Overview
This Dhampus and Pokhara tour gives you a night in a hill village rather than a lakeside hotel, in three days from Kathmandu. Day one is the drive to Pokhara, then about an hour more by road up to Dhampus, a Gurung village at about 1,650 m on the edge of the Annapurna Conservation Area. You wake to the Annapurna range and Machhapuchhre above the terraced fields, then come down for a day of Pokhara sightseeing. Day three is the drive back to Kathmandu. Because Dhampus can be reached by road, this is the gentler of our two short overnights above Pokhara, and it suits families and travellers who want village life more than a hike.
The itinerary
- Early start by private vehicle, six to nine hours to Pokhara on the Prithvi Highway
- About an hour more by road up to Dhampus at about 1,650 m
- Short walk through the village lanes and terraced fields if there is light
- Dinner and overnight at a village lodge or homestay
- Sunrise over the Annapurna range and Machhapuchhre from the village
- Drive back down to Pokhara after breakfast
- Davis Falls, Gupteshwor Cave and the World Peace Pagoda on Anadu Hill
- Evening free at Lakeside
- Morning departure by private vehicle
- Six to nine hours on the road, depending on traffic and roadworks
- Lunch stop at a highway town on the way
- Drop-off at your Kathmandu hotel by evening
Things to carry
- Warm layer for the village evening and sunrise
- Comfortable walking shoes
- Headlamp or small torch
- Sun hat and sunscreen
- Light rain jacket
Good to know
Complete guide
Dhampus is a Gurung village on a ridge above Pokhara where you can sleep among farmhouses and wake up facing the Annapurna range. This three-day trip gets you there and back from Kathmandu by road, with a day of Pokhara sightseeing between. We arrange the vehicle, a licensed guide, the ACAP entry permit, your village stay and your Pokhara hotel.
What the Dhampus and Pokhara tour covers
On day one you drive from Kathmandu to Pokhara, then about an hour more by road to Dhampus, at about 1,650 m (5,413 ft). Day two starts with sunrise over the mountains, then you drive down to Pokhara, about 822 m, for Davis Falls, Gupteshwor Cave and the World Peace Pagoda, with the evening at Lakeside. Day three is the drive back to Kathmandu.
There is no trekking on this version. The village walk is short and optional.
Back in Pokhara, Davis Falls is where the outflow from Phewa Lake drops into a gorge and runs underground, reappearing in Gupteshwor Cave across the road, a Shiva shrine reached by a damp stairway. The World Peace Pagoda, a white Buddhist stupa on Anadu Hill at about 1,100 m, looks back over the lake to the mountains.
Dhampus: a Gurung village on the edge of the Annapurna
Dhampus is home to a Gurung community, one of the hill peoples of this part of Nepal, and it still runs on farming, with terraced fields dropping away below the houses. It sits just inside the Annapurna Conservation Area and has long been a first night for walkers heading into the foothills. From the village a clear morning shows Annapurna I, Machhapuchhre, Lamjung Himal and, further east, Manaslu.
You can stay in a family homestay or a simple lodge. A homestay gives you home cooking and a real evening in a Nepali household; a lodge gives you more privacy. Either way, the village is quiet after dark in a way Pokhara never is. Dinner is usually dal bhat, the Nepali rice and lentil meal, eaten early, and the village goes to bed not long after. Bring a headlamp for the lanes.
Why Dhampus works in three days
We run two short overnights above Pokhara, and this is the gentler one. Australian Camp, at 2,060 m, can only be reached on foot, so on a three-day trip the walk comes at the end of a six to nine hour drive. Dhampus has a road, so after the same drive you simply carry on for about an hour and arrive without a climb. If you want the village and the view without the effort, this is the better choice.
The honest limit is that the first day is still long, and in winter you may arrive after dark. Our four-day Dhampus version adds a Sarangkot sunrise and gives the village a day of its own.
Permits, altitude and when to go
Because Dhampus is inside the Annapurna Conservation Area, you need an ACAP entry permit, and since 2023 foreign visitors in conservation areas must be accompanied by a licensed guide. The staffed checkpoint now sits further up the trail at Pothana, but the rule still applies and we follow it. At about 1,650 m, altitude is not a concern.
October to February is the clearest time, with October and November the most reliable, and winter nights are cold. Spring is warmer but cloudier, and the monsoon from June to September hides the peaks. The trip suits families, older travellers and anyone curious about village life. If you would like a village with a closer view of Annapurna South, the Pokhara and Ghandruk tour by road is the natural alternative, and the two-day Ghorepani Poon Hill trek is a short first trek from Pokhara if you have extra days.
