Ghorepani Poon Hill Trek in December

Firm, dry and quiet. The trail below Ghandruk is warm enough in the afternoon sun to walk in a shirt, which is the part of December nobody expects. The contrast between the 18°C afternoon at Tikhedhunga and the -4°C dawn at the viewpoint two days later is the widest temperature swing on this trek in any month.

The forest is bare and the sightlines through it are the best of the year. Between Ghorepani and Tadhapani you can see the mountains through the trees for long stretches where the March canopy allows nothing.

Short days change the planning. A December group wants to be walking by 7:30am rather than 9, because the afternoon light goes early and the descent to Ghandruk is not a section to be rushing in the dark.

Quiet throughout, and the quietest of the four dry-season months. Ghorepani has rooms every night, the tower at dawn holds a handful of people, and every teahouse on the route is open with a full menu.

These are permanent Gurung and Magar villages with year-round populations, so December service is not the reduced winter operation you find on high routes. The dining rooms are warm and the food is unchanged from October.

December is the most reliable month of the year for the Kathmandu to Pokhara flight, with only morning fog in the Kathmandu valley causing occasional delays of an hour or two. Roads are dry and Pokhara is quiet, so hotels and vehicles are easy at short notice.