What this trek is
Khopra Danda is the trek I recommend when someone asks me for Poon Hill without the crowds. It runs on the same side of the Annapurnas but on the ridge to the west, through forest and yak pasture where you can walk for hours and meet nobody. The lodge on the Khopra ridge sits at 3,660 metres, straight across from Dhaulagiri and Annapurna South, and it is run by the local village committee, so what you pay for a bed there stays in the village. From Khopra we make a day trip up to Khayer Lake at 4,660 metres, a holy lake under the wall of Annapurna South where local tradition holds that a pilgrim may ask a single wish and thousands make the pre-dawn climb each Janai Purnima in August, and then we come down through Swanta to Ghorepani and finish with the Poon Hill sunrise everyone has seen pictures of. Nine days from Kathmandu, six nights on the trail, two in Pokhara.
Khopra Danda at a glance
| Duration | 9 days from Kathmandu |
|---|---|
| Highest point | Khayer Lake, about 4,660 m (optional day walk) |
| Highest night | Khopra ridge, 3,660 m |
| Viewpoints | Three sunrises: Muldai, Khopra ridge and Poon Hill |
| Difficulty | Moderate, no technical climbing |
| Lodging | Teahouses plus the community-run lodge on the ridge |
| Permits | Annapurna Conservation Area (ACAP) and TIMS card |
| Best months | October to November and March to April; clear in winter |
Is this trek right for you?
Yes if you want a proper mountain trek that is short enough to fit in a two week holiday and quiet enough to feel like Nepal used to. The days are moderate, four to six hours, with one long day for the lake. You sleep above 3,000 metres for two nights, so you will notice the altitude but we build the height gradually. First-time trekkers who are reasonably fit manage it well. It is not the one if you want a bed with an attached bathroom every night, because the Khopra lodge is simple, and it is not the one if you want to walk to a base camp.
How high, how hard
The high point is Khayer Lake at 4,660 metres, reached on a day walk from Khopra and back the same day, so you never sleep above 3,660. The walk to the lake is the hard day, seven to eight hours with a steady climb, and if the weather is bad or someone is not feeling it, we skip it and rest on the ridge. Everything else is a normal trekking day on good paths with the usual Nepali staircases. Graded moderate.
The route
We drive to Pokhara, then up to Ghandruk and walk to Tadapani through rhododendron forest. From Tadapani the trail leaves the busy Annapurna Base Camp route and climbs to Dobato, a couple of lodges on a ridge with a viewpoint above it. The next day crosses to Khopra Danda through the pasture at Chistibung. A day for the lake. Then down to Swanta, a Magar village where the fields start again, across to Ghorepani, up Poon Hill for sunrise, and down the long staircase to Nayapul and the road to Pokhara. Drive back to Kathmandu on the last day. If you have an extra day I would add it at Khopra, the sunrise from the ridge is as good as Poon Hill and you will have it to yourself.
Best time
October and November are the clear months and the best for the lake. March and April bring the rhododendrons, and the forest between Ghandruk and Dobato is at its best then, with some afternoon cloud. December to February is cold on the ridge, minus ten at night is normal, but the skies are the clearest of the year and the lodge keeps a good fire. We do not run it in the monsoon.
| Season | Months | What it is like | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Autumn | October to November | Clearest months and the best for the lake | Best overall |
| Winter | December to February | Cold on the ridge, minus ten at night, but the clearest skies of the year | Great if you do not mind the cold |
| Spring | March to April | Rhododendrons in flower, some afternoon cloud | Second best |
| Monsoon | June to mid-September | Rain and cloud on the forest and the view | We do not run it |
Permits
Khopra Danda is an ordinary Annapurna route, so there is no restricted-area permit. You need two, and we arrange both and include them in your trek price.
| Permit | Foreigner | SAARC |
|---|---|---|
| Annapurna Conservation Area (ACAP) | NPR 3,000 | NPR 1,000 |
| TIMS card | NPR 2,000 | NPR 1,000 |
Khopra or Poon Hill?
Poon Hill is three days shorter, cheaper, and you will share the sunrise with two hundred people. Khopra takes you higher, further from the road and into lodges run by the villages, and you still get Poon Hill on the way out. If you have the days, Khopra.
Trekking as a group?
Bring your own group — friends, family, a club, a university society, your workplace, or a cause you are raising money for — and any of the three comfort levels can run as a private group on your own dates. Private or group, the price per person is the same; we never put strangers in your group. The more of you there are, the less each person pays:
| Group size | Budget (per person) | Standard (per person) | Luxury (per person) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-4 people | US$749 | US$1,449 | US$2,249 |
| 5-8 people | US$499 | US$1,149 | US$1,749 |
| 9-12 people | US$499 | US$1,149 | US$1,699 |
| 13-20 people | US$449 | US$1,049 | US$1,649 |
The organiser travels free. Get fourteen or more paying people together and whoever organised the group joins the trip free. The one thing the organiser still pays is their own flights and permits, since those are fixed costs we pay out for every person and cannot absorb, and we cover the rest. Your departure is guaranteed on your own dates — from a solo traveller up to a group of twenty, and we never merge you into another trip.
Planning a group? Message me on WhatsApp with the trip, roughly when, and how many of you, and I will send you a price and a plan.
Compare our three packages
| Feature | Budget | Standard | Luxury |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price from | USD $749 | USD $1,449 | USD $2,249 |
| Meals on trek | Not included (order and pay at the lodges) | Three meals a day, tea or coffee with each meal | Three meals a day with fruit and nuts, soft drinks, tea, coffee and boiled water; hot showers and charging paid |
| Pokhara hotel | 2 nights, tourist hotel with breakfast | 2 nights, tourist hotel with breakfast | 2 nights, good hotel with breakfast |
| Room on trek | Shared rooms in teahouses and the Khopra community lodge | Twin rooms, attached bathroom where one exists | The best rooms in each village, private with attached bathroom where one exists |
| Porter | Not included, you carry your own bag | 1 porter per 2 trekkers (up to 20 kg between two) | 1 porter per trekker |
| Guide | 1 guide per group (assistant at 8+) | 1 guide per 6 trekkers (assistant at 7+) | 1 licensed guide per 2 trekkers, plus an assistant guide for every 2 more |
| Transport | Tourist bus to Pokhara, local jeep and bus to the trail | Shared tourist vehicle to Pokhara, shared jeep to the trail | Private car to Pokhara, private jeep to the trail |
| Free gear | Sleeping bag and down jacket | Sleeping bag, down jacket and duffel bag | Sleeping bag, down jacket and duffel bag |
| Best for | Independent trekkers happy to carry their own bag | Couples, friends and small groups | Trekkers who want the most comfort |
Why book this with us
We are a Kathmandu company, registered in 2016, TAAN member 1586, three generations of family guides, and we run this route ourselves. Prices below are per person and drop with your group size, ten percent deposit and the rest in Kathmandu. Every booking helps fund our Nagarjun Learning Center.
