Nepal Adventure — Self-Launched (Kathmandu, Pokhara, Ghandruk & Chitwan)

Land at Tribhuvan International Airport and pick up a tourist SIM (NCell or NTC, ~£5 for data). Grab a prepaid taxi or the Airport Express shuttle to Thamel (~£1-3) and check into a budget guesthouse. Spend the afternoon orienting yourself: exchange cash, buy a TIMS card and ACAP permit at the Nepal Tourism Board office on Bhrikutimandap Marg if you haven't already (TIMS ~£12, ACAP ~£20), and wander Thamel's backstreets for your first dal bhat. Evening: rooftop dinner with views over the valley if the skies are clear.

🚌Prepaid airport taxi ~£3; walkable around Thamel

🛏Budget guesthouse in Thamel (~£12/night double, ~£6 per person)

• →Airport transfer to Thamel
• →Pick up local SIM card
• →Arrange TIMS card and ACAP permit
• →Evening walk around Thamel

Take a local bus or shared taxi to Bhaktapur Durbar Square, the best-preserved of the Kathmandu Valley's royal cities — entry ~£13. Wander the Nyatapola Temple and Pottery Square. Return via Boudhanath Stupa (entry ~£3), circling clockwise with the pilgrims and lighting a butter lamp. For the included-style experience: book a momo-making workshop through GetYourGuide or Klook supporting the Sisterhood of Survivors, or arrange directly with any women's cooperative in Thamel (~£20-30 including lunch). Evening: sunset from the Boudhanath rooftop cafes.

🚌Local bus Kathmandu–Bhaktapur ~£0.40; shared taxi back via Boudhanath ~£3-5 split

🛏Budget guesthouse in Thamel (~£6 per person)

• →Bhaktapur Durbar Square entry (~£13)
• →Boudhanath Stupa circuit
• →Momo-making workshop / women's cooperative visit (~£25)
• →Newari street food tasting in Bhaktapur

Book a tourist bus from Kantipath (near Thamel) to Pokhara — ~7-8 hours along the Prithvi Highway, ~£10-12. Buses leave around 7am, so grab breakfast pastries the night before. If you'd rather fly, Buddha Air/Yeti Airlines get you there in 25 minutes for ~£80-100. Arrive Pokhara by mid-afternoon, check into a Lakeside guesthouse, then stroll Phewa Lake's shore path. Optional: hire a boat (~£4/hour) to the Tal Barahi Temple on the lake island, and catch sunset over Machhapuchhre from the World Peace Pagoda if you can make it up before dark.

🚌Tourist bus Kathmandu–Pokhara ~£11 (or domestic flight ~£90)

🛏Lakeside guesthouse in Pokhara (~£12/night double, ~£6 per person)

• →Scenic bus ride through the foothills
• →Phewa Lake sunset walk
• →Optional rowboat to Tal Barahi Temple (~£2 per person)
• →Dinner on Lakeside's north end

Take a local bus or shared jeep from Pokhara's Baglung Bus Park to Nayapul (~1.5 hours, ~£1-2), then another local bus up the winding road to Ghandruk (~£1.50). From Ghandruk, walk an easy acclimatisation circuit through the terraced fields and up to the Gurung museum and viewpoint for your first proper Annapurna South and Machhapuchhre panorama. Tonight: a teahouse in the village. Expect dal bhat power dinner (~£3-4), a cold shower and a thick blanket.

🚌Local bus Pokhara–Nayapul ~£2, shared jeep/bus to Ghandruk ~£1.50

🛏Teahouse lodge in Ghandruk (~£4-6 per person, twin rooms)

• →Local jeep/bus to Nayapul and Ghandruk
• →Village walk and Gurung Museum
• →Machhapuchhre viewpoint at sunset

The best walking day of the trip. Descend from Ghandruk to the Modi Kholi river, cross the suspension bridge and climb to Jhinu Danda. Soak in the natural hot springs by the river (~£1.50 entry, bring a towel) — this is the detour everyone remembers. Continue up to Landruk through bamboo and rhododendron forest, roughly 6-7 hours of walking total. Landruk's teahouses have front-row seats to Annapurna South; order the local Gurung set if it's on the menu.

🚌On foot

🛏Teahouse lodge in Landruk (~£4-6 per person)

• →Trek Ghandruk–Jhinu Danda (~3 hours)
• →Natural hot springs at Jhinu Danda (~£1.50)
• →Trek Jhinu Danda–Landruk (~3-4 hours)
• →Village walk in Landruk

Final trekking morning: an easy ~2 hours to Tolka's viewpoint, then a gradual descent via Deurali to Kande, about 5 hours total with photo stops. At Kande, flag down a local bus or shared jeep back down to Pokhara (~£1-2, 1 hour). Check back into a Lakeside guesthouse and reward yourself with a proper hot shower. Evening: momos and a cold Everest or Gorkha beer on the lakeside strip.

🚌Shared jeep/bus Kande–Pokhara ~£2

🛏Lakeside guesthouse in Pokhara (~£6 per person)

• →Trek Landruk–Kande (~5 hours)
• →Local bus to Pokhara
• →Lakeside evening and hot shower

Tourist bus from Pokhara to Sauraha, the gateway town for Chitwan National Park (~5 hours, ~£7). Book a Tharu community homestay directly via the Sauraha homestay association or through Klook (~£10-15 per night including meals). Spend the afternoon cycling flat village tracks past rice paddies and ox carts (~£1.50/day bike hire). In the evening, join a Tharu cultural programme with stick dancing and drumming (~£2), and eat a traditional Tharu thali with your hosts.

🚌Tourist bus Pokhara–Sauraha ~£7

🛏Tharu community homestay (~£12 per person including meals)

• →Tourist bus Pokhara–Sauraha
• →Tharu homestay with traditional meal
• →Village cycling excursion (~£1.50)
• →Tharu stick-dance cultural show (~£2)

The headline activity: a full-day 4x4 jeep safari deep into the UNESCO-listed park (~£30-40 per person shared among 6-8 travellers, book directly with a Sauraha operator). You're looking for one-horned rhino, gharial crocodile, spotted deer and — if you're lucky, and patient — the elusive Royal Bengal tiger. Alternatively, a guided jungle walk with two licensed naturalists costs around £12-15 and gets you closer to the small stuff. Late afternoon: the elephant breeding centre and a riverside sunset with tea. Note: we strongly recommend against elephant-riding safaris on welfare grounds — jeep and walking options are just as good.

🚌Park safari 4x4 (shared)

🛏Tharu community homestay (~£12 per person including meals)

• →Full-day 4x4 jeep safari in Chitwan (~£35)
• →Optional guided jungle walk (~£12)
• →Elephant Breeding Centre visit
• →Rapti River sunset

Morning birdwatching along the Rapti River before catching the tourist bus back to Kathmandu (~6-7 hours, ~£10). You could also fly Bharatpur–Kathmandu (~£70) if you want the extra half-day. Arrive Thamel by early evening; last-chance souvenir shopping at the Tibetan carpet and pashmina shops, then a farewell dinner — try Bhojan Griha or a simple Thamel thali house. Pack for tomorrow's early departure.

🚌Tourist bus Sauraha–Kathmandu ~£10

🛏Budget guesthouse in Thamel (~£6 per person)

• →Rapti River birdwatching
• →Tourist bus Sauraha–Kathmandu
• →Thamel souvenir shopping
• →Farewell dinner

If the weather holds, take one of the early-morning Everest sightseeing flights from Tribhuvan Airport (~£120-140 for a one-hour round trip with mountain views — book the day before, they're weather-dependent). Otherwise, use the morning for a final café breakfast and last-minute shopping. Prepaid taxi to the airport (~£3) and fly home. Because you booked everything yourself, you're free to extend into Pokhara's Paragliding, Bandipur or a longer Annapurna trek without paying a tour operator's amendment fees.

🚌Prepaid taxi to airport ~£3

🛏N/A — departing

• →Optional Everest mountain-view flight (~£130)
• →Final Thamel breakfast
• →Airport transfer