9 Days Kathmandu Lumbini Pokhara Nagarkot Overland Tour

Airport transfer and half-day sightseeing | Altitude: 1,350 m | Overnight: Kathmandu

Namaste! A Pigeon Travel representative greets you at the airport and drives you to your hotel. In the afternoon your guide introduces you to the two great faiths of the valley. At Pashupatinath, pilgrims bathe in the Bagmati and priests perform rituals beneath the two-tiered golden pagoda of Shiva. At Boudhanath, two kilometres north, Tibetan families circle the immense white stupa at dusk, turning prayer wheels and murmuring mantras.

• Insider tip: climb to a rooftop café at Boudha to see the stupa's mandala shape from above.

Full-day guided sightseeing | Overnight: Kathmandu

Today covers three of the valley's World Heritage monument zones. In the old royal square of Kathmandu Durbar Square, look for the carved window where the Kumari, a young girl worshipped as a living goddess, sometimes appears, and the 17th-century stone inscription in 15 languages. Climb the eastern stairway to Swayambhunath for a sweeping view over the city, then cross the Bagmati to Patan, the "City of Beauty", where metalworkers and woodcarvers still work in the lanes around the Durbar Square.

• Insider tip: Patan's museum café, in a palace courtyard, is a lovely place for lunch.

Drive: about 300 km / 8–9 hours | Altitude: 150 m | Overnight: Lumbini

An early breakfast and a long, varied road day. The highway follows the Trishuli River gorge out of the hills to Mugling, then the Narayani River down to Narayanghat and the flat, fertile plains of the Terai. Through Butwal you reach Lumbini in the late afternoon. Check in at your hotel near the Sacred Garden and, if time allows, take an evening stroll to the Eternal Peace Flame.

• On the way: riverside tea stops at Kurintar or Mugling, and roadside fruit stalls in the Terai.
• Option: fly Kathmandu–Bhairahawa (35 minutes) instead of driving.

Full-day sightseeing by private vehicle | Altitude: 150 m | Overnight: Lumbini

Lumbini is where Queen Maya Devi gave birth to Prince Siddhartha Gautama in about 623 BC, and it is one of the four holiest places of Buddhism and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In the Sacred Garden visit the Maya Devi Temple, built over the ancient brick ruins and the marker stone of the exact birthplace, the Ashoka Pillar raised by the Mauryan emperor in 249 BC with its inscription confirming the site, and the Puskarini pond where the queen bathed. Walk or cycle-rickshaw along the canal through the monastic zone, where Buddhist countries have built temples in their own styles – the Chinese, Thai, Myanmar, Vietnamese, German and Korean monasteries – and continue to the World Peace Pagoda.

In the afternoon drive 27 km west to Tilaurakot, the excavated palace city of ancient Kapilvastu, capital of the Shakya kingdom, where the young prince lived for 29 years before leaving through the eastern gate in search of enlightenment. The small Kapilvastu Museum displays coins, pottery and toys found on the site.

• Main experience: standing before the marker stone of the Buddha's birthplace.
• Insider tip: visit the Maya Devi Temple early in the morning, when monks and pilgrims chant beneath the prayer flags and the garden is cool and quiet.

Drive: about 206 km / 6–7 hours | Altitude: 820 m | Overnight: Pokhara

Leave the plains and climb the winding Siddhartha Highway into the Mahabharat hills. Stop at Tansen (1,371 m), the old Newar bazaar town of Palpa district, with its cobbled lanes, Bhimsen and Amar Narayan temples, the Rani Mahal palace on the Kali Gandaki and workshops weaving the famous dhaka cloth and making brass ware. Continue past Syangja and Waling, crossing the Kali Gandaki at Ramdi, and reach Pokhara in the afternoon. Relax on the shore of Phewa Lake with the Annapurna range above.

• Local meal: try a Palpali dhaka-weavers' tea stop or Newari snacks in Tansen bazaar.
• Insider tip: the hillside views open up after Tansen – keep your camera handy on the right side of the vehicle.

Sightseeing by private vehicle; early pick-up for Sarangkot | Overnight: Pokhara

Drive up to Sarangkot in the dark and watch the Annapurna range emerge as the sky brightens – Machhapuchhre's twin-peaked "fishtail" is the first to catch the light. After breakfast, explore Pokhara's sights: the World Peace Pagoda built by Japanese Buddhist monks, the thundering Devi's Falls, the limestone Gupteshwor Mahadev Cave and the International Mountain Museum with its exhibits on Everest, the 8,000 m peaks and Himalayan peoples.

Drive: 230 km / about 7 hours | Altitude: 2,175 m | Overnight: Nagarkot

After breakfast, drive east through the hills towards the Kathmandu Valley. Continue up to Nagarkot, 32 km east of Kathmandu, one of the nearest and most famous mountain viewpoints from the capital. In clear weather the panorama of the eastern Himalaya – Manaslu, Ganesh Himal, Langtang, Gauri Shankar and even Mount Everest – stretches along the horizon. Watch the sunset from your hotel before dinner.

Drive: about 30 km / 1.5 hours | Overnight: Kathmandu

Wake early for sunrise, when the first light turns the snow peaks pink and gold one after another. You can also stop at the Nagarkot view tower, which shows an even wider sweep of mountains. After breakfast, drive down to Bhaktapur Durbar Square (1,401 m), the best-preserved of the valley's royal cities, to see the Palace of 55 Windows, Nyatapola Temple and the potters at work in Pottery Square, then continue to your Kathmandu hotel.

Airport transfer: about 30 minutes

After breakfast, our office representative escorts you to the airport about three hours before your scheduled flight. Namaste and safe travels – we hope to see you again in Nepal!