Nepal at a Glance — Self-Launched 11-Day Circuit

Land at Tribhuvan International Airport and take a prepaid taxi from the official counter outside arrivals to Thamel (roughly NPR 800–1,200 / £5–7) — skip the touts inside the terminal. Check into a Thamel hostel or guesthouse, sort a local SIM (Ncell or NTC, ~£3–5 for data), and spend the evening acclimatising gently: wander the lanes, eat momos at a local spot like a Thamel backstreet bhojanalaya, and pick up a Kathmandu Valley combined monument ticket plan for tomorrow. Cash is king — withdraw from ATMs in Thamel rather than the airport.

🚌Prepaid taxi from KTM airport, ~£6

🛏Hostel or guesthouse in Thamel (£10–15 dorm/private)

• →Airport transfer by prepaid taxi
• →Thamel orientation walk
• →Local SIM card setup

Self-guided loop of the valley's biggest hits. Start early at Swayambhunath (Monkey Temple) — walk up the 365 steps from Bhagwan Pau for the best approach and views (~£2.50 entry). Take a local taxi or ride-hailing app (Pathao/InDrive) to Pashupatinath (~£3), where the burning ghats on the Bagmati are the most arresting sight in the city (~£5 entry). Continue to Boudhanath Stupa, circle it clockwise with the pilgrims and have lunch at a rooftop café (~£2.50 entry). Finish at Kathmandu Durbar Square and Kumari Chowk (~£5 entry). Optional: pre-book a walking guide for the day via GetYourGuide if you want the history unpicked (~£25).

🚌Local taxis between sites, ~£8 total

🛏Hostel or guesthouse in Thamel (£10–15)

• →Swayambhunath (Monkey Temple)
• →Pashupatinath Temple and Bagmati ghats
• →Boudhanath Stupa kora
• →Kathmandu Durbar Square and Kumari Chowk

Rent a scooter (~£8/day) or take local buses/taxis through the valley towns. Start at Patan Durbar Square (Patan Museum is excellent, ~£5 entry) and the Golden Temple, then hop the local bus or a taxi to Bhaktapur (~£2–4) for Durbar Square, Nyatapola Temple and the pottery square — allow three hours here. In the late afternoon take a bus or shared jeep up to Nagarkot (~£3–5, around an hour) and stay in a ridge guesthouse. Catch the sunset from the viewpoint if the sky is clear.

🚌Local buses/taxis Patan–Bhaktapur–Nagarkot, ~£8

🛏Ridge guesthouse in Nagarkot (£12–18)

• →Patan Durbar Square and Patan Museum
• →Golden Temple (Hiranya Varna Mahavihar)
• →Bhaktapur Durbar Square and Nyatapola Temple
• →Nagarkot ridge sunset

Set an alarm for the dawn view from the Nagarkot viewpoint — on clear days you get Dhaulagiri, Manaslu, Ganesh Himal and even Kanchenjunga along the horizon. After breakfast, head down to Bhaktapur or Kathmandu and take an afternoon tourist bus to Sauraha, the gateway village to Chitwan National Park (~£8–12, 5–6 hours on a winding road — bring motion-sickness tablets). Book a guesthouse in Sauraha in advance; most arrange park packages. Evening walk along the Rapti River and a Tharu cultural dance show in the village (usually £3–5).

🚌Tourist bus Kathmandu/Bhaktapur to Sauraha, ~£10

🛏Guesthouse in Sauraha, Chitwan (£10–16)

• →Nagarkot sunrise viewpoint
• →Tharu village evening walk
• →Tharu cultural dance programme

Book a combined day through your guesthouse or direct with a licensed Sauraha operator. Morning: dugout canoe down the Rapti River past basking crocodiles, followed by a guided jungle walk with two licensed nature guides (~£20–25 for the canoe + walk combo). Afternoon: a shared jeep safari into the park's core zone for rhino, deer, monkeys and, if you're lucky, a sloth bear or tiger (~£25–30, includes park permit). Visit the elephant breeding centre at Khorsor on foot or by bike instead of paying for an elephant-back ride. Total for the two activities plus permits is around £55.

🚌On foot, by bike or short shared jeep transfer, ~£3

🛏Guesthouse in Sauraha (£10–16)

• →Dugout canoe on the Rapti River
• →Guided jungle walk with licensed nature guides
• →Shared jeep safari in Chitwan National Park
• →Elephant breeding centre (Khorsor)

Take a morning local bus or shared jeep from Sauraha/Tadi Bazaar to Bhairahawa or directly to Lumbini (~£6–10, 4–5 hours). Lumbini's monastic zone is huge and flat — hire a bicycle (or a cycle rickshaw, ~£4/hour) and work your way through the Maya Devi Temple (birthplace of Buddha, ~£2.50 entry, no phones in the sacred garden), the Ashoka Pillar and the surrounding monasteries built by different Buddhist nations — the Korean and Thai monasteries are especially peaceful and free to visit. Stay in the Lumbini Development Zone or Bhairahawa town for better-value rooms.

🚌Local bus Sauraha–Lumbini, ~£8

🛏Guesthouse in Lumbini or Bhairahawa (£10–16)

• →Maya Devi Temple and sacred garden
• →Ashoka Pillar
• →International monastic zone by bicycle

Break the long transfer with a stop in Tansen (Palpa), the old hill town with Newari architecture and a genuinely untouristed feel — take a local bus to Butwal (~£2) then a bus or shared jeep up to Tansen (~£2). A couple of hours wandering the bazaar and Sri Amar Narayan Temple is enough. Then continue to Pokhara: bus Tansen–Pokhara is ~£5–7, around 4–5 hours. Alternatively, a direct night bus Bhairahawa–Pokhara (~£10, 8–9 hours) is simpler if you'd rather not stop. Check into a Lakeside guesthouse in Pokhara and walk the Phewa Lake shore for dinner.

🚌Local bus Lumbini–Butwal–Tansen–Pokhara, ~£10

🛏Guesthouse in Pokhara Lakeside (£12–18)

• →Tansen (Palpa) bazaar and Newari streets
• →Phewa Lake evening walk

Take a pre-dawn shared taxi or local bus up to Sarangkot for the Annapurna and Machhapuchhre sunrise (~£6–8 return, or hike down afterwards for free). Then work through Pokhara on a rented scooter or by local taxi: Devi's Fall and the Gupteshwor Mahadev cave opposite it (~£1–2 entry each), the World Peace Pagoda (a short, steep walk or taxi up; free), and finish with a rowboat on Phewa Lake to the Tal Barahi Temple island (~£4/hour). Optional: a paragliding tandem flight from Sarangkot (~£55–70) if you want the big-ticket item — still cheaper booked direct than via a tour.

🚌Shared taxi to Sarangkot plus local taxis, ~£10

🛏Guesthouse in Pokhara Lakeside (£12–18)

• →Sarangkot sunrise viewpoint
• →Devi's Fall and Gupteshwor Mahadev cave
• →World Peace Pagoda
• →Rowing boat to Tal Barahi Temple

A short travel day: local bus or shared van from Pokhara to Bandipur is about two hours and £3–5. Bandipur is a car-free Newari hill town with a bazaar that hasn't changed much in decades and views to the Marsyangdi valley. Drop your bag, then walk the Siddha Gufa cave trail (about 2.5 hours return, free) or the easier Ramkot village loop, and finish at the Thani Mai Temple viewpoint above town for sunset over Manaslu and the Annapurnas. Guesthouses are small — book ahead in season.

🚌Local bus Pokhara–Bandipur, ~£4

🛏Newari guesthouse in Bandipur (£12–18)

• →Bandipur bazaar walk
• →Siddha Gufa cave hike or Ramkot village walk
• →Thani Mai sunset viewpoint

Bus or shared jeep back to Dumre and then a tourist bus to Kathmandu (~£7–9, 4–5 hours). If you have time, detour to the Chandragiri cable car on the valley's western rim (~£6 return) for the Shiva Temple and a big Himalayan panorama on a clear day. Back in Kathmandu, spend the evening souvenir shopping in Thamel and eat a farewell dal bhat or a Nepali thali — a set dinner with a cultural dance show is ~£10–15, or just a local bhojanalaya for £4.

🚌Local bus to Dumre plus tourist bus to Kathmandu, ~£9

🛏Hostel or guesthouse in Thamel (£10–15)

• →Chandragiri cable car and Shiva Temple
• →Thamel shopping
• →Farewell Nepali dinner

Breakfast, then a prepaid taxi to Tribhuvan International Airport (~£6) allowing a full three hours before an international departure — the airport is small but check-in queues are slow. If your flight is late in the day, squeeze in one last walk to the Garden of Dreams or a final coffee in Patan.

🚌Prepaid taxi to KTM airport, ~£6

🛏—

• →Airport transfer