minute shopping or a morning visit to the Garden of Dreams, then a prepaid taxi to Tribhuvan International Airport (allow 3 hours before an international flight — Kathmandu traffic is real). If you have a late flight, consider a scenic Everest mountain flight (~£150-180) or a half-day Bhaktapur Durbar Square trip (~£15 entry + ~£10 taxi) as a bonus.

🚌Taxi to airport ~£5-6

🛏—

• →Garden of Dreams (optional)
• →Airport transfer
• →Optional Everest scenic flight or Bhaktapur half-day