Nepal offers breathtaking treks, but the majority cannot participate in such trips due to lack of time, expertise, or desire. If you want to mean the most of the Himalayan wilderness within the span of a few days, the Annapurna Skyline Trek is the right choice for you. It is often known as the Royal Trek.
Named after a visit by Prince Charles in the early 1980s, the Royal Trek is a short, scenic trek near Pokhara that offers rich cultural experiences, peaceful trails, and striking views of the Annapurna range—without the crowds you’ll find on more famous routes like the Annapurna Circuit or Base Camp.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through everything you need to know about the Royal Trek: its history, route, highlights, gear, logistics, and what makes it such a special choice for trekkers looking for something different
Why This Trek Stands Out
The Royal Trek is not that well-known, this is a part that makes it a hidden gem. Out of ten trek-goers on the way to the Annapurna Base Camp, one would most probably opt for this less crowded trail. The trail meanders through the hillside villages, terraced farms, pine forests, and open ridgelines all along the journey, never draped in fog. Although the high Himalayas are seen at all times, they are not in a hurry, rather the hiker is not in a hurry. You get the vibes of the daily lives of the people in rural Nepal, the landscapes are constantly shifting which gives you a feeling of something not very different from the rural life in Nepal.
Literally, we are always looking at those giant peaks- Machapuchare, Annapurna II, Langtang Himal, even Dhaulagiri are just a piece of the cake you can get. These peaks are also visible up on the terraces where women spread out the corn to get dried and in the chili fields. Found in the middle of the trek, you will have to pass the schools, the temples, the grazing buffalo in which you can still see the mountain tops. Early in the morning is the best time to catch it, when the smoke still spirals from the chimneys.
The mountains are always a background, but they are neither passive nor out of our way.
