Sarangkot Sunrise or Poon Hill Sunrise: Which One Is Worth the Early Start?

Last updated 7 October 2026.

Choose Sarangkot if you have one free morning in Pokhara, and Poon Hill if you want to walk to your view. Sarangkot is a drive-up viewpoint with breakfast, and you are back at your hotel by late morning. Poon Hill is a pre-dawn climb that comes on day 3 of a multi-day trek.

Our Sarangkot Sunrise and Pokhara Tour is the half-day option, and our Poon Hill Trek, 4 Days from Pokhara is the walking one. I never promise a sunrise view on either, because clouds and haze are common on both.

Which sunrise should you choose?

What is the Sarangkot sunrise like?

We collect you from your Pokhara hotel at about 5:00 am. The time changes with the season, and we confirm it the evening before. We drive up to a viewpoint at about 1,600 m and watch the sun come up on the Annapurna range and Machhapuchhre. Breakfast is served at the viewpoint. It is cool before sunrise, so bring a warm layer.

Then we drive back down to the lake, and a private boat takes us across Phewa Lake to the Tal Barahi temple on its island. We walk through the Old Bazaar and visit the Bindhyabasini temple above it, and bring you back to your hotel by late morning. Our Pokhara guide to Sarangkot and its sunrise covers the viewpoint in more detail.

On a cloudy morning we still go. The lake and the bazaar are worth the early start, but we cannot promise the mountains. Paragliding is not part of the tour, though you can ask us to add it.

What is the Poon Hill sunrise like?

Poon Hill is a viewpoint at 3,210 m on a ridge above the village of Ghorepani. From Ghorepani you climb about 350 m in the dark, with a head torch, to be there for first light. The walk takes between 45 minutes and an hour. On a clear morning you see the Dhaulagiri and Annapurna ranges lit by the sun.

To get there you walk. On our 4-day trek, day 1 is a drive to Nayapul and a 3 to 4 hour walk up to Ulleri at 1,960 m. Day 2 is Ulleri to Ghorepani at 2,860 m, another 3 to 4 hours. On day 3 you climb Poon Hill for sunrise, return for breakfast, and walk 5 to 6 hours on to Tadapani at 2,630 m. On day 4 you walk down to Ghandruk in about 4 hours and a vehicle takes you to Pokhara.

In spring the rhododendrons flower on the slopes. Our Poon Hill and Ghorepani guide goes through the route and the village. A licensed guide walks with you on every trek we run.

Which gives the better view?

Poon Hill is higher, and you reach it on foot, which is why people remember it. Sarangkot gives you a good view for a fraction of the effort, and it comes with the lake and the bazaar in the same morning. If your priority is the mountains alone, either can disappoint on a cloudy day. If your priority is the experience, the choice is about how much time and effort you want to spend.

Poon Hill at 3,210 m is below the heights where altitude sickness usually becomes a problem, which is above about 3,500 m. Even so, walk slowly, drink water and tell your guide if you feel unwell.

What if the morning is cloudy?

At Sarangkot we still run the morning. You lose the snow view but keep the lake, the temple and the old streets, and you are back at the hotel by late morning.

At Poon Hill a cloudy dawn is harder to take, because you have walked two days to get there. But you are on a trek, and you still have the forest walk to Tadapani and the village of Ghandruk ahead. If the mountains matter most to you, give yourself more than one morning to see them.

Which months are best?

For Sarangkot, October to April gives the clearest mornings. For Poon Hill, October and November are usually the clearest, and March and April bring the rhododendrons. The monsoon, from June to September, is cloudy for both. Our Poon Hill best time guide and our October guide go month by month.

Can you do both?

Yes, and I would suggest it. Take the Sarangkot morning on a free day in Pokhara, and walk Poon Hill on a trek. If your first sunrise is cloudy, you still have a second try. Our Poon Hill itinerary options show how the 4-day and 5-day versions differ.

What is included and how do you book?

The Sarangkot tour includes a licensed guide, a private car or van with driver from and back to your hotel, breakfast with tea or coffee at the viewpoint on Standard and Luxury, the private boat on Phewa Lake and the small entries on the route. Hotel accommodation is not included. Groups are up to 12, and you can also book solo.

The Poon Hill trek includes a licensed guide, permits, and a vehicle at the start and end of the walk. On Standard, you get one porter for every two trekkers, private rooms where the lodge has one and all meals on the trek. A solo Standard trekker has no porter, and the guide carries up to 10 kg. Luxury has a dedicated porter for each trekker. Budget has no porter and no trek meals. Kathmandu and Pokhara hotels are not included. Buy your travel insurance at home, covering trekking to 5,000 m, including helicopter rescue.

The deposit is 10 per cent and it is non-refundable, with no refund if you cancel. You can reschedule free of charge with at least 72 hours notice, to any date within one year. The balance is paid in USD or EUR, cash or by card. Card carries 3.5 per cent and cash in Kathmandu carries none. We do not take Nepali rupees from foreign clients.

Questions people ask

How early do I wake up? For Sarangkot we collect you at about 5:00 am, confirmed the evening before. For Poon Hill you leave Ghorepani in the dark, with a head torch.

Is the Poon Hill climb hard? It is about 350 m of climbing in 45 minutes to an hour. The hard part is the early start.

Can I see Everest? The views on both mornings are of the Annapurna range, plus Dhaulagiri from Poon Hill. Everest is not part of them.

Can I add paragliding at Sarangkot? It is not part of the tour. Ask us if you want to add it.

Written by Shreejan Simkhada, CEO of The Everest Holiday, from a family of three generations of family guides. TAAN Member #1586. WhatsApp +977 9810351300.