Nepal Motorcycle Tour – 14 Days | Nepal on Wheels: Kathmandu, Pokhara, Lumbini & Chitwan

Day 1: Arrive in Kathmandu

On arrival at Tribhuvan International Airport, you'll be met by our staff and transferred to your hotel in the city. After checking in, there's a group orientation covering the ride program and practical details, followed by a welcome dinner at a traditional Nepali restaurant with a cultural show.

Day 2: Kathmandu — orientation and bike check

A free morning to settle into Nepalese daily life, followed by a short trial ride around the city. This is your last chance to check your bike's condition and sort out anything that needs adjusting before the real riding begins.

Day 3: Ride to Nagarkot (2,175m)

Distance: 27km | Riding time: approx. 2 hrs | Accommodation: hotel or resort in Nagarkot

An easy first riding day. You'll head out of Kathmandu on a good road past old Bhaktapur, then climb a winding uphill road through rural farm villages to reach Nagarkot, about 30km northeast of the city. Nagarkot is one of the best-known viewpoints in the valley, with a panorama stretching from Dhaulagiri in the west, through Ganesh, Langtang, and Jugal Himal in the center, to the Everest range in the east. There's time for a short walk through alpine woodland — rhododendron, pine, and fir — around the village before settling in for sunset.

Day 4: Ride to Gorkha (1,100m)

Distance: 165km | Riding time: approx. 5-6 hrs | Accommodation: hotel in Gorkha Highlights: Nagdhunga pass, the Trishuli River, Mugling, rural farm villages

After catching sunrise over the peaks, the ride heads back down toward Bhaktapur, then follows the Ring Road west out of Kathmandu to Nagdhunga, the pass separating the valley from the districts beyond. From there, the road descends through farmland and terraced fields to the main highway, following the Trishuli River to Mugling before turning toward Gorkha. This is the old capital of the Shah dynasty, perched on a ridge at around 1,100m, with a mix of budget and higher-end accommodation and a historic fort palace worth a walk around in the evening.

Day 5: Ride to Pokhara (860m)

Distance: 70km | Riding time: approx. 4 hrs | Accommodation: lakeside hotel in Pokhara

A relatively easy day, rejoining the main Kathmandu-Pokhara highway and passing through Dumre and Damauli, with views of Manaslu and the Annapurna range opening up along the way. Arriving in Pokhara, you'll settle into a hotel by Phewa Lake, with Annapurna, Manaslu, and Machhapuchhre (Fishtail) visible at close range. The evening is free for a stroll through the lakeside market, shops, and restaurants.

Day 6: Rest day in Pokhara

A full day off the bike in Nepal's second-most popular destination. Pokhara is the starting point for the Annapurna, Mustang, and Dhaulagiri trekking routes, and it's also known for adventure activities including paragliding, ultra-light flights, kayaking, boating, and zip-lining. An early optional ride up to Sarangkot (about 1,460m, the highest point on the Pokhara valley rim) gives you sweeping views over the city, the lake, and the mountains — and it's one of the best-known paragliding launch points in Nepal. Otherwise, spend the day boating on the lake, hiking to the Buddhist Peace Pagoda, riding out to Davis Falls, or exploring the local market.

Day 7: Ride to Tansen, Palpa (1,371m)

Distance: 127km | Riding time: approx. 5 hrs | Accommodation: hotel or lodge in Tansen

Leaving Pokhara, the route passes the Davis Falls area before heading southwest through Waling and Syangja, with views of snow-capped peaks and green rolling hills along the way. After passing through the larger town of Butwal on the East-West Highway, an uphill ride brings you into Tansen — a historic trading post on the old India-Nepal route, and now known for traditional Nepali handlooms, handicrafts, and the classic Nepali topi (cap).

Day 8: Ride to Lumbini (640m)

Distance: 81km | Riding time: approx. 4 hrs | Accommodation: hotel in Lumbini

From Tansen's Newar and Magar hill-town atmosphere, the ride drops down into the warmer flatlands of southwestern Nepal, passing close to the India border town of Bhairahawa before reaching Lumbini. Lumbini — Sanskrit for "the lovely" — is the traditional birthplace of Siddhartha Gautama, later the Buddha, and one of the most important Buddhist pilgrimage sites in the world. There's time in the afternoon to visit the sacred sites around the Lumbini complex.

Day 9: Ride to Chitwan

Distance: 165km | Riding time: approx. 5 hrs | Accommodation: lodge near Chitwan National Park

A longer riding day back onto the main highway, passing Butwal and through Nawalparasi district's paddy fields to Narayanghat, then east toward the southern Terai and Chitwan's buffer zone. You'll check into a lodge near the park for two nights.

Day 10: Jungle activities in Chitwan

A full day of jungle activities with a trained naturalist guide — a jeep safari through the park's core area, a canoe ride along the river, and a guided nature walk, with a real chance of spotting some of the park's wildlife.

A note on elephant activities: earlier versions of this itinerary included elephant-back safaris and elephant bathing. We've moved away from these — riding and bathing elephants involves training methods that raise genuine animal welfare concerns, and in 2026 Nepal's Supreme Court directed authorities to look at alternatives to elephant safaris in Chitwan. A jeep safari, canoe ride, and guided nature walk give a comparable wildlife experience without that concern.

Chitwan National Park is one of the oldest and most popular national parks in Nepal, in the subtropical Terai lowlands of the south-central region. It became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984. The park covers the Churia hills, ox-bow lakes, and floodplains of the Rapti, Reu, and Narayani rivers, with vegetation running roughly 70% sal forest, 20% grassland, and the rest riverine forest — including elephant grass that can grow up to 8 meters tall.

More than 43 mammal species live in the park, including the endangered Royal Bengal tiger, the greater one-horned rhinoceros, gaur (Asian bison), wild elephants, four-horned antelope, striped hyena, pangolins, Gangetic dolphins, and both monitor lizards and pythons. Sambar, chital (spotted deer), barking deer, sloth bear, palm civets, and both langur and rhesus monkeys are also present. More than 450 bird species have been recorded, including the endangered Bengal florican, giant hornbill, lesser florican, and both black and white storks — the best birdwatching months are generally March and December. More than 45 species of amphibians and reptiles round out the park's wildlife, including the marsh mugger crocodile and green pit viper.

Day 11: Ride to Daman (2,322m), via Sim Bhanjyang Distance: 134km | Riding time: approx. 5 hrs | Accommodation: hotel or resort in Daman

After your time in Chitwan, the ride heads to Tadi Bazaar and on to Hetauda, where the old Prithvi Highway joins the main road. From there, a long, winding uphill climb through farm villages and increasingly cool, forested terrain brings you to Sim Bhanjyang, the high point of the route at roughly 2,488m, before descending slightly to Daman itself at around 2,322m.

Daman sits about 3 hours from both Kathmandu and Chitwan, and around 7 hours from Pokhara. On a genuinely clear day — most reliably in autumn and winter — the viewpoint here offers one of the widest Himalayan panoramas reachable by road in Nepal, taking in peaks across the Dhaulagiri, Annapurna, Manaslu, Ganesh Himal, Langtang, Gauri Shankar, Cho Oyu, Everest, Makalu, and Kanchenjunga ranges. It's a genuinely peaceful spot to end the riding portion of the trip.

Day 12: Ride back to Kathmandu via Kulekhani Distance: 59km | Riding time: approx. 4 hrs

After a final morning taking in the mountain panorama, the ride heads downhill on a quieter dirt track rather than the main highway, passing Kulekhani, home to one of Nepal's major hydroelectric plants and reservoirs, and through Chitlang's farmland before reaching the southern rim of the Kathmandu Valley and back into the city.

Day 13: Free day in Kathmandu

A day for individual activities, souvenir shopping, or simply relaxing and taking in the city's daily rhythm. Kathmandu has plenty of UNESCO World Heritage Sites if you'd like to book an extra half-day tour.

Day 14: International departure

Transfer from your hotel to the airport in time for your international flight home, or onward to your next destination.