Poon Hill Sun Salutation Yoga Trek

Spring (March to May) and autumn (mid-September to November) are the two main seasons for the Poon Hill Sun Salutation Yoga Trek and both give reliable trail conditions. Spring runs the rhododendron forests at their peak -- forests above Ghorepani are some of the richest in the Annapurna Conservation Area, and the colour is at its best in March and April. Autumn delivers the clearest mountain views and is the most popular season across the Annapurna region.

Winter (December to February) is cold at Ghorepani and Poon Hill, with possible light snow on the ridge, but the trail is usually passable and the crowds are thin. The summer monsoon (June to mid-September) brings rain and leeches on the lower sections, though the higher camps can still see clear morning windows for the yoga session. The season cards above show the month-by-month picture.

The Poon Hill route falls inside the Annapurna Conservation Area, so two documents are needed before the trek starts. The Annapurna Conservation Area Permit (ACAP) costs NPR 3,000 for non-SAARC nationals and NPR 200 for SAARC nationals. The Trekkers' Information Management System card (TIMS) costs NPR 2,000 for individual trekkers booking through an agency.

Both are issued in Kathmandu or at the TAAN office in Pokhara; a passport copy and two passport photographs are required. Swotah includes both permit fees in the package cost, arranges the paperwork before departure and keeps copies in the group's documentation in case of checks at the conservation area checkpoints.

Accommodation on the Poon Hill route is the teahouse lodge, and standards are higher here than on more remote Nepal treks because of the route's popularity. Lodges at Tikhedhunga, Ghorepani, Tadapani and Ghandruk have twin rooms with attached or shared bathrooms and hot shower facilities (usually solar-heated, sometimes gas-heated for a small surcharge).

Rooms at Ghorepani and above are cooler, and a sleeping bag rated to -5 C is the sensible choice for the nights at 3,000 m and higher. In Kathmandu and Pokhara, Swotah uses standard or deluxe hotel rooms with breakfast included. The yoga sessions use a dedicated mat provided by Swotah so you do not need to carry your own.

Teahouse menus on the Ghorepani-Poon Hill trail are broader than on most Nepal trek routes because the path is well-used and supply lines are good. Dal bhat (rice, lentil soup and vegetable curry) is the main local staple and teahouses refill it for free, making it the most calorie-efficient option on a trek day. Noodles, soups, eggs, pancakes, pasta and bread are all available at most lodges, with a narrower selection at the highest points.

Swotah includes three meals a day on the trek. For water, treat stream water with purification tablets, a UV pen or a filter rather than buying plastic-bottled water; boiled water is also available from lodges for a small charge. Drink 2 to 3 litres a day, increasing to 3 to 4 litres on the climb to Poon Hill. The yoga instructor advises on pre-session hydration and recommends a light breakfast before early-morning practice.

The Poon Hill Sun Salutation Yoga Trek starts with a drive from Pokhara to the trailhead at Nayapul (1,070 m), around 1.5 hours by private jeep on the Baglung Highway. Pokhara is reached from Kathmandu by a roughly 30-minute domestic flight or a 6 to 7 hour drive on the Prithvi Highway; Swotah includes the road transfer in the package.

The route is a loop: it enters at Nayapul, climbs through Tikhedhunga and Ghorepani to Poon Hill, then descends through Tadapani and Ghandruk, returning to Pokhara from the Ghandruk trailhead by jeep. The outward and return road legs are both short, so the full day is available for walking on every trek day.

The daily yoga programme centres on Surya Namaskar, the 12-posture sun salutation sequence that combines breath, movement and focus in a practice used as both a physical warm-up and a meditative ritual. The instructor leads a 30 to 45 minute session each morning facing east, timed to sunrise, and a shorter restorative session each evening to aid muscle recovery after the trek day.

At Poon Hill, the pre-dawn climb arrives at the viewpoint tower before first light and the session begins as the sky lightens behind Annapurna South (7,219 m) and Dhaulagiri I (8,167 m). No prior yoga experience is needed; the instructor works with every level from beginners to experienced practitioners, adapting the sequence to altitude and individual range of motion. A Swotah yoga mat is included; wear comfortable, layered clothes for the cold early starts.

Poon Hill, at 3,210 m, sits on the ridge above Ghorepani in the southern Annapurna foothills and is widely regarded as the best accessible sunrise viewpoint in Nepal. The panorama from the observation tower runs from Dhaulagiri I (8,167 m) in the west, across Annapurna South (7,219 m), Hiunchuli (6,441 m) and Annapurna I (8,091 m), to Machhapuchhre (Fishtail, 6,993 m) and Annapurna III (7,555 m) to the east.

The viewpoint is also a trekking junction where several Annapurna routes converge, so the approach from Ghorepani is busy in peak season. The group leaves the lodge at 05:00 to arrive before the crowd and claim space for the yoga session at the front of the observation area. Sunrise varies by season: around 06:00 in spring and 06:30 in autumn. The descent back to Ghorepani takes about an hour.

Every Swotah group on this trek has three staff: a licensed trekking guide with Nepal Tourism Board certification, a dedicated yoga instructor certified in Hatha and Ashtanga traditions, and a porter for every two to three trekkers. The trekking guide handles permits, navigation and safety; the yoga instructor leads both daily sessions and carries mats for the group; the porter carries the main duffel (20 to 22 kg limit) so you walk with a daypack of 5 to 8 kg.

Staff are insured under Nepal's Tourism Workers Insurance Fund and are paid at or above Nepal Tourism Board-recommended rates. A common tipping guideline is 10 to 15% of the trip cost, split among guide, instructor and porter at the end of the trek in Kathmandu. Swotah provides a tipping envelope on the last morning.

Mobile coverage is good by Nepal trek standards on the Ghorepani-Poon Hill route because the villages are large and on Nepal Telecom's standard network. Signal is reliable in Tikhedhunga, Ghorepani and Ghandruk; there are short dead spots between lodges on the forested sections.

Wi-Fi is available at most lodges for a modest charge (around NPR 200 to 400 per day), though bandwidth is slow and drops at busy times. Charging at lodges costs around NPR 200 to 300 per device and is slower at Ghorepani where the grid connection is solar-backed. A power bank of 10,000 mAh handles two days of phone use comfortably and is the practical choice for the early-morning Poon Hill climb when you want camera battery full.