Blog · 27 October 2026
Nepal from India: Kathmandu, Pokhara and Chitwan, how many days, and what a trip costs
Nepal is the easiest foreign trip an Indian family can take. There's no visa, the flight from Delhi is short, the food feels familiar, and within a week you can go from the temples of Kathmandu to a lake under the Himalayas and a jungle full of rhinos. The main thing to plan is how you move between places, because roads are slow and the hills are steep.
How many days do you need?
Plan on six to eight days for a first trip. Three days in Kathmandu covers the old squares, the two great stupas and Pashupatinath. Pokhara needs another two or three days for the lake, a sunrise over the Annapurnas and perhaps a paraglide. Add two days in Chitwan for a jungle safari. Kathmandu to Pokhara is a short flight; the drive takes most of a day, so fly if you can. Chitwan is reached by road. If you want to visit Muktinath, add two more days: you fly from Pokhara to Jomsom and go up by jeep, and the small planes only fly in clear morning weather, so keep a spare day.
What a trip costs
For a couple flying from Delhi and staying in a midrange hotel, a 4-day Nepal trip in December comes to about ₹70,100, or ₹35,050 per person. That covers return flights, travel between Kathmandu, Pokhara and Chitwan, the hotel, food, local transport, the attractions we pick for you, travel insurance and a 10% buffer. There's no visa fee, and hotels and meals cost less than in most other countries, so the season you travel in and the internal flights make the biggest difference.
You can change the dates, travellers, hotel, cities and attractions on our Nepal trip cost page and see every line update.
Things worth paying for
- Patan and Bhaktapur Durbar Squares: about ₹469 per adult for both. Bhaktapur in particular feels like a living old city, and it's worth a full day.
- Kathmandu Durbar Square: about ₹94, and Swayambhunath and Boudhanath stupas: about ₹188 together.
- Chandragiri cable car on the edge of Kathmandu: about ₹938, for a mountain view without a hike.
- Everest mountain flight: about ₹15,625. It's an hour-long early-morning flight along the high peaks; book it for your first morning so there's time to rebook if cloud cancels it.
- Paragliding in Pokhara: about ₹5,625, with the lake below and the mountains ahead.
- Phewa Lake boating: about ₹500.
- Chitwan jeep safari: about ₹2,500, your best chance of seeing one-horned rhinos. Add the canoe ride and jungle walk for about ₹938.
Free and cheap things to do
Spend an evening in Thamel for shopping and food, and go to the evening aarti at Pashupatinath on the Bagmati river. In Pokhara, walk the lakeside in the evening and climb up to the World Peace Pagoda for the view back over the lake. The Sarangkot sunrise costs about ₹313 and is the best mountain view of the trip when the sky is clear. In Chitwan, watch the sunset over the Rapti river, and see the Tharu cultural dance for about ₹188.
When to go
October and November are the best months: the monsoon has cleared the air, the mountains are sharp, and Dashain and Tihar are celebrated. March and April are the other good season, warmer, with rhododendrons in bloom. Both are busy and cost more. December to February is cool and clear; Kathmandu nights drop close to freezing, so pack warm layers. May gets hot and hazy. June to September is the monsoon, with rain most days and the peaks usually hidden in cloud, so it's the cheapest time but not the one for mountain views.
Visa for Indians
Indian citizens don't need a visa for Nepal. To fly in, carry a valid passport or your voter ID card from the Election Commission; most adults can't use an Aadhaar card. Take a passport for children if they have one, and check with your airline before you fly, because airlines can apply their own ID checks.
Tips that save money
- Book the Kathmandu to Pokhara flight early in the season; it saves a long day on the road.
- Take morning flights and activities in the hills: the weather is clearest early and clouds build up by the afternoon.
- Carry enough cash; cards work in Kathmandu and Pokhara hotels but less often in smaller places.
- Vegetarian food is easy everywhere, and dal bhat is filling, cheap and refilled for free in most places.
Want the numbers for your own dates and group? Plan your Nepal trip and send it to us for live flight and hotel prices.