Kathmandu or Pokhara: Where Should You Actually Start Your Nepal Trek? (2026)
Every international flight lands in Kathmandu — but which trek you have booked decides whether Pokhara becomes essential, optional, or irrelevant.
The direct answer: today virtually every international flight into Nepal lands in Kathmandu, so you cannot skip it (one big exception is coming — flydubai flies Dubai–Pokhara direct, daily, from 23 September 2026, letting Annapurna-bound trekkers land in the west directly) — but whether you also need Pokhara depends entirely on which trek you have booked. Head to the Everest region and Pokhara is irrelevant to your itinerary. Head to the Annapurna region, Upper Mustang, or Dolpo, and Pokhara is not optional — it is the only place some of those flights depart from.
Key facts
- Tribhuvan International Airport, Kathmandu, is Nepal's only full scheduled international gateway — every foreign trekker lands there first
- Pokhara International Airport opened in January 2023 but had no regular scheduled international service until flydubai's daily Dubai flight begins 23 September 2026
- Kathmandu–Pokhara: roughly 25–30 minutes by air (from around $120) or 6–8 hours by tourist bus (around $25–27), longer in poor road conditions
- Flights to Jomsom — the gateway to Upper Mustang and the Annapurna Circuit's northern side — depart only from Pokhara, never Kathmandu
| Trek region | Gateway you actually need | How you get there |
|---|---|---|
| Everest — EBC, Gokyo, Three Passes, Island/Mera/Lobuche peaks | Kathmandu | Fly to Lukla (or Manthali/Ramechhap in peak season) |
| Annapurna — Base Camp, Circuit, Poon Hill, Mardi Himal | Pokhara | Overland trailhead, or a short domestic hop from Kathmandu |
| Upper Mustang, Jomsom, Muktinath | Pokhara | Jomsom flight — this route flies from Pokhara only |
| Langtang, Manaslu, Kanchenjunga | Kathmandu | Overland or regional airstrip from Kathmandu |
The Everest-region detail catches people out: during the two busiest trekking windows, mid-March to mid-May and October to November, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal moves all Lukla flights out of Kathmandu entirely and operates them from Manthali Airport in Ramechhap district instead — a four-to-five-hour drive east of the city, usually starting before dawn. It has nothing to do with Pokhara; it is purely a Kathmandu-side congestion fix, but it does mean your first trekking day starts with a long road transfer, not a short airport hop, if you are booked for autumn or spring EBC.
The flydubai announcement matters for a specific traveller: someone flying from the Gulf, the UK, or onward from a Dubai connection, who is doing an Annapurna-only trip — Base Camp, the Circuit, or Mardi Himal — and has no reason to spend time in Kathmandu at all. From September 2026 that person can, in theory, land in Pokhara and start trekking within a day. In practice the route is new and still a single daily flight, so most international trekkers will keep routing through Kathmandu for now; Himalaya Airlines already runs a weekly Lhasa service and Sichuan Airlines flies to Chengdu from Pokhara, but neither replaces a same-day arrival from the West.
What this means for trekkers
The practical verdict
Book your international ticket into Kathmandu regardless of which trek you are doing — it remains the only reliable full-service gateway. Then check your itinerary for one thing: does it fly out of Jomsom, or start on the Annapurna side? If so, budget a Kathmandu–Pokhara leg (fly, do not bus, if your schedule is tight) before your trekking days begin. If you are Everest-bound, ignore Pokhara entirely and instead check the season — an autumn or spring departure means your Lukla flight will leave from Ramechhap, not Kathmandu airport, so build in the extra transfer time.
For the full permit and TIMS paperwork each region requires before you fly anywhere, see our Nepal trekking permits hub. Whichever city you start in, our full route list is organised by region so you can check the starting airport before you book.
Source: Wikipedia — Pokhara International Airport
Cover photo: Jungsik Kwak via Pexels (Pexels License).
Source: Wikipedia — Pokhara International Airport
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