(Viber, Whatsapp, Cell) +977 9851022814
Nepal winter Trek is one of Nepal’s most underrated trekking seasons. While many travelers assume the Himalaya shuts down once the cold arrives, the reality is quite the opposite at lower and mid-altitude elevations — clear skies, crisp mountain visibility, and near-empty trails make December through February an excellent time to trek, provided you choose a route that stays below the snow line. This 9-Day Nepal Winter Trek does exactly that, tracing a classic loop through the Annapurna foothills via Dhampus, Landruk, Jhinu Danda, and Ghorepani, culminating in the sunrise views from Poon Hill before returning to Pokhara and Kathmandu.
Because this route never climbs above 3,210m, it avoids the heavy snow and trail closures that affect higher routes in winter, while still delivering the classic Annapurna and Dhaulagiri panoramas that make this corridor so popular. Along the way, the trail passes through Gurung villages, dense rhododendron forest (bare of blooms in winter, but strikingly quiet and atmospheric), and the natural hot springs at Jhinu Danda — a particularly welcome stop after a cold day on the trail. Winter’s clear, pollution-free air often delivers some of the sharpest mountain views of the entire year, making this a genuinely rewarding time to walk this route.
If this itinerary isn’t quite the fit you’re looking for, here are some of the best-regarded winter trekking options across Nepal, each suited to different time frames and interests:
Day 1 Drive from Kathmandu to Pokhara (822m/2,697ft) (~200km)
Day 2 Drive to Dhampus Phedi, Trek to Pothana (1,530m/5,019ft)
Day 3 Trek from Pothana to Landruk (1,565m/5,134ft)
Day 4 Trek from Landruk to Jhinu Danda Hot Spring (1,780m/5,840ft)
Day 5 Trek from Jhinu Danda to Tadapani (2,121m/6,959ft)
Day 6 Trek from Tadapani to Ghorepani (2,820m/9,252ft)
Day 7 Sunrise at Poon Hill (3,210m/10,531ft), Trek to Tatopani (1,190m/3,904ft)
Day 8 Drive from Tatopani to Pokhara
Day 9 Drive from Pokhara to Kathmandu
There’s a common assumption that trekking season in Nepal ends when autumn does — that once the leaves turn and the temperature drops, the mountains close their doors until spring. For anyone trekking above 4,000 or 5,000 meters, that’s largely true. But for a route like this one, which never climbs higher than Poon Hill’s 3,210m, winter isn’t a limitation — it’s arguably the best-kept secret of the entire Nepali trekking calendar.
The reason comes down to air quality and light. Kathmandu and Pokhara’s skies are often hazier in spring, when agricultural burning and pre-monsoon dust soften the mountain views, and in autumn, when the trails are also at their busiest. Winter strips all of that away. Cold, dry, high-pressure systems settle over the region for days at a time, and the result is some of the sharpest, most saturated mountain photography conditions of the year — the kind of crystal-clear Annapurna and Dhaulagiri panoramas that trekkers chase but don’t always get in the “better known” seasons.
This itinerary is built specifically to take advantage of that. Starting in Pokhara rather than requiring a long trek-in, the route climbs gently through Dhampus and Pothana before settling into a rhythm of forested ridgeline walking through Landruk and down to the Modi Khola valley. The stop at Jhinu Danda’s natural hot springs on Day 4 is deliberately placed here — not as a throwaway rest day, but because a short, easy walking day followed by a hot mineral soak is exactly what makes winter trekking comfortable rather than punishing. Cold mornings are offset by warm afternoons in the sun, and a hot spring after a chilly day on the trail is a small luxury that feels considerably bigger in December than it would in April.
From Jhinu Danda, the trail climbs more seriously through Tadapani’s forest — technically the same rhododendron corridor that draws crowds in spring for its blooms, but in winter this becomes something else entirely: quiet, bare-branched, and strangely beautiful in its stillness, with none of the crowds and all of the same mountain backdrop. By the time you reach Ghorepani, you’re at the trek’s coldest overnight stop, and this is where good gear and a well-chosen, well-heated teahouse actually matter — which is also why guide and lodge selection become more important on a winter itinerary than a fair-weather one.
The payoff arrives before dawn on Day 7, on the short, steep climb to Poon Hill. This viewpoint is popular for good reason in every season, but winter sunrise here has a particular character — the mountains often appear almost impossibly sharp against a deep blue sky, with none of the seasonal haze that can soften the view in busier months. From the summit, a long descent day carries you down through a dramatic change in climate and vegetation to Tatopani, where a second set of hot springs waits at the bottom of the valley — a genuinely satisfying way to close out the trekking portion of the trip before the drive back through Pokhara to Kathmandu.
What makes this itinerary work so well as a winter trek specifically isn’t just that it avoids the snowline — plenty of low routes technically do that. It’s that every design choice in the itinerary, from the hot spring placements to the manageable daily distances to the elevation profile, seems built around making cold-weather trekking comfortable rather than simply survivable. For travelers who’ve written off winter as “the wrong time” to trek in Nepal, this route is a genuinely good argument to reconsider.
This trek is graded easy to moderate, with daily walking hours ranging from 3 to 8 hours and a maximum altitude of 3,210m/10,531ft at Poon Hill. Because the route stays below the snowline even in the coldest months, it remains accessible to trekkers with reasonable fitness and no prior high-altitude experience. The main consideration in winter is cold temperatures, particularly at night in Ghorepani and Tatopani, so proper insulated clothing and a good sleeping bag are essential.
Alliance Treks & Expedition Pvt. Ltd. Once is not enough for naturally and culturally Himalayas
