Autumn gets the bookings; Spring gets the rhododendrons. Why our guides quietly prefer March-May.
Ask a guidebook and it'll tell you Nepal has two trekking seasons: October–November (post-monsoon, clear skies) and March–May (pre-monsoon, warmer). Both are right. But Spring is where the conversation usually ends, when it should be where it begins.
Spring trekking is slightly hazier — that's true. The post-monsoon clarity of October mornings is unmatched. But Spring brings the rhododendron forests into bloom: hillsides at 2,500–3,500 metres that turn red, pink and white through April. The Annapurna Sanctuary in particular is electric. Add in the fact that there are roughly 40% fewer trekkers on the trail and that lodges have full availability, and Spring becomes the season most of our guides quietly prefer to work in.
Days are slightly longer, evenings slightly warmer, and the high passes that closed under snow in January are reopening one by one. If you can travel in either season, take Spring.
About the author
Tashi Gurung
Senior Trek Guide · Annapurna · Mustang
From Ghandruk village. Speaks fluent Tibetan, opening doors in Mustang's monastery network. Has crossed Thorong La 47 times. Famous on every trip for the rest-day apple brandy ritual.
