Nepal View: Kathmandu, Nagarkot, Pokhara, Lumbini & Chitwan — Self-Launched

Land at Tribhuvan International Airport and take a prepaid airport taxi (NPR 700-1,000 / ~£5) or the cheaper city bus if light-packed. Base yourself in Thamel, the backpacker hub, a 10-minute walk from Durbar Marg. Get a Nepali SIM (Ncell or NTC, ~NPR 500 / £3 for data), withdraw rupees from an ATM, and pick up an official TIMS-free tourist SIM. In the late afternoon wander Thamel's lanes and watch sunset from the Swayambhunath (Monkey Temple) area or the Garden of Dreams. Ask your guesthouse to arrange bus tickets for the next legs, or book via the eSewa/ bus apps or any Thamel travel agent (small commission).

🚌Prepaid airport taxi ~£5; walking in Thamel

🛏Hostel/budget guesthouse in Thamel (Alobar1000, Kathmandu Guest House budget wing or similar) — dorm £6-9, private £14-20

• →Airport transfer to Thamel
• →SIM card and cash run
• →Thamel orientation walk

Do the big four: Swayambhunath Stupa (early, before crowds), then Pashupatinath Temple on the Bagmati ghats (cremation ghats, sadhus), then Boudhanath — the vast white dome and a kora circuit with the Tibetans, best at dusk. Finish at Patan Durbar Square (Patwon) across the river. Entry fees: Swayambhunath ~NPR 200, Pashupatinath NPR 1,000, Boudhanath NPR 400, Patan Durbar Square NPR 1,000 — about £18 total, which the operator's own FAQ confirms is billed separately. Getting around: cheap metered taxis, InDrive/Pathao ride-hailing, or the local microbuses (NPR 20-30). Consider a GetYourGuide/Klook 'Kathmandu heritage day' walking tour from ~£25-35 if you want a licensed guide; otherwise use your own research and audio guides.

🚌Local taxis/ride-hailing between sites ~£6 total

🛏Same Thamel guesthouse

• →Swayambhunath Stupa
• →Pashupatinath Temple
• →Boudhanath Stupa and kora
• →Patan Durbar Square

Take a local bus or taxi to Bhaktapur (25 min from Kathmandu, NPR 50-100 by bus / £1-2). Spend the morning in Bhaktapur Durbar Square — Nyatapola Temple, the Golden Gate, Pottery Square and the juju-dhau (king curd) stands. Entry NPR 1,800 (~£11) for foreigners. Early afternoon, catch a local bus or shared jeep up to Nagarkot (NPR 100-150, 45 min) or split a taxi (~NPR 1,500). Nagarkot is a ridgeline village at ~2,100m: book a budget guesthouse with a terrace facing the Himalayas and eat dal bhat at the family kitchen.

🚌Local bus Kathmandu-Bhaktapur ~£1, then bus/shared jeep up to Nagarkot ~£1-2

🛏Budget guesthouse/homestay in Nagarkot with Himalayan views — private room ~£15-22

• →Bhaktapur Durbar Square, Nyatapola Temple, Golden Gate
• →Pottery Square
• →Hilltop sunset at Nagarkot

Get up before dawn for the view east: on a clear Oct-Nov morning you'll see Annapurna, Ganesh Himal and possibly Everest as a far distant tooth. Breakfast at the guesthouse, then descend to Kathmandu (bus per your booking). Take an afternoon or overnight tourist bus to Pokhara — the 'tourist bus' from the Kathmandu offices costs ~NPR 1,200-1,800 (~£8-11), takes 7-8 hours on the Prithvi Highway, and includes a lunch stop. Alternatively take a 25-minute flight (~£75-90 one-way, bookable on Yeti/Buddha Air or Klook) which the operator itself quotes at ~$105 extra. Arrive in Lakeside Pokhara, check into a budget guesthouse and eat at one of the lakeside dal bhat kitchens.

🚌Nagarkot-Kathmandu bus ~£1-2; Kathmandu-Pokhara tourist bus ~£8-11 (or flight ~£80)

🛏Budget guesthouse in Pokhara Lakeside — dorm £6-8, private ~£12-18

• →Nagarkot Himalayan sunrise
• →Scenic highway drive to Pokhara
• →Lakeside Pokhara evening

Hire a bike or take a taxi to the Fewa Lake boat jetty and row a doonga out to the Tal Barahi island temple (boat rental ~NPR 600-800/hour, ~£4-5; temple donation). Then hike or take a taxi up to the World Peace Stupa and Pumdikot for the panorama over the lake and the Annapurnas (the walk via the green woodlands takes 1.5-2 hours uphill; taxi up ~NPR 1,000). On the way back, stop at Davis Falls (Patale Chhango) and Gupteshwor Mahadev cave (combined entry ~NPR 200-300). Evening: Lakeside bars or a paragliding booking for tomorrow if you want it (GetYourGuide ~£70-90, or book direct with a local operator for less).

🚌Bicycle/taxi around Pokhara ~£4

🛏Same Pokhara guesthouse

• →Fewa Lake rowboat to Tal Barahi temple
• →World Peace Stupa hike or taxi
• →Davis Falls and Gupteshwor Mahadev cave
• →Optional paragliding (bookable direct or GetYourGuide)

This is the awkward leg of the circuit. There's no direct convenient bus, so the standard independent route is: early local bus Pokhara to Butwal (NPR 500-700, ~5-6 hours, change at the Butwal bus park), then a short local bus or shared jeep to Bhairahawa/Lumbini (NPR 100-150, ~1 hour). If you want the scenic detour, get off at Tansen (Palpa), a medieval Newari hill town with red-brick lanes and mountain views — worth a couple of hours and a momo lunch. Alternatively fly Pokhara-Bhairahawa on a budget fare (~£50-70) and take the local bus 30 min to Lumbini. Once in Lumbini, overnight in the budget guesthouses near the Maya Devi gate or in Lumbini Bazaar (cheaper, ~£10-14).

🚌Local buses Pokhara-Butwal-Bhairahawa ~£4-6 (or domestic flight ~£60)

🛏Guesthouse near Lumbini gate or Lumbini Bazaar — private room ~£10-16

• →Tansen (Palpa) old town stop
• →Overland crossing of the Terai

Rent a bicycle (NPR 200-300/day) to cover the huge monastic zone. Visit the Maya Devi Temple (the marker stone and Ashoka Pillar), then the ancient stupas, the Sacred Garden, and the international monastery zone — Myanmar, Korean, German, Thai and Chinese temples are all worth a detour and free to enter. The site entry zone is ~NPR 500 for foreigners. In the afternoon, cycle out across the fields to the villages; Lumbini is flat and quiet and the light at golden hour is lovely. Dinner at a local Terai dhaba.

🚌Bicycle hire ~£2

🛏Same Lumbini guesthouse

• →Maya Devi Temple
• →Ashoka Pillar
• →International monastery zone
• →Cycling the Sacred Garden

Take a local bus from Bhairahawa to Narayanghat (NPR 400-500, ~3-4 hours) and connect to Sauraha, the backpacker village at the edge of Chitwan National Park (NPR 100-150 local bus or ~NPR 400 shared jeep from the highway junction, ~30-40 min). Check into a Sauraha guesthouse — many family-run places run their own safari packages. In the late afternoon walk down to the Rapti River for sunset over the water buffalo and gharials, then see a Tharu stick dance at a community hall or a guesthouse (~NPR 500, £3). Book your jeep safari and canoe trip direct with the guesthouse or the Chitwan National Park office in Sauraha — usually bundled for ~NPR 3,000-4,500 (~£18-27) for a full day jeep + canoe.

🚌Local buses Lumbini-Narayanghat-Sauraha ~£4

🛏Family-run guesthouse in Sauraha — private room ~£12-18

• →Bus to Chitwan
• →Rapti River sunset
• →Tharu cultural dance

Full day in the park: dawn canoe ride on the Rapti River for kingfishers, cormorants and marsh mugger crocodiles (~NPR 1,000), a guided jungle walk with a licensed park guide (NPR 1,500-2,000; guides are mandatory and available at the park office), and an afternoon jeep safari deep into the park (NPR 2,500-3,500 per person sharing) for one-horned rhino, spotted deer, wild boar and — if lucky — sloth bear and tiger. Entry to Chitwan National Park itself is NPR 2,000/day (~£12). Also visit the elephant breeding centre at Khorsor (free, donation) — better than elephant-back riding. Book activities via your guesthouse, or GetYourGuide for a packaged safari day (~£40-55).

🚌Walking and shared safari jeep

🛏Same Sauraha guesthouse

• →Dawn canoe on the Rapti
• →Guided jungle walk
• →Jeep safari
• →Elephant breeding centre

Morning bus or shared jeep to Narayanghat, then the tourist bus to Kathmandu (~NPR 1,200-1,800, ~6 hours door to door; alternatively book a direct Sauraha-Kathmandu tourist bus ~NPR 1,500). Arrive Kathmandu late afternoon and check back into a Thamel guesthouse. Farewell dinner: splurge a little on Newari food at a traditional restaurant (NPR 800-1,200 / £5-8) or the momo and raksi places in Thamel — or the rooftop restaurants of Patan if you have the energy. Buy any last pashmina/tea/souvenirs.

🚌Sauraha-Kathmandu tourist bus ~£9-12

🛏Thamel hostel/budget guesthouse — private £14-20

• →Bus back to Kathmandu
• →Newari farewell dinner in Thamel

Depending on your flight time, either squeeze in one last Boudhanath or Swayambhunath morning visit, or simply have breakfast and take a prepaid taxi back to Tribhuvan International Airport (~£5). Allow time for immigration and the departure tax (included in airfare). If you have a long layover and clear skies, ask your hotel about the dawn Everest sightseeing flight (~£150-170) — but only if you've pre-booked, as seats sell out in peak season.

🚌Prepaid airport taxi ~£5

🛏—

• →Airport transfer
• →Optional Everest scenic flight