When to trek in Nepal: a season-by-season guide
Autumn gets the crowds and spring gets the rhododendrons — but the quieter months have more going for them than their reputation suggests.
Bishnu Gurung
Founder and lead guide
1 min read
There is no single best month to trek in Nepal. There is the best month for the trip you want — clear views, empty trails, flowers, festivals or a lower price. Here is how the year actually feels on the ground.
Autumn: October to November
The classic season. The monsoon has washed the air clean, the skies are reliably clear and the temperatures are comfortable. It is also the busiest time on the popular routes, so book early and consider a community trail rather than the main circuits.
Winter: December to February
Cold nights and short days, but brilliant visibility and quiet trails. High passes may be closed by snow; the mid-hill routes around Pokhara are at their most peaceful. Pack a warmer sleeping bag and you may have the view to yourself.
Spring: March to May
The second great season. Rhododendron forests flower in red and pink up to around 3,000 metres, and the days are warm. Haze builds towards May, so views are softer than in autumn.
Monsoon: June to September
Rain most afternoons, leeches in the forest and clouds over the peaks. It is also when the terraces are greenest, the villages are busy with planting, and prices are lowest. Rain-shadow areas behind the Annapurnas stay much drier.
Our advice
- For your first trek with big views, choose October, November or April.
- For quiet trails and village life, try late February, early March or December.
- Whenever you come, leave a spare day at the end in case a flight is delayed.
Trips this article mentions
- Annapurna
Annapurna Base Camp — the Slow Route
Twelve days to the sanctuary and back, taking the days most itineraries cut, so you arrive at 4,130 m able to enjoy it.
- 12 days / 11 nights
- Challenging
From$1,890 per person
- Everest
Everest Panorama Homestay Trek
Ten days in the Khumbu without the base-camp queue — Sherpa homestays, Tengboche monastery, and Everest from the ridge at Kongde.
- 10 days / 9 nights
- Moderate
From$2,150 per person
- Annapurna
The Millennium Trek
Seven days through the Annapurna mid-hills, sleeping in Gurung and Magar family homes and walking terraces that have been farmed for a thousand years.
- 7 days / 6 nights
- Moderate
From$1,145 per person
Keep reading
- About Nepal
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Why travel to Nepal?
Eight of the world’s fourteen highest mountains, a hundred-odd languages, and villages where the guest room is someone’s spare bedroom. Here is why people come — and why so many come back.
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Nepal visa information
Most nationalities can get a tourist visa on arrival. What it costs, what to bring, how to extend it, and the trekking permits you need on top.
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Useful travel information for Nepal
Money, phones, power, water, altitude and insurance — the practical things our guests ask about most often, in one place.
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Still have a question?
If it is not answered here, ask us. A real person in Pokhara replies, usually the same day.