Thanks so much everyone. I'm thinking about car from Pokhara to Ghandruk and stay overnight then go to Landruk then on to Dhampus and Phedi (or in reverse). Is this feasible in a couple of days eg: two nights and three days? Sounds like Ghandruk is very pretty and a "real village" feel and I'd love to see the flowers and some forest which apparently I would along the way???(as well as the mountains of course). Are there any roads between Ghandruk and Phedi or only trails? Any suggestions, does this sound ok?

The difference is you won't go over the high pass, Apacheta pass, also called Salkantay pass. Instead it looks like they will use the Soraypampa camp as a base, and take you to various mountain lagunas in the area south of the pass. It will still be extremely scenic. But you won't trek to the hydroelectrica. You'll arrive by van at the train station in Olla like most other non-trekking tourists.

OK -- I'll revise that: it seems there are some mountain trails, but they are somewhat limited.

• http://theamalficoast.online/amalfi_coast_hiking_trekking_guide.html

You certainly would not walk along the coastline.

One mid-May day in Innsbruck we took the wonderful Hungerburg Funicular train / cable car to the top of the mountain range overlooking the city - the views were sensational.

At the top, a number of people took off to do short hikes - not sure of their duration or difficulty, but it certainly was an impressive place at the summit, with mountain views into Germany.

https://nordkette.com/en

Your Plan-

I would use NYC as the a fun time for at least 4 nights, its one of the best cities in the world IMO. Then train to Philly.
Then train to Wash DC.

Then after DC, get a rental car, and take oneway to New Orleans.

After New Orleans, fly to Phoenix or Sante Fe, and get a car, and drive to LA.

It is going to be VERY HOT in August in the south, as Hot as it gets, especially out west.

There is nothing to see between Nashville and Santa Fe/Phoenix, except New Orleans.

If nature/hiking/camping is a focus, Smokey Mountian National Park/Blue Ridge Park Way area is the place for this, with the Appalachian Trail a multi day hike....

3 weeks is NOT a lot of time, when deduct out the huge distances you need to travel. if you just go to NYC 2 nights, Philly 1 night, Wash DC 3 nights, thats 1 week, now you have two weeks to go across country...

DC to New Orleans via SMNP/BRP/Nashville/Natchez Trail is another week.

Now you have 1 week, for 3/4's the country.

Have you looked at oneway car rentals? It will be $100 day for a car oneway...plus insurance.

My suggestions-

Culturally, foodie and landscape highlights to focus on would be-

Charleston SC- Culture, History, Low Country cuisine
New Orleans- Culture, History, French Creole cuisine
Asheville NC -is the real Bluegrass heritage, and mother to country music, good hiking and foodie scene too.
San Fran/Sonoma/Wine country- great weather and foodie/wine scene. San Fran fun city for 2 nights.

You need two weeks for the parks out west, best to do a big loop from LA, San Fran or Las Vegas.

Mountains- Colorado, Montana, Wyoming and Utah will be far nicer weather, and cooler, than the southern parks, which will be hottest time of year. Yellowstone NP is the gem of the entire country, need 1 week for that, could fly NO to Denver get a car and drop in Salt Lake City UT or all the way to San Fran.

August is the biggest travel month for US residents, and the key parks are jammed, as well as NYC, Wash DC, and almost everything on the tourist list.

You'll be hitting Vermont/New Hampshire/Maine in peak season--fall foliage may be peaking (you'll also see it Quebec) although it varies in time and display from year to year. It will be relatively expensive esp. on the weekends, and you should book ahead of time.

Burlington is a nice enough place but Vermont has a great deal to see that's further South and although it is a small state, it can still take time to drive and Burlington has limits as a base. White River Junction/Lebanon might be a better base or you might split up the Vermont park of the trip across a couple towns. The Green Mountains have many nice hikes and are different from the Whites in New Hampshire which are less forested. Both states, but esp. Vermont are known for artisianal food production--Ben & Jerry's icecream is the best known/most touristy but a simple Google search will turn up much more. My favorite cheddar cheese, for example, comes from Plymouth, NH (and a place that is called Plymouth Cheese). North Conway is a good base but it's not very large, so you'll need to book ahead.

I find the two day Inca Trail very expensive for what is only one day of hiking. The second day is for MP.

MP is great but there are many other great sites in the area. You don't need a tour. With 3 days this is what I would do:

Friday: Early start. Chinchero, Moray and the Maras salineras on the way to Ollantaytambo. Town, ruins and, if time, granaries in Ollantaytambo.
If you leave most of your stuff at your hotel in Cusco you can do that by public transport. Bus to Chinchero, shared taxi to the Maras junction and there taxis offer a 3 hour tour of Moray and the salineras (I think they want 70 soles). We hiked to Moray and the salineras but we had much more time. Of course it would be easier (and it might be better in your case because you don't have much time) to take a taxi who will wait while you visit the sites. You can try to negotiate a price when you get to Cusco (maybe ask your hotel too) or you can go with Taxidatum (probably a bit more expensive but great reviews): http://taxidatum.com/chincheros-maras-moray-taxi-tour/

Saturday: early train to Aguas Calientes. Bus to MP entrance. Visit MP. I recommend hiking up one of the mountains (Huayna Picchu or Montana). If you do that you have to choose the second time slot for the mountain. If you don't want to hike up a mountain you can take a slightly later train and buy afternoon tickets for MP. After MP back to Ollantaytambo by train. Stay in Ollantaytambo

Sunday: another early start. Pisac and Sacsayhuaman on the way to Cusco. And that leaves an afternoon for Cusco (assuming you still have the whole afternoon). Again, you can take a bus to Pisac (via Urubamba) and then a bus to Sacsayhuaman and from there you can walk back to Cusco. Or you can take a taxi.

You can buy train tickets online (Peru Rail or Inca Rail). And you can buy MP tickets here: http://www.machupicchu.gob.pe/
Tickets don't usually sell out for MP (just the site without a mountain) and Montana but do sell out weeks/months in advance for Huayna Picchu. In peak season tickets (even for just the site) do sell out.

Aguas Calientes has a scenic setting but the town is not interesting. Ollantaytambo is much more interesting.