Top 7 Short Treks In Nepal Which You Must Try
Most of the people might be thinking that trekking to the Himalaya is an adventure activity. Yes, it is the adventure activities but there should be some short and easy trekking routes to the Himalaya which offer magnificent mountain views and charming landscapes.
Visiting high mountain base camps and crossing high passes are considered as adventure treks. Besides those adventure treks in Nepal, there are numerous treks which are doable by the first time trekkers, family, elderly and kids.
Of course, the Everest base camp trek is one of the most popular trekking routes in Nepal which is doing by lots of trekkers in high trekking seasons. You don’t need to see the highest mountain Everest doing a short trek in the Everest region. The Everest view trek is the shortest in the Everest region which offers an eye-catching view of the Everest and more.
Not only a short trek in the Everest, but there are also many short trekking routes in Annapurna, Langtang and other some unpopular areas which apply a lifetime experience of the mountain, culture, tradition, landscape and much more…
Everest View Trek
Everest view trek is also known as Everest panorama trek. This trek is the shortest in the Everest region. Everest view trek starts with a short flight to Lukla and treks to Phakding on the first day. Everest view trek goes up to Tengboche hill and trek to Lukla and flies out to Kathmandu.
There are two different viewpoints on this trek which offer magnificent Everest Himalayan views with 7 days itinerary. But, there will be only one viewpoint doing it with 6 days itinerary. Everest view hotel and Tengboche hill are the best places to see the view but almost every day you can see big mountains with top-rated natural sceneries.
Besides the viewpoints, Tengboche monastery is another highlight of this trek. You can visit an ancient historical monastery in Tengboche. The view of Amadablam, Lhotse, Nuptse, Thamserku, Everest and more from these two viewpoints are unreal. Not only the mountains, but there are also lots of things which attract visitors on this trek. Wildlife from Sagarmatha national park, green hills, traditional Sherpa villages, waterfalls, rivers, valleys and much more attractions make your trek worthy.
Ghorepani Poon Hill Trek
Ghorepani Poon hill trek is the most popular short trek in Nepal. There are the biggest numbers of visitors every year than other short treks in Nepal. This trek was more popular as Ghorepani Ghandruk circuit trek and it is known as Poon hill trek too.
The popular itinerary of this trek is 5 days but it can be done from 2 days to one week from Pokhara. Ghorepani Poon hill trek begins from Pokhara driving to Nayapul with private or public transport. After about an hour and a half driving, the trek goes towards Tikhedhunga passing Birethanti, Matathanti, Ramghai and Sudame villages. You can either go to Ulleri on the first trek rather than staying in Tikhedhunga. Ulleri has a better view because it is located on a hill station.
You will trek to Ghorepani Enjoying the view of the mountain, landscapes, green forest of rhododendron, pine, oak and more… after Ulleri. Ghorepani is a beautiful Magar town with lots of colourful buildings. The main attraction of this place is Poon hill where you will visit on the following morning with an early morning hike to catch the sunrise. Located at 3210m of elevation above sea level, Poon hill offers an amazing view of Dhaulagiri and Annapurna massifs with unblocking sunrise.
After enjoying the view from Poon Hill, you can trek towards Tadapani, Ghandruk and Pokhara. You also can return via the same way or trek down towards Tatopani to enjoy natural hot spring. Blooming cherry blossom in November along the way and rhododendron in spring make more beautiful the trek.
Mardi Himal Trek
Mardi Himal trek is the similar duration trek as Ghorepani Poon hill trek. It is also located in Annapurna region. Mardi Himal trek goes to the higher elevation up to 4000 meters within a short timing. This trek is not much popular as Poon hill trek because it is a quite new route. But, the view from this trek is gorgeous. Annapurna, Fishtail, and much more high mountains, valley, landscapes, edges to far distance and lots more attractions are on this trek.
This trek also starts from Pokhara driving to Phedi, Kande or Siding. If you start your trek from Siding, you will finish in Kande or Dhampus. And starting from Phedi or Kande ends in Siding after visiting Mardi Himal base camp. If you have 2 weeks of holiday, you can do Ghorepani Poon hill and Mardi Himal combined trek which can be one of the best treks in Annapurna region. There are some cliff in higher areas so you need to be careful if there is snow.
Gosaikunda Lake Trek
Gosainkunda lake trek runs through the Langtang national park. Visiting tranquil Gosaikunda lakes, seeing a long-ranged mountain, experiencing Tamang culture with beautiful landscapes might be an amazing mountain trip in Nepal.
Gosaikunda lake trek is not only a mountain trip. It is a pilgrimage trip to the Hindu and Buddhist people. This is one of the best short treks closer from Kathmandu which offers scenic views of Annapurna, Manaslu, Ganesh Himal, Langtang and the Tibetan massifs from Thulo Shyabru and Lauribinayak hills.
Gosaikunda lake trek begins from Kathmandu with driving on a public bus, jeep or taking private transport. This one week trek starts walking towards Thulo Shyabru on the first day and goes to Lauribinayak, Gosainkunda, back to Chandanbari, Dhunche and drive back to Kathmandu. Blooming rhododendron along the way, wild animals with red panda and much more attractions are here in this trek.
Langtang Valley Trek
Langtang valley trek is a short trek inside the Langtang national park goes through the valley mostly. This is about a week or 8 days trek. You don’t see the mountains until you reach the place call Ghodatabela. You will reach Ghodatabela on your second trek so the first-day walk will be enjoying with nature and lots of birds.
Langtang valley trek also the nearest mountain trek from Kathmandu so you will be driving from Kathmandu to Syabrubesi and start walking. You will trek to Lama Hotel on the first day which takes around 6-7 hrs. After Lama Hotel, the trek goes to Langtang village or Mundu village then Kyanjin Gumba. Kyanjin Gumba is the last destination on this trek. You can explore an extra day here visiting Kyanjin Ri hill or Tserko Ri hill. There is a yak cheese factory and an old small Buddhist monastery to visit.
You will trek back the same way exploring the Himalaya, nature and more in Kyanjin Gumba. It takes 2 days to come back to Syabrubesi from here and will drive back to Kathmandu on the last day.
Tamang Heritage Trek
Tamang heritage trek is a cultural trekking trail in the Langtang national park Nepal. It is a new and less popular trekking trail compared other trekking routes in the Langtang region. Tamang heritage trail offers one of the best views of Langtang, Ganesh Himal and the Tibetan massifs from Nagthali hill. You can also see some Tibetan villages from this trekking trail.
This short Tamang heritage trek also starts from Kathmandu driving on a public bus/jeep or a private transportation to Syabrubesi. After spending the first night in Syabrubesi, the trek goes towards Gatlang village climbing a big hill in the morning. Gatlang village is a big Tamang village in this region.
You can trek to Tatopani next from here where a natural hot spring was. But, the hot spring is no more thereafter a big earthquake in 2015. The best place to enjoy the view during this trek is Nagthali from where you can see a magnificent view of Himalaya and more.
After spending a night in Nagthali, you can trek to Syabrubesi passing Thuman village or add some more days going to Chilime or Bridim. You can combine this trek with Langtang valley and Gosaikunda Lake if you have a long holiday.
Chisapani Nagarkot Trek
Chisapani Nagarkot trek is about 3-days short trek in Nepal. It is the closest trek to see great Himalaya from Kathmandu. This trek can be extended up to 4 or 5 days going to Dhulikhel and Namobuddha. This is one of the easiest treks in Nepal.
Trekking through the Shivapuri national park, it starts from Sundarijal driving about an hour and a half with private transport. You will trek up to Chisapani on the first-day trek passing some traditional villages and green nature. You can see the great view of Kathmandu valley from the trek.
The view of long-ranged mountains such as Ganesh Himal, Langtang, and Gauri Shanker looks excellent from Chisapani and amazing farming terraces with valleys. After spending a night in Chisapani, the trek goes to Nagarkot from where you can enjoy the view of unblocking sunrise and nice views. Then, you will trek down to Changunarayan and drive to Kathmandu or keep continuing to Dhulikhel and Namobuddha.
Final Words
Listed short trek packages above offer the great view of the great Himalaya, amazing landscapes, green hills, traditional village culture and much more. These trekking packages are perfect mountain trips to the people who are the first time trekkers, family and elderly. It is not compulsory to trek to the base camps to explore high Himalaya so you can enjoy the view of mountains doing these short treks. Some of these trek packages even bring you very close to the big snow-capped mountains such as Mardi Himal and Langtang valley trek.