Planning
Nepal's trekking calendar has four seasons, spring (March to May), monsoon (June to September), autumn (October to November), and winter (December to February), each favouring different routes. Autumn remains the busiest window, but the pattern is shifting: a 2026 Nepal Tourism Board release put January arrivals at 92,573, up 15.7% year over year, and February 2026 was the highest February on record. That means the old "trek in October or not at all" advice is now out of date for several routes.
The pages below break down each season by temperature, visibility, and which routes work, including the winter surge and monsoon rain-shadow options most operators still ignore.
The honest answer is that it depends on the route, not the calendar: autumn (October to November) gives the most stable weather across the most trails, but spring brings rhododendron blooms and warmer nights, winter offers empty trails and the clearest views on lower routes, and the monsoon is prime season in the rain-shadow valleys. Autumn's dominance is real but overstated, and the January-February arrivals surge shows trekkers acting on it.
Each season has a dedicated page: trekking Nepal in winter covers the January-February shift with temperature data, and rain-shadow treks during monsoon covers Upper Mustang and Dolpo when the rest of Nepal is wet.
Temperatures below are typical for around 3,500 m, roughly Namche or Manang height. Every route runs colder as it climbs, and nights at 5,000 m sit 10 C to 15 C below these figures.
| Season | Day / night at 3,500 m | Skies | Trail traffic |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spring, March to May | 8 to 15 C / -5 to 2 C | Clear mornings, hazier afternoons late in the season | Busy, second to autumn |
| Monsoon, June to September | 15 to 20 C / 5 to 10 C | Cloud and rain outside the rain shadow | Very quiet |
| Autumn, October to November | 10 to 15 C / -5 to 0 C | The most reliable visibility of the year | Busiest |
| Winter, December to February | 4 to 9 C / -10 to -15 C | Very clear, short days | Quiet, rising fast |
Autumn buys stable weather and pays for it in company. Lodges on the Everest and Annapurna trails fill in late October, rooms at Gorak Shep and Thorong Phedi need booking ahead rather than arriving on spec, and the trail is busy at every bottleneck.
Spring trades a little of that visibility for warmth and colour. Rhododendron flowers through March and April between roughly 2,000 m and 3,500 m, nights are milder than autumn, and the climbing season means the Everest trail carries expedition traffic as well as trekkers. Afternoon haze builds as the season runs toward the monsoon, so late May mornings are worth an early start.
Winter trades comfort for solitude and clarity. The air is at its cleanest, lower routes such as Poon Hill and Langtang stay entirely walkable, and lodges are quiet. The cost is cold nights, short daylight, and high passes that can close: Thorong La at 5,416 m and the Cho La at 5,420 m both block with snow in January and February often enough that no itinerary should depend on them without a fallback.
Monsoon trades the classic views for an empty trail and a different landscape. Rain falls mostly overnight and in the afternoon rather than all day, but cloud sits on the peaks, leeches are active in the middle hills, and Lukla flights delay more often than any other season.
| If you want | Go | When |
|---|---|---|
| The most reliable Everest views | Everest Base Camp | October to November |
| Rhododendron forest in flower | Poon Hill or Annapurna Base Camp | March to April |
| High passes with the best odds | Three Passes or Annapurna Circuit | October, or April to May |
| Empty trails and clear air | Poon Hill, Langtang, Kathmandu Valley | December to February |
| To walk through the monsoon | Upper Mustang or Dolpo | June to September |
| A climbing peak | Island Peak or Mera Peak | April to May, or October to November |
Seasons blur at their edges, and the shoulder weeks at either end of autumn and spring are often the best value on the calendar.
| Month | Conditions | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| January | Coldest nights, clearest air | High passes may be snow-blocked |
| February | Cold, clearing, lengthening days | Rising traffic on the winter routes |
| March | Warming, rhododendron starting low | Good all-round month before the crowds |
| April | Warm days, flowers at their peak | Everest climbing season traffic |
| May | Warmest pre-monsoon, haze building | Start early for morning views |
| June | Monsoon arrives, humidity high | Rain shadow only |
| July | Wettest weeks, leeches active | Upper Mustang and Dolpo stay dry |
| August | Rain easing late in the month | Flight delays common |
| September | Monsoon retreats, trails green | Second half is excellent and quieter |
| October | The most stable weather of the year | Busiest, book lodges ahead |
| November | Clear and cold, thinning crowds | The best balance of the autumn |
| December | Cold, quiet, short days | Lower routes only for most trekkers |
Lukla is the constraint on any Everest itinerary, and it is a weather-dependent airstrip in all four seasons. Delays cluster in the monsoon and in winter fog, which is why every Everest itinerary on this site carries a spare day at the end, and why a flight into Kathmandu with a same-day international connection is a bad idea in any month.
Autumn is the one season where accommodation is genuinely a planning problem. For October and November departures, book earlier than you think you need to, particularly for the Everest trail. For the rest of the year, the trail sets the pace and the lodges follow. What each season costs, including how peak-season pricing moves, is on the trek costs page.
Planning
