Ghorepani Poon Hill Trek in May

The walking is easy and the heat is the problem. The Ulleri staircase in May is a genuine effort, and the sensible approach is to be on it by 7am and finished before the sun is high. Carry more water than you would in spring.

The forest is thick and green with the flowers gone. In the last week or so of May the first leeches appear in the damper sections between Ghorepani and Tadhapani, particularly after a wet afternoon. They are a nuisance rather than the problem they become in July.

The upside nobody mentions: the terraced hillsides below Ghandruk are being worked and planted in May, and the walk down through them is the most alive this landscape looks all year outside the monsoon itself.

The drop from April is sharp and happens in the first ten days. By mid-May Ghorepani has rooms available on arrival and the dawn climb is a handful of people rather than a queue. Every lodge stays open and service is unchanged; you are simply one of far fewer guests.

The Pokhara flight runs normally for most of May, with the first pre-monsoon build-up occasionally causing an afternoon delay. Pokhara is noticeably quieter than April and easy to arrange at short notice.