Ghalegaun Homestay Trek – 7 Days

Your journey begins at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, where an Everest Hikes representative will meet you at the arrivals terminal holding a company placard. We will transfer you to your hotel in Thamel, Kathmandu's lively tourism hub, which places you within easy walking distance of restaurants, gear shops, and exchange offices.

Once you have settled in and had time to freshen up, we will sit down together for a detailed pre-trek briefing. This is a genuine working conversation not a formality where our team will walk you through the itinerary, explain what to expect on the trail and in the homestays, review packing recommendations, and answer any questions you may have about altitude, food, or cultural norms. If any gear adjustments are needed before departure, our office can point you toward reliable rental suppliers nearby.

The morning begins with the practical matter of completing your trekking documentation at the Tourism Board office. This takes around one to two hours and is handled by our team on your behalf.
With permits arranged, the afternoon is devoted to a guided tour of Kathmandu Valley's most significant heritage sites. We visit Pashupatinath Temple, the most sacred Hindu shrine in Nepal and a site of outstanding architectural and ritual significance on the banks of the Bagmati River. Afterwards, we continue to Boudhanath Stupa, one of the largest Buddhist stupas in the world and a living pilgrimage site where monks, nuns, and devotees circumambulate in a continuous stream. Our final stop is Swayambhunath - known internationally as the Monkey Temple perched on a hill with panoramic views over the Kathmandu bowl.

This cultural day serves a purpose beyond tourism. Understanding Nepal's religious and artistic heritage deepens the experience of staying in a Gurung village the following day, where the sacred and the everyday are thoroughly interwoven.

We depart Kathmandu early by private vehicle, heading northwest along the Prithvi Highway toward Pokhara, then turning north at Dumre toward Besisahar - the gateway town for the Annapurna Circuit. The road is well-maintained as far as Besisahar, passing through the lush Mid-Hills, over several river crossings, and through market towns that give a good sense of rural Nepali commerce and daily life.

From Besisahar, the route continues northeast to Khudi, a small riverside settlement at 790 metres sitting on the banks of the Marsyangdi River. The last section of road from Besisahar to Khudi is a narrower mountain track, passable in all seasons by 4WD vehicles but somewhat rough and provides your first views of the Himalayan peaks that will dominate the sky for the rest of the trek.

From Khudi, we begin our first stretch of trail. The path to Ghalegaun climbs steeply through rice paddies, terraced cornfields, and scattered community forests. The walking takes approximately one and a half to two hours and involves a sustained uphill section, a good warm-up that rewards you with first views of the Annapurna range and, on clear afternoons, the sharp profile of Machhapuchhre above the southern ridgeline.

Ghalegaun village sits at approximately 1,100 metres and is immediately striking. Stone homes with slate roofs line narrow flagstone lanes, chortens and prayer flags mark the village boundaries, and the surrounding forest of rhododendron, oak, and bamboo gives the settlement a secluded, almost protected quality. You will be welcomed at the village entrance with traditional flower garlands and, in the evening, a performance of Gurung folk song and dance an organic expression of hospitality rather than a staged tourist event.

The morning belongs to Ghalegaun itself. This is perhaps the most unhurried and rewarding day of the entire itinerary. Begin with a slow walk through the village lanes in the early morning light, when families are feeding livestock, women are carrying water, and the wood smoke from breakfast fires drifts through the stone alleys. Our guide will introduce you to village elders, local craftspeople, and — where families are willing to take you inside a traditional Gurung home to see the interior layout, hearth space, and household shrine.

Watch for woollen handicrafts produced on traditional backstrap looms — blankets, shawls, and woven bags are common household industries here. You may also see Allo cloth, a textile woven from nettle fibre that has been produced in these hills for centuries and is now gaining international recognition as a sustainable material. If a local market or community event coincides with your visit, our guides will make sure you have time to participate.
In the mid-morning we begin the ascent to Ghanpokhara. The trail climbs steadily through mixed forest and open pasture, gaining roughly 1,000 metres in elevation over approximately three hours of walking. The pace is comfortable and the path well-marked. As you gain height, the mountain panorama expands dramatically - Annapurna II (7,937 m), Annapurna IV (7,525 m), Lamjung Himal (6,983 m), and the iconic double summit of Machhapuchhre (6,993 m) all come into view on a clear day, arranged across the northern horizon in a formation that is genuinely breathtaking.

Ghanpokhara is a small hilltop settlement with a handful of teahouses and guesthouses catering to trekkers. The afternoon is free for rest, exploration of the surrounding ridge, or simply sitting with tea and absorbing the view. On exceptionally clear evenings, the sunset light on the Annapurna massif is extraordinary.

We begin the descent in the early morning to take advantage of the clearest skies and coolest temperatures on the trail. The route back to Khudi retraces much of the ascent route but offers a different quality of experience on the way down - you cover ground more quickly, notice details you missed on the climb, and arrive at each lower elevation with a greater sense of the vertical distance the trek has covered.

Along the descent, your guide will point out the Khudi Hydroelectric Project facility, a run-of-river power plant on the Marsyangdi that provides electricity to local communities and offers an interesting contrast to the traditional Gurung village life you have been immersed in. There are also several waterfalls along the ridge trail between Ghanpokhara and lower Ghalegaun that are worth pausing to appreciate, particularly in the months following the monsoon.
A short detour on the approach to Khudi leads to a series of limestone caves — a natural curiosity that makes for a pleasant thirty-minute side visit if time and group energy permit. We arrive in Khudi by mid-afternoon, with time to wash up, rest, and enjoy a quiet evening by the Marsyangdi.

We depart Khudi by road in the early morning, retracing the highway route through Besisahar and Dumre toward Kathmandu. Depending on your group's energy and interest, a stop at Siddha Cave near Bimalnagar makes for an excellent midday diversion. Siddha Cave is one of the largest limestone caves in Nepal, extending several hundred metres into the hillside and containing impressive stalactite and stalagmite formations. Entry requires a short walk and a reasonable level of mobility - torches are provided and the visit takes about forty-five minutes.

We arrive back in Kathmandu in the late afternoon. If time allows before dark, our guide can accompany you for shopping in Thamel - a good opportunity to pick up quality Nepali handicrafts, Allo cloth items, or trekking gear.

Your trek concludes today. Depending on your flight schedule, you may have a few hours in the morning for a final Kathmandu walk, coffee, or last-minute shopping before our driver transfers you to Tribhuvan International Airport in time for check-in. We ask that guests allow at least three hours before departure for international flights. Our team will confirm your pickup time the evening before based on your itinerary.

We hope you leave Nepal with something more than photographs: a sense of having genuinely engaged with a community, a mountain landscape, and a way of life that is both ancient and very much alive.