Panch Pokhari Short Trek via Chhimti

This is the shape the majority of current trip reports and packages default to, and it earns that position honestly — it delivers the full Panch Pokhari experience without demanding more time than most visitors, Nepali or international, can realistically spare. A direct bus or private vehicle from Kathmandu's Jorpati neighbourhood reaches Chhimti in five to seven hours, from where a short first-day walk climbs to Deurali. The second day is the longest of the trip — a genuine six-to-seven hour push through Tuppi Danda and a deliberately lodge-free stretch of forest to Nasimpati (3,650-3,700 m), the trek's key overnight before the final climb. From Nasimpati, a demanding but shorter day crosses Saat Ghumti and the Lauribina pass to reach the five lakes themselves at 4,100 m, with enough daylight left, conditions permitting, to continue up to the 4,300 m viewpoint for a panorama that takes in all five ponds together rather than just the three visible from camp. The return retraces the same route back to Chhimti and the drive out to Kathmandu. Four days, one real climb, one unforgettable high-altitude pilgrimage site — and, unusually for a trek this rewarding, a start and finish point that's genuinely no trouble to reach.