Panch Pokhari Trek - 12 Days

Free airport pick-up and hotel transfer

We provide free airport-to-hotel transfer on arrival and hotel-to-airport drop-off during departure for clients who have booked the Panch Pokhari trek with us. You need to provide your flight details to take advantage of this service after booking the trip.  When you arrive at Tribhuvan International Airport, you will find a Discovery World Trekking representative holding a pamphlet with your name and our company logo. After greeting you, our representatives will present you with a marigold garland and take you to your hotel. We provide this service to our clients so that our clients do not feel alone in a foreign country or face navigation problems. 

 

Panch Pokhari trek start

You must arrive at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu by three pm, at least one day earlier than the trek departure date for last-minute preparations. If, in case, you missed the online trip briefing, it will also provide us time to conduct an in-person trip briefing. During the trip briefing, we will provide you with vital information about your trip and go through your luggage to ensure that you have packed everything required for the trek. On the trek departure date, we will drive you from Kathmandu to Chautara along the Araniko Highway. You will enjoy seeing terraced fields, small towns, traditional villages, and high mountains while on the way. The whole bus journey will take around five hours.

 

Accommodations during the trek

The Panch Pokhari Trek is a 12-day hike into the remote wilderness that ultimately takes you to the sacred Panch Pokhari in the Sindhupalchowk district. We will provide you 11-night stays at trek regions. You will stay in tent camps for nine days at Sano Okhareni, Kami Kharka, Pauwa Bas, Hile Bhanjyang, Narsim Pati, Panch Pokhari Tupi Danda, and Dhap (2N). You will stay at local lodges/tea houses at Melamchi and Chautara. Accommodations are on twin sharing basis.

You will need at least two nights of hotel stays in Kathmandu, one before starting the trek and another at the end. However, this package does not include these costs. Kathmandu has all sorts of hotels that suit all tastes and budgets. We want you to choose your hotel according to your choices.

Meals

Treks in higher elevations demand plenty of nutrient-rich food. We will provide you with plenty of nutritious, hygienic, and tasty food. You will have Asian, traditional, and Western food choices. However, your food options will get limited because you will mostly stay at tent camps. We will provide you with 12 breakfasts, 12 lunches, and 11 dinners in the trek regions.

We recommend you take liquids like lemon tea, hot lemon, ginger tea, green tea, and garlic soup(must) wherever possible. Liquids minimize the risks of getting altitude sickness. Even though you will get non-veg food choices during the trek, we advise you to avoid them for meat hygiene reasons. Similarly, we recommend you stay away from alcoholic drinks, caffeinated items, dairy products, and hot chocolates.

This package does not cover meals in Kathmandu. Kathmandu has all sorts of cafes and restaurants to suit your taste and budget.

Best time to trek to Panch Pokhari

Autumn (September to November) and Spring (March to May) are the best seasons to trek to Panch Pokhari. During this time, the temperatures are moderate, there are no clouds in the sky, and the trails are in good condition. It means you will get unobstructed views of the Himalayas and other landmarks. However, if you want to witness the Janai Purnima celebrations in these five ponds, you must plan to reach Panch Pokhari on the full moon day of July or August.

You can trek to Panch Pokhari in summer, but summer in Nepal coincides with the monsoon, which means the trails are wet and slippery. The clouds can hide the views, but you will get fantastic views of waterfalls and greenery that cover the entire trek region. Treks during winter (December, January, and February) are more challenging due to cold and snow at high altitudes.

 

Acclimatization

Discovery World Trekking is sensitive to the trekkers’ need for acclimatization, especially when trekking to high-altitude destinations. Panch Pokhari trek only ascends to 4,100m at Panch Pokhari. We believe there is no need to spend days acclimatizing as the height is not that substantial. Hence, we have not scheduled any day for acclimatization. However, we will gradually gain elevation, providing enough time for the body to adjust to thinning air and drop in air pressure.

 

Trip Grade: fitness level, medical, and health

If you are normally fit, you can complete the trek. You will trek for around three to six hours a day while carrying a small backpack with your essentials and valuable items. However, you will take plenty of breaks to pause and soak in the beauty. You will also rest for an hour after having lunch. As with most other Nepali treks, your trek will consist of long climbs, steep descents, and straight trails that can get rocky in some sections. You will also be passing through deep forests and green meadows. Past trekking experience can be advantageous but not necessary. If you suffer from sensitive diseases like heart, lung, or blood ailments, consult your doctor and inform us about your condition before booking the trek. 

Please remember that the fitter you are, the more you will enjoy your trek. Hence, we recommend you participate in stamina-building exercises such as jogging, cycling, or swimming for a few weeks before starting the hike.

 

Group/Private treks

We conduct private as well as group treks. If you have your group, based on your group size, you will be eligible for discounts. However, you will not get any discounts for groups that we assemble. We can handle all group sizes and add an assistant guide for a group of 12 or more. We also provide one porter for every two trekkers.

 

A typical day

Each trekking day brings you fresh new experiences as you take stunning pictures, try traditional delicacies, experience different cultures, and explore new places. As you trek, our Sherpa/guide will provide information about the place as you visit them. Porters will be carrying most of your luggage.

Your trek will start early in the morning, after breakfast at around 7 or 8 am, based on the trek length to cover and the nature of the trails. You will trek for three or four hours before stopping for lunch, often mid-way to your next destination. You will rest for an hour after lunch and then begin the trek one more time. The afternoon trek will be shorter. After you reach your trek destination for the day, you can snack on your extra-dietary items. Then you are free to explore the nearby places.

We will serve you dinner at around six or seven pm. After dinner, the lead guide will brief you about the next day’s plan. After this briefing and before going to bed, you can engage in friendly conversation with fellow travelers, read books, and play games like cards, monopoly, or chess. Some of our guests also show interest in learning fun Nepali words. When you feel sleepy, you can then go to bed. 

 

Communication during the trek

The lodges you will be staying in will be connected with Wi-Fi access. However, as you will mostly be staying in tent camps, you will not have much access to the internet unless you have subscribed to mobile data. You can easily buy a local sim in Kathmandu and use it for the internet and to remain in contact with your friends and family. However, based on your network, the mobile signals may not be strong enough in all trek areas, especially at high altitudes. 

Discovery World Trekking office remains in contact with all its trek teams through the trek leader using mobile. We want to ensure that the trek is passing as planned and everyone is safe and comfortable. 

 

Extra personal expenses for trekking

Our trek package covers most of the costs during the trek. However, this package does not cover all the costs. Meals and accommodations in Kathmandu are entirely up to you. Kathmandu has all types of hotels/restaurants that cater to every preference and taste. We want you to choose them yourselves. You will need spending money to cover visa application fees, travel insurance purchases, hot (tea/coffee), cold and alcoholic drinks, snacks, souvenirs, tips for crew members, etc. We recommend you bring cash (major currencies) and exchange them for Nepali Rupees in Kathmandu. You will require about USD 10 to 20 per trek day for miscellaneous expenses.

 

Electricity and water during the trek

Though electricity is available at lodges/tea houses in trek regions, we will not be staying in lodges for most days. Hence, electricity is not accessible for most of the trek. There is a chance that you can recharge your devices at tea houses on the way. You can buy packed bottled water from en-route shops, but since plastic bottles can harm nature, we advise you to bring a water bottle. You can fill your water bottle with boiled water or pack bottled water. We also suggest you use water purification pills before drinking water. If you do not have these pills, we can provide them.

Insurance policy

This 12-day trek takes place in remote high elevations and comes with inherent high altitude risks such as high altitude sickness, landslides, bad weather, etc. Moreover, the trek regions do not have advanced medical facilities. Hence, adequate insurance is compulsory for this trek. Your insurance must cover helicopter evacuation up to the highest trek altitude (4,200m) and treatment charges. In emergencies, we will use your insurance policy and other informational documents to arrange a quick rescue.

If you need help choosing an insurance company, we can recommend insurance companies based on our previous clients’ experiences. However, we are not involved in selling insurance in any shape or form.

Passport and visa

All nationals, except Indians, require a visa to travel to Nepal. However, the good news is most nationals can get an on-arrival visa at Tribhuvan International Airport or immigration checkpoints at Nepal-India, and Nepal-China borders. To get an on-arrival visa, you must have a passport with at least six months of validity, a passport-size photo, and visa fees. The current cost is USD 50 for a 30-day stay. Children under the age of ten are eligible for a free visa.

Chinese and SAARC (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Pakistan, Maldives, and Sri Lanka) citizens can get free visas with certain conditions. However, nationals from certain countries (Ghana, Zimbabwe, Swaziland, Cameroon, Nigeria, Somalia, Liberia, Ethiopia, Iraq, Palestine, and Afghanistan) may not get an on-arrival visa. Hence if you come from these countries, we advise you to visit the nearest Nepali embassy.

Nepal Government can change visa rules without prior notice. Hence, please visit   https://www.immigration.gov.np for the latest information.

 

Money Exchange

1 USD = ~125 Nepali Rupees (NPR)

Nepali Rupee is Nepal’s currency. If you have Indian Rupees (INR) make sure you have only Rs. 100 and Rs.2,000 notes, as only these denominations are legal in Nepal. Despite the security advantage of a traveler’s check, we advise you to carry cash (major currencies) to avoid lengthy hassles and large bank commissions. We also advise you to refrain from using banks to cash your foreign currency because of official hassles and high bank commissions. Instead, we recommend cash exchange in legal exchanges you can find all over Thamel. These exchanges display their ongoing rates publicly.

Please note that the trek regions do not have currency exchange services, so you must exchange your currency in Kathmandu based on your spending estimates. We advise you to allocate USD 10 to 20 per trek day to cover miscellaneous costs.

You can also opt for cash withdrawal from the ATMs in Kathmandu. Many of these ATMs are open 24/7 and allow you to withdraw up to Rs 35,000 for a fee of Rs 5,00.  

Please note that most banks in Asia will not accept old, faded, or torn foreign currencies. So please bring only new and crisp notes. 

 

Luggage

We advise you to bring only the essentials to the trek. Though we assign porters to carry your luggage, your luggage weight limit is 9 kg. One porter will carry the luggage belonging to two trekkers. We do not allow our porters to carry a load of more than 198kg. However, if you need one porter for yourself, we can arrange it. Please also note that you must bring a small backpack to keep your essential documents and expensive items. You can look at our equipment section and pack for the trek. We provide free luggage storage service at our store during the trek.

 

Safety

We guarantee client safety, security, and satisfaction. We carry all the required equipment, gear, and first aid kits, prepared to face any situation. At high altitudes, we monitor blood oxygen saturation levels using oximeters to detect signs of altitude sickness. If a trekker falls ill, the lead guide will decide whether to continue the trek or descend immediately based on the overall situation of the team members. For an extra safety layer, we travel together as a group. 

 

Responsible travel

We only conduct eco-friendly trips and partner with Kathmandu Environmental Education Project (KEEP) to ensure that our trips are eco-friendly. For long-term tourism sustainability, we aim to leave nothing but our footprints in the trek regions. We know that if the current tourist areas are not protected, in the future, there will be no tourists in these regions. So, as responsible travelers, we expect our guests not to litter or take anything from the trek regions.

 

Discovery World Trekking Crew

Our crew members come from the high Himalayas, so they have natural endurance at high altitudes. Our Sherpas will accompany you throughout your trek, providing information about the places as you visit them and showing you the trails and areas worth visiting. We assign a porter for two trekkers, but our porters will not carry more than 18 kg combined weight. Hence, your luggage weight limit is 9 kg. In the case of trek groups with 12 persons or more, we also add an assistant guide. 

Our employees are very precious to us. In addition to their salary, we also cover their food, drinks, accommodations, insurance, and equipment and gear costs. They get medical treatment when sick or injured. We believe that only a happy person can keep others happy. So, we try our best to keep our employees happy.

Our trek leaders:

• are Nepal government trek certified
• have completed intensive wilderness training
• are fluent in English, Spanish, and Japanese
• have rock climbing experience

 

Tipping

Nepali culture accepts tipping. However, tipping does not form a part of employee salary. We advise you to trip based on the quality of service received, length of the trip, and trip cost. Further, we recommend you tip as a group at the end of the trek. 

 

Booking and Payment process

Discovery World Trekking, a leading trek and tour company, has been conducting treks and tours in Nepal for over a decade. We are Nepal government-registered, bonded, and licensed trek operators. We are also members of the Trekking Agency Association of Nepal (TAAN) and the Nepal Mountaineering Association. So, you can book Discovery World Trekking treks with 100% confidence.

We require 10% of the trip cost as an advance to confirm the booking. You can pay this advance using a bank transfer, western union, or online. The rest of the cost is due after you arrive in Kathmandu. You can pay in cash, using credit cards, or a bank transfer. We will also email you payment details, including the payment modes available.  

 

Last minute booking

It is always better to plan your trek in advance. However, for those unable to book trips in advance, Discovery World Trekking has a provision to conduct last-minute treks. To take advantage of this provision, you must complete 100% of the trip cost 24 hours before the intended trek departure date. Though we try our best to conduct treks at short notice, in case of last-minute booking, you cannot hold us responsible for delays caused by circumstances beyond our control. It might include bad weather, inaccessibility, unavailability of lodges, etc. Please contact Paul at 977- 9840055491 or email [email protected] for last-minute bookings.

 

Trip extension

After completing this trek, if you have time to spend in Nepal, we can organize fun activities for you, such as sightseeing in and around Kathmandu Valley, Chitwan Jungle Safari, rafting, canoeing, or even another trek. 

 

Feedback

After your trek completes, Discovery World Trekking will organize a farewell dinner in Kathmandu. After the dinner, we will present you with a trek achievement certificate (hard copy). This is also a great time to provide us with your feedback. We will use your feedback to improve our services continuously. 

 

Useful info

Panch Pokhari trek will have fixed departure dates. However, if the dates are not suitable for you, we can conduct the Panch Pokhari trek at your convenient time. So, please review the dates, and let us know.

The above itinerary is a general guideline, but in rare cases, we might have to modify them due to circumstances outside our control, such as inaccessibility, bad weather, landslides, strikes, etc. In such cases, your lead guide has the authority to modify the trek and choose other trails paying attention to the interest of the team as a whole. Further, in case of itinerary modification, you cannot hold us responsible for delays or circumstances that result from such delays.

We look forward to taking you to Panch Pokhari, which lies deep in the remote Himalayan region of Sindhupalchowk District.