Kathmandu, Pokhara, Chitwan & Lumbini Tour: 10 Days Across Nepal

Arriving in Kathmandu by flight is a breathtaking experience, offering stunning aerial views of the Himalayan mountain range. Your journey begins at Tribhuwan International Airport (TIA), situated at an altitude of 1,350 meters. Upon landing, you can obtain your Nepal entry visa either in advance or upon arrival at TIA.

The visa process typically takes up to 45 minutes, depending on the queue. For detailed visa information, visit the official website of the Department of Immigration Nepal. As you step out of the airport, a warm welcome awaits you from our company representative, who will be holding a placard with our logo. You’ll receive a traditional holy Tibetan scarf as a welcoming gesture before being escorted to your hotel in a private vehicle.

The 30-minute drive from TIA to Thamel, Kathmandu’s vibrant tourist hub, is a fascinating introduction to the city. Along the way, you’ll catch glimpses of iconic landmarks like the Pashupatinath Temple, bustling streets, and the lively energy of Kathmandu.

Upon reaching your hotel, take time to rest and freshen up. Later, our representative will provide a detailed trip briefing and invite you to a welcome dinner. Thamel, known for its lively atmosphere, offers a variety of restaurants, shops, and accommodations, ensuring a comfortable stay. Your adventure in Nepal begins here, with an overnight stay at the hotel to prepare for the exciting days ahead.

Day 2 begins with a guided Kathmandu sightseeing tour, taking in four UNESCO World Heritage Sites — Swayambhunath, Pashupatinath Temple, Boudhanath Stupa, and Patan Durbar Square. See the full Kathmandu sightseeing guide!

After a hearty breakfast, your driver will pick you up for the scenic drive to Chitwan — a highlight in its own right on this Kathmandu Pokhara Chitwan Lumbini tour. The route follows the Trisuli River, with lush green hills flanking the road and charming villages offering a glimpse into daily life in Nepal’s hill communities, including the striking confluences where the Trisuli’s tributaries meet.

On arrival, your hotel representative will welcome you and walk you through the stay ahead. The day continues with a visit to a Tharu village and the park visitor center, followed by lunch, before you settle in to watch the sunset over the Rapti River. The evening closes with dinner and a traditional Tharu cultural program of dance and music, before an overnight stay in Chitwan ahead of tomorrow’s activities.

A Day Full of Adventure and Discovery in Chitwan

Chitwan’s full day is built around two different rhythms: quiet observation in the morning, and adventure by afternoon. Choose between a canoe glide along the Rapti River — ideal for spotting birds and riverbank wildlife — or a guided walk into the jungle interior, where a naturalist points out Chitwan’s native flora and fauna along the way. From there, a stop at the Elephant Breeding Center sheds light on the conservation work protecting the region’s elephant population.

Lunch is followed by the day’s centerpiece: an elephant-back safari through the grasslands, giving you a rare vantage point to spot rhinos, deer, and birdlife as you move deeper into the park. As evening settles in, a Tharu cultural performance brings local folklore and tradition to life through dance and music — a fitting close to a day spent this deep in Chitwan National Park.

You’ll return to your hotel in Chitwan for the night, part of the wildlife chapter of your Kathmandu Pokhara Chitwan Lumbini tour, before continuing on toward Pokhara.

Journey from Chitwan to Pokhara: A Scenic Drive to the Lake City

After breakfast, depart from Chitwan and begin your scenic drive towards Pokhara, renowned as “The Lake City” for its abundance of serene lakes. The journey starts with a drive through Chitwan’s subtropical forests, where lush vegetation and wildlife-rich landscapes characterize the region. As you leave Chitwan behind, the scenery gradually transitions to rolling hills, small villages, and terraced farms, offering a glimpse into rural life.

Upon reaching Pokhara, you will be captivated by its natural beauty, framed by stunning views of the Himalayan range, including Dhaulagiri (8,167m), Manaslu (8,156m), Machhapuchhre (6,993m), the five peaks of Annapurna, and other towering mountain summits.

After checking into your hotel, take some time to relax before enjoying a leisurely walk around Fewa Lake, soaking in the tranquil atmosphere and appreciating the magnificent surroundings.

You will spend the evening and night in the picturesque city of Pokhara.

Pokhara is widely recognized as a tourist’s paradise in every sense, as it is located in a truly Himalayan country. Every year, tourists from all over the world visit this incredibly beautiful place. It is also recognized as the gateway to Annapurna circuit, which is a famous trekking trail in the Himalayas.

Today, we wake up early in the morning in this stunning city and head towards Sarangkot, a well-known hill station that offers breathtaking views of the mountain range to the north and an incredible sunrise view. After enjoying the sunrise view, we return to the hotel for breakfast. Following breakfast, our tour continues as we set out to visit and explore the most popular tourist destinations in Pokhara.

Major tourist attractions in Pokhara includes:

Bindhabasini Temple:

Lies in the center of the religious old bazaar. It is dedicated to Goddess Bhagwati, yet another manifestation of Shakti. The park grounds offer a fine picnic and relaxing area.

Davis falls:

Locally known as Patale Chango and in the southern flank of the Pokhara valley is where the stream flowing from Fewa Lake collapses and surges down the rock into a deep gorge, leaping through several potholes.

Gupteshwor Cave:

The revered Gupteshwor Cave is situated 2 km from Pokhara airport. The entrance is right across from Devi’s fall and the cave is almost 3 km long. It has some big hall-sized rooms and some passages where you have to crawl on all four.

Phewa Lake and Barahi Temple:

Situated at an altitude of 800m above sea level, it is the second-largest lake in the kingdom. With the Barahi Island Temple in the middle of the lake, it is the most important religious monument in Pokhara.

Seti River Gorges:

Carved by Seti-Gandaki is one of the natural wonders of Pokhara. K.I. Singh bridge at Bagar, Mahendrapool & Prithivi Highway Bridge near bus park, provides a perfect view of the river’s dreadful rush and the deep gorge made by the turbulent flow of white water.

Besides, Pokhara is also a hub for adventurous activities like: paragliding, bunji jumping, ultra-light, zip flyer etc. If you would like to indulge in any of the adventurous activities, you might think of extra stay in Pokhara.

Today’s drive from Pokhara to Lumbini trades lake views for hill country — a winding route that follows the Andhi Khola river valley, with green hills rising close on either side of the road. The scenery shifts constantly along the way: rocky outcrops give way to waterfalls, then dense forest, with sunlight breaking through the canopy in patches as the road climbs and drops.

Eventually the hills open out onto Nepal’s western plains, passing through Butwal — a major city that bridges the hill region and the terai lowlands — before the route continues to Lumbini, the birthplace of Gautam Buddha. This leg of your Kathmandu Pokhara Chitwan Lumbini tour ends with an overnight stay at a local hotel in Lumbini, ready to explore the sacred sites the following day.

Lumbini: Buddha’s Birthplace and the Spiritual Close of Your Journey

Lumbini holds a rare distinction: it’s one of Buddhism’s four most sacred pilgrimage sites, and also a place of significance for Hindus who regard Buddha as an incarnation of Vishnu. This dual reverence makes a Lumbini Buddhist pilgrimage tour unlike any other stop on your journey — a UNESCO World Heritage Site where two of the world’s major faiths quietly overlap.

At the heart of the sacred garden stands the Maya Devi Temple, Nepal’s most important Buddhist shrine and the marked birthplace of Siddhartha Gautama — Gautam Buddha, “the Light of Asia.” A whitewashed structure now protects the older temple beneath it, where a viewing area looks down into the excavated site of his birth, alongside a faded nativity carving.

According to tradition, Queen Maya Devi gave birth here while traveling to her father’s kingdom, and bathed in the nearby Holy Pond both before and after the birth — a site still visited today as part of the temple grounds. Every year during the full moon of Baisakh (April–May), thousands of Hindu pilgrims travel here to honor Maya Devi as Rupa Devi, mother goddess of Lumbini.

The Sacred Garden and Ashoka Pillar

Just beyond the temple, the sacred garden holds the Ashoka Pillar — the oldest monument of its kind in Nepal, erected in the 3rd century BCE by Emperor Ashoka himself after his conversion to Buddhism, as a mark of respect for Buddha.

Nearby, the Bodhi tree draws maroon and saffron-robed monks in quiet meditation beneath its branches, its heart-shaped leaves and prayer flags marking it as a direct descendant of the tree under which Buddha is said to have reached enlightenment. At the garden’s center, the Eternal World Peace Flame burns uninterrupted day and night, a modern symbol layered onto an ancient site.

Beyond the Temple: Tilaurakot and the Wider Region

A short distance away lies Tilaurakot, the ruined capital of the ancient Shakya Kingdom and the palace grounds of Kapilvastu, where Siddhartha Gautama spent his first 29 years as a prince before renouncing royal life. Set on a quiet meadow along the Banganga River, the site’s layout closely matches descriptions found in early Buddhist texts. Nearby Kudan and Ramagrama round out the region’s cluster of pilgrimage sites for travelers looking to go deeper into Buddhist history.

Beyond its religious weight, this stop on your Kathmandu Pokhara Chitwan Lumbini tour also opens a window into everyday village life in southern Nepal — a quieter, more reflective counterpart to the temples of Kathmandu and the wildlife of Chitwan earlier in the trip.

Following the breakfast, you will be driven to Gautam Budhha International airport to fly back to Kathmandu. This will be the last day of your trip. Once you land in Kathmandu, you can enjoy shopping as there are many antique shops around thamel for souvenir to your loved ones or simply relax at your luxury hotel.

In the evening, our office will organize a farewell dinner for you with cultural performance. Enjoy and spend overnight at Kathmandu.

One of our office representatives will accompany you to the airport for your departure. It’s time to bid farewell, and we look forward to the possibility of seeing you again in the future.