Short treks and day hikes near Pokhara

The Annapurna Conservation Area permit costs Rs 100 for a Nepali, Rs 1,000 for a SAARC national and Rs 3,000 for other foreigners, children under 10 free, and double if bought at a check-post (NTB; NTNC). Australian Camp, Dhampus, Ghandruk and Khumai Danda are inside it. Sarangkot, the Peace Pagoda, Pumdikot, Kahun Danda and Begnas are city-edge hills outside it.

Panchase is the one in doubt: the most recent hikers' pages (2024 and September 2026) say it is outside ACAP and needs no permit, and a 2021 agency page lists one. If you start or finish through Kande and Pothana, you are inside ACAP.

The guide rule: NTB's list of routes where a foreigner needs a licensed guide names Poon Hill–ABC, Mardi Himal, Khopra and Sikles Tara Hill, but not Australian Camp, Dhampus, Ghandruk, Panchase or Khumai Danda. TAAN's president reads the rule as covering every area but Everest. Nepali citizens need neither a TIMS card nor a guide.

• Sarangkot is the sunrise hill above the lake: 1.5–3 hours up on foot from Sedi Bagar at the north end of Lakeside. The old village ticket has become a viewing-tower fee, Rs 60 or Rs 100 depending on the source. A taxi up is Rs 600–1,000 one way.
• The World Peace Pagoda (Shanti Stupa) is free. Cross the lake by boat and climb 45 minutes to an hour through the Raniban forest. Boat prices quoted run from Rs 300 to Rs 1,200, with no official rate; agree it before you get in.
• Pumdikot, the hill with the giant Shiva statue, is 1.5–3 hours on from the pagoda, or 20–30 minutes by taxi.
• Kahun Danda, on the east side, has a view tower 2–3 hours up from Phulbari.

The easiest taste of the Annapurna foothills. A bus from Baglung Bus Park to Kande costs Rs 150–250 and a taxi Rs 2,000–2,500. From Kande it is 1.5–2 hours up to Australian Camp, 2,060 m, with Machhapuchhre and the Annapurnas in front; Dhampus is an easy walk on, and the loop down to Phedi takes 5–6 hours in all. Stay a night at Australian Camp for the sunrise.

It is inside the Annapurna Conservation Area; the check-post has moved up from Dhampus to Pothana, so carry the permit.

A forested ridge of about 2,500 m south-west of the lake, with a pond and temple at the top and homestays in the villages: 2–3 days, about 27 km there and back, starting from Kande, Bhadaure or Ghatichhina, or on foot from the Peace Pagoda. Rooms were Rs 400–1,100 in September 2026 (a hiker's page). See above on the permit.

The Gurung village at 2,012 m is now two days by road: a bus from Pokhara costs Rs 450, a seat in a shared jeep Rs 625 (Rs 5,000 for the jeep) and a reserved jeep Rs 6,000 (May 2026). Modi Khola floods washed out the road near Syauli Bazaar on 12–13 July 2026 and it reopened on 6 October; the village has 95 hotels and 45 homestays (Himal Press; Rising Nepal; Ratopati).

It is inside the Annapurna Conservation Area, and is also the first night of the Annapurna Base Camp trek.

A newer ridge trek north of Pokhara: by jeep or bus from Hari Chowk to Ghachok or Saripakha, then 5–8 hours up to Khumai at 3,245 m, with Korchon viewpoint at 3,682 m above it. That is high enough for altitude to matter on a fast trip; see altitude sickness.

Machhapuchhre Rural Municipality announced a fee in October 2023 of Rs 500 for foreigners and Rs 100 for Nepalis, collected at Khumaidanda; no later source confirms it is still charged.

Gandaki Province's fares from 6 May 2026 (Ratopati): a city bus Rs 24 for the first 3 km and Rs 3 a km after; a long-distance bus Rs 4 a km; a jeep Rs 7 a km; a taxi Rs 80 to start and Rs 11 every 200 m. Jeeps on the dirt roads to Ghandruk and Khumai charge what their local committees set.