All About Poon Hill-Ghandruk Trek Pass

Hello everyone! 

This is Rohit Lamichhane again, here to share with you all about my second beautiful Trek in Nepal. As this was my second trek only and I was planning an easy solo trek. So I decided I will go to Poonhill Trek alone. So I left for Pokhara with my brother Anjit Adhikari, whose hometown is also in Pokhara. While we were on the bus, he suddenly approached me and said that he was also interested in going on Trek with me. So my solo trek had been changed to a group trek already but the fact is I enjoyed it a lot more than expected.

Let’s start about Itinerary and Experiences of the Poon Hill-Ghandruk pass.

About Ghorepani Poonhil Trek 

Even though it feels like it is located in Kaski district, it is Myagdi district where Poonhill is situated. Simply, Poonhill is situated in the Annapurna region of Nepal having an altitude of 3210 meters. This trek is considered as the shortest trek having breathtaking panoramic views of Sunrise and sunset. The trail passes through rhododendron forests, mesmerizing landscapes, offering a diverse trekking experience.

Trek Route

Day 2: Ulleri to Ghorepani

Day 3: Ghorepani to Poonhill view point (For Sunrise)
Again if you want to do Ghandruk pass you can reach Ghandruk in the same day.

Day 4: Ghandruk to Pokhara

As I have mentioned, it is the shortest trek and you can do Poon Hill-Ghandruk Pass in just 3 days.

Best Time for Trek

Poonhill Trek can be done at any time during the year. However it will be best to avoid the rainy seasons for the trek unless you want to have some extra adventures. For Poon Hill, February to April will be the best time for trekking as it is the time for glorious rhododendrons to glow all over the journey of this trek.

Things you should carry for this Trek

• First Aid kits
• Regular medicines
• Moov
• Bandage
• Portable bluetooth speaker
• Snacks

Experiences

Day 1

As I mentioned earlier, my Solo trek was not solo anymore. Me and my brother left from Pokhara at 10 AM for Nayapul. The bus for Nayapul or Ghandruk was to be taken from Pokhara Bus Stand. We took the bus around 11 AM for Nayapul and we finally reached Nayapul at around 1 PM. And that was the place where our trek began. We carried our bags and curiosity and moved towards our Journey.

Our first day walking was with mud and crack roads. It was also a route for Vehicles also so it was a gravel road. At first walking on that road was like fog with mud only. Obviously it was part of our trek but not the adventure we were looking for. Later, we got place where the trekkers’ way and vehicle’s way were separated and we onboard there.

It was already an evening and we were about to reach Tikhedhunga. We thought to stay this day it there only and started searching place to stay and found out one guest house. The name of the Guest house was “Tikhedhunga Guest House”. We settled to stay there. Being Nepali, we got special prices there for our accommodations.

Later that night we had our dinner and got to sleep early as the first day was a bit dirty and heavy.

Day 2

We had our breakfast and left the Guest House around 7 AM. It was our 2nd day and the immediate stop was Ulleri. As its name suggests, the way to Ulleri from Tikhedhunga was like a straight rise-up. I literally found myself very unfit for walking 30 minutes on the way to Ulleri but my brother pushed me up. Later on the way was through the jungle and hills. Paths were full of waterfalls, riverside, sand and bushes, which actually was what we Trekkers looked for. It never goes out of my mind. We after some hours walking from Ulleri reached Nangethati. And we also found out that today’s destination Ghorepani is our next stop. On the way to Ghorepani, I got outside the track to take a bath in the flowing small river. But I couldn’t and I washed my hands, feets and mouth and rested there for a few minutes. It was another next level chilling moment for me with mother nature. I also made Stone Cairn which is also known as Stone stacking besides that river.

Now again we have to move upward to reach Ghodepani and I was a bit later than my group. I was like either I will be first or last. This is because sometimes I used to run in the upward hiking or sometimes I slept in the bushes. After walking for a few hours, around 1 PM at noon, we reached Ghorepani where we have to settle there tonight. We already contacted one homestay named ‘Aayusha Homestay’ which was recommended by some trekkers who were returning back. And I just ordered noodles there and I slept under the sun. It took time to get my noodles but just after waking up I had the best organic noodles there. While eating, some two girls from the UK also visited the homestay for their stay. 

It was still noon and I got freshen up and visited Ghorepani. And for adventure, Anjit and I went horse riding there. It was really fun and we also did some photoshoots with a horse there. In the evening, we sat beside the campfire and started playing cards there. And those two girls also came and we introduced each other. Their names are Lily and Sati. We tease Sati by calling “Sathi” meant for ‘friend’ in nepali. We all four started playing cards with them and also learned some foreign card games like Chase the Ace. I was the only loser during the card game that time. I don’t know why but in all my Treks I was only the loser in card games. But Lily and Sati got their ‘Foreigner’s luck’ with them as mostly they were winning all types of games. We had dinner together and planned to go to Poonhill together in the morning to see the Sunrise. They headed to sleep and we did some talking with the homestay’s owner for some time and we also went to sleep. 

Day 3

We woke up early at 5 AM and got ready to victory at Poon Hill as we knew that it was straight one hour upward. Our foreigner-friends are also accompanying us and we started moving up. As usual, I was the one who was incapable of hiking. All three were fast but I was little late in the journey. I was catching them up to half-way but after that they were too far ahead from me. But however, I was too early for the sunrise. Lily was making the time lapse of sunrise by leaving a phone at the railing of View tower but unfortunately it fell down. And luckily nothing happened to the phone. 

After sunrise, we enjoyed its view as there were mountains everywhere. Mt. Dhaulagiri, Mt. Machhapuchhre, Mt Annapurna III, Mt Annapurna south and Mt. Gangapurna was visible from the top of the Poonhill. We again did photoshoots there with mountains in groups. Later after satisfying our eyes from every aspect, we started to go down there in the homestay and start our journey to Ghandruk. The way which we climbed in 45 to 55 minutes while going up was only 10 minutes while coming down. We all were running only while coming. We had our breakfast there and separated our journey. They were staying at Tadapani and going up the next day but our destination was to Ghandruk directly. They were 15 min ahead from us while we left for Ghandruk. 

Again Anjit and I only were hiking unless a group of other trekkers joined us in our way. As I forgot to mention that I had my bluetooth speaker in my backpack which was fully working and we listened to all the songs we had on our devices through the speaker. Everyone enjoyed our music whenever we crossed them. The way from Ghorepani to Ghandruk are like Ghorepani to Deurali pass then Banethanti then Tadapani then Ghandruk in only 3 hours down from Tadapani. But the path up to Tadapani was not good as again it was straight upward. We had Juices like Frooti, Real on every stop. After conquering the Tadapani hike we landed at a hotel to have some lunch there. And again we met our friends there. After resting there for while in the sunlight we started our way to Ghandruk.

As I mentioned earlier, Ghandruk was only 3 hours down there and only Anjit and I were on the way. And it was the time we were between the woods and jungle and it was silent and adventurous. We enjoyed nature, including floras and fauna. We took approximately 2 hours to reach Ghandruk and we searched for hotels there at affordable rates. Finally we reached the Mahendra Guest House  and settled there as it was nearest to the Bus stop which we would be taking tomorrow. I was tired and we also found that Sati and Lily also changed their plans and came to Ghandruk but we couldn’t meet them there. Later, at night we just fell asleep after dinner.

Day 4

It was the last day of the Trek and nothing much about the Trek to say. We had our breakfast early at 8 Am and went to the bus stop to return back to Pokhara. We left Ghandruk at 10 AM  and reached Pokhara around 1 PM. It was my plan to visit Lakeside Pokhara on that day but because of my sister’s Birthday I have to return back to Chitwan on the same day. I reached Chitwan around 8 PM and happily went home.

So this was our journey of Ghorepani Poon Hill Trek. I let myself enjoy nature for a complete 3 days and enjoyed the journey. As always, “Destination is not what I was looking for, it is always a Journey”.

Budget for This Trek

To be honest, Poon hill trek is not costly. You can assume your cost for up to NPR 1000-1500 if it is an off season. In season, it may cost you about NPR 500 more for one day packages. But it is always negotiable. Nepalese trekkers are charged less as compared to foreigners. For extra snacks and Bus fare is also not much high. We, for two people, bought snacks up to Rs. 600 and the bus fare was only Rs. 500 from Pokhara to Ghandruk. Say in all around we have completed our  four days trek for NPR 5000 each only including bus fare and petty expenses. So as compared it is not much, which we cannot afford. 

For your reference, I am also giving you the name and location of the Homestay or Guest House we have stayed there. If you plan to visit anytime sooner you can call them in advance for your better negotiation.

Also Read: LANGTANG VALLEY TREK- A PLACE OF BEAUTIFUL LANDSCAPES AND MOUNTAINS