Trek Guide
Pokhara to Jomsom is about 180 km and 7–9 hours, 75 km sealed to Beni and 105 km of gravel. Stage distances, road status, and drive or fly compared.
By Sunita Pandey · May 8, 2026
The road from Pokhara to Jomsom runs about 180 km and takes 7—9 hours of driving — four distinct stages, the last three of them on gravel. It climbs from Pokhara at 820m to Jomsom at 2,720m through the Kali Gandaki, the deepest gorge on Earth, between…
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
Quoted totals for this road vary, because people measure to different places — some to Jomsom, some on to Muktinath, some from Kathmandu. Broken into its four driving stages it comes out at roughly 180 km to Jomsom , or 198 km if you carry on to Muktinath…
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
Yes. As of 19 September 2026 no closure of the Kali Gandaki road has been reported, and it is running the whole way from Pokhara to Jomsom and on to Muktinath. Its known weak point is the Mahabhir section in Myagdi, which a landslide blocked as recently as 12…
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
The Pokhara to Jomsom route runs north through the Kali Gandaki gorge — the deepest gorge on Earth, carved between the 8,000m giants of Dhaulagiri (8,167m) and Annapurna I (8,091m). What was once a multi-week trek is now a spectacular two-day drive that opens…
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
Most travellers begin in Pokhara, reached from Kathmandu by tourist bus or local express bus (200km, ~6 hours, NPR 500—800) or a 30-minute domestic flight (USD 90—120). Buddha Air and Yeti Airlines both operate the route multiple times daily — the options are…
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
Tatopani, Ghasa, Marpha and Kagbeni all happen on the way. Runs whatever the wind is doing. Dusty, rough beyond Beni, hard on anyone prone to motion sickness. A Twin Otter between the gorge walls, morning only. Skips every village on the route and cancels…
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
NPR 200—300 per seat. Departs Pokhara's Baglung Bus Park most mornings. Slow, crowded, and an adventure in itself. NPR 1,500—2,000 per seat. Departs when full, usually by 7am. Expect 5—6 hours on rough gravel and river-crossing roads. USD 120—200 one way. A…
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
At 1,190m, Tatopani is the lowest major stop and the most immediately rewarding. The name means simply 'hot water' in Nepali, and the village delivers: natural geothermal pools sit right on the bank of the Kali Gandaki, steaming gently against the cold river…
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
Climbing out of the subtropical zone, the road enters Ghasa at around 2,000m — the southernmost Thakali settlement. The architecture shifts: flat mud rooftops, whitewashed walls bearing Buddhist symbols, and a small monastery anchoring the village centre. The…
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
Marpha (2,670m) deserves at least two hours even on a through-drive. Narrow whitewashed lanes, covered passages shielding residents from the howling valley winds, and flat-roofed houses draped in drying apples and buckwheat. The orchards produce apples…
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
Just north of Jomsom, Kagbeni (2,800m) sits at the confluence of the Kali Gandaki and Jhong Khola rivers and marks the official boundary of the Upper Mustang restricted area. A dense cluster of ochre and red-walled medieval buildings beneath a Buddhist…
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
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