Highlights of Nepal — Self-Launched (Kathmandu, Chitwan, Pokhara & Bandipur)

Fly into Tribhuvan International Airport, grab a prepaid airport taxi from the official counter (approx NPR 800-1,000 / £5-6) or a Pathao/InDrive ride into Thamel. Check into a Thamel guesthouse, sort out a local Ncell or NTC SIM (bring your passport, roughly £2-4 for data), and withdraw rupees from an ATM on Tridevi Marg. Spend the late afternoon wandering Thamel's alleyways and eating dal bhat or momos at a local spot like OR2K or Yangling Tibetan Restaurant. Book your onward transport this evening — tourist buses fill up in season.

🚌Prepaid airport taxi approx £5

🛏Guesthouse in Thamel (private room, approx £16)

• →Thamel market wander
• →Ncell/NTC SIM card setup
• →Dal bhat dinner

Take a local bus or taxi from Ratna Park to Bhaktapur (local bus ~£1, taxi ~£8) and buy the Bhaktapur Durbar Square entry ticket on arrival (NPR 1,800 for foreigners, approx £11 — valid for the whole day). Spend 3-4 hours among the Nyatapola Temple, the 55-Window Palace and Pottery Square; Juju Dhau (king curd) is the local specialty to try. In the afternoon take a shared jeep or local bus up to Nagarkot (~£2-3) and check into a budget guesthouse. Walk to Nagarkot View Tower for sunset over the Himalaya — this is the operator's included Nagarkot Hill Station viewpoint, done independently.

🚌Local bus Bhaktapur–Nagarkot approx £3

🛏Budget guesthouse in Nagarkot (private room, approx £18)

• →Bhaktapur Durbar Square & Pottery Square (self-guided, ticket ~£11)
• →Local bus/shared jeep to Nagarkot
• →Nagarkot View Tower sunset

Catch sunrise from Nagarkot first (the classic view is just east of the bazaar). Then walk the well-marked Nagarkot–Dhulikhel trail — 5-6 hours downhill through terraced villages and rhododendron forest in spring; you can bail at Nala or use a local bus if it's too much, which keeps it flexible for solo travellers. From Dhulikhel, a short detour and local taxi takes you to Ashapuri Mahadev Temple, said to be the tallest Mahadev temple in South Asia. Take a local bus or shared jeep back to Kathmandu (~£2-3).

🚌Local bus Dhulikhel–Kathmandu approx £3

🛏Thamel guesthouse, Kathmandu (approx £16)

• →Nagarkot sunrise viewpoint
• →Nagarkot–Dhulikhel hiking trail (5-6 hrs, free)
• →Ashapuri Mahadev Temple

Book a tourist coach from Kathmandu to Sauraha the day before through your guesthouse or a Thamel agency (approx £8-12, 5-6 hours, usually a 6:30-7:00am departure). Arrive in Sauraha early afternoon and check into a budget wildlife lodge near the park edge; Sauraha's guesthouses are the independent equivalent of the operator's Chitwan resort. Take a free Tharu village walk and catch sunset from the Rapti riverbank — floating bonfires and a cold Gorkha beer are the usual finish.

🚌Tourist coach Kathmandu–Sauraha approx £12

🛏Budget lodge in Sauraha, Chitwan (approx £16)

• →Tharu village walk (free/self-guided)
• →Rapti river sunset walk

Book a package directly with your Sauraha lodge or a licensed operator (community-based options near the park HQ are well regulated). A typical day: early-morning bird walk along the Rapti (free if you self-guide with the lodge), a dugout canoe trip down the Rapti (~£5), a guided jungle walk with two licensed guides (~£10), and an afternoon jeep safari into the national park (~£22-25 including park permit). Note that elephant-back safaris are increasingly discouraged on welfare grounds — a jeep safari plus walking safari is the better choice and gives you the same wildlife. Chances of rhino and deer are excellent; tigers are a lucky bonus. Full board at the lodge is about £14.

🚌On foot / lodge transport

🛏Budget lodge in Sauraha, Chitwan (full board option, approx £22)

• →Rapti River dugout canoe trip
• →Guided jungle walk with licensed guide
• →Chitwan National Park jeep safari (park permit included)
• →Early-morning birdwatching

Take the tourist bus from Sauraha to Pokhara (approx £8-12, 5-6 hours; a morning departure from the Sauraha bus park). Arrive and check into a guesthouse in Lakeside. In the afternoon walk or take a local bus to Davis Falls (NPR 100 entry) and the adjacent Gupteshwor Mahadev Cave (NPR 100) where the waterfall re-emerges underground. Finish with a one-hour rowboat on Phewa Lake — hire directly from the Lakeside boat jetty (approx £2-3 for the hour, cheaper if you row yourself), with Machhapuchhre reflected behind you.

🚌Tourist coach Sauraha–Pokhara approx £12

🛏Guesthouse in Lakeside, Pokhara (approx £18)

• →Davis Falls & Gupteshwor Mahadev Cave
• →Self-hire rowboat on Phewa Lake

Take a local bus or shared jeep from Pokhara's Baglung Bus Park to Kande (approx £1-2, 45 minutes), where the trailhead is right by the road. Walk up to Australian Camp in about 2.5-3 hours through forest and terraced fields — it's uphill but well marked, and no guide is required (local guides in Pokhara charge about £20/day if you want one). Book a teahouse room at Australian Camp directly on arrival or by phone a day ahead; Laxmi's and Hotel Panorama are the usual budget picks. Spend the evening on the ridge watching the Annapurna range turn pink.

🚌Local bus Pokhara–Kande approx £2

🛏Teahouse at Australian Camp (approx £10, dorm or basic twin)

• →Kande–Australian Camp trek (~3 hrs)
• →Annapurna sunset from the ridge

Wake early for the sunrise over Annapurna South, Hiunchuli and Machhapuchhre — the main reason to sleep up here. After breakfast, descend to Dhampus village (about 2 hours) and then continue down to Kande or Phedi, picking up a local bus back into Pokhara (approx £1-2). Back in Lakeside by early afternoon: rest, then walk the Lakeside strip for sunset and dinner — Barahi Temple on the lake island is a nice short boat hop if you have energy left.

🚌Local bus Phedi/Kande–Pokhara approx £2

🛏Guesthouse in Lakeside, Pokhara (approx £18)

• →Sunrise viewpoint at Australian Camp
• →Trek down via Dhampus village
• →Lakeside Pokhara walk & Barahi Temple

Take a local bus from Pokhara to Dumre (approx £2, 2 hours) then a shared jeep or short local bus up to the hilltop bazaar of Bandipur (approx £1). Check into a heritage-style guesthouse in the old bazaar — the Old Inn or Bandipur Village Inn are the comparable picks but book direct or via a booking site rather than through an operator. In the late afternoon climb the stone steps to Thani Mai View Point (about 45 minutes up, 1,000m of gain from the bazaar) for a 360-degree sunset over the Himalaya on one side and the Marsyangdi valley on the other.

🚌Local bus Pokhara–Dumre + shared jeep approx £3

🛏Heritage guesthouse, Bandipur (approx £18)

• →Bandipur old bazaar wander
• →Thani Mai View Point sunset hike

Descend to Dumre and take a local or tourist bus back to Kathmandu (approx £7-10, 4-5 hours, or 2.5 hrs on a tourist bus). Check back into your Thamel guesthouse and use the evening for last-minute shopping — pashmina, singing bowls and trekking gear on Tridevi Marg and the backstreets around Chhetrapati. Book a table at a rooftop restaurant or catch live Nepali folk music at a Thamel bar. Sort your airport taxi for tomorrow.

🚌Bus Bandipur/Kathmandu approx £9

🛏Thamel guesthouse, Kathmandu (approx £16)

• →Thamel market evening shopping
• →Rooftop dinner in Thamel

Breakfast at the guesthouse, then a prepaid taxi to Tribhuvan International Airport (approx £5; allow 45-60 minutes in traffic and arrive 3 hours before an international flight). If your flight is later, the Garden of Dreams near Thamel is a calm spot to kill a couple of hours, or fit in a last-minute Everest scenic flight (fixed-wing, ~£120-150, bookable directly with Buddha Air or Yeti Airlines) as an optional add-on the operator also offered.

🚌Airport taxi approx £5

• →Optional Everest scenic flight (extra cost)
• →Garden of Dreams