Nepal: the Annapurna Sanctuary and Annapurna Base Camp trek

Arrive in Kathmandu

Tribhuvan International Airport to your hotel, then the old city on foot

• Repas du soir
• Nuit : Kathmandu

Soir

If you land by about 2 pm, join your See Sight Tours guide for a late-afternoon walk through the old city: south from Thamel through the spice and brass stalls of Asan and Indra Chowk to Kathmandu Durbar Square, where the temples and the old royal palace catch the low light and the evening crowds gather on the temple steps. In the evening the whole group meets for a welcome dinner of momos and dal bhat and a first briefing on the trek: how the days run, what goes in the duffel the porters carry, what stays in Pokhara, and how teahouses and altitude work. This is the only night in Kathmandu before the trek, so if you would like more time here, we can add nights before the trip starts.

Compris

• Pick-up at Tribhuvan International Airport (KTM)
• Old city walk to Kathmandu Durbar Square with your guide, entry fee as set out in the quote, for arrivals by about 2 pm
• Welcome dinner and trek briefing

Fly to Pokhara

Kathmandu to Pokhara by plane, then Lakeside

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
• Nuit : Pokhara
• En avion

Matin

A morning flight west to Pokhara takes about 25 minutes, against roughly seven to nine hours by road (an estimate; road conditions vary). Sit on the right side of the plane: on a clear morning the Himalaya runs along the horizon, with the Annapurnas and the fishtail peak of Machhapuchhre ahead as you land.

Soir

We drive a few minutes to our hotel at Lakeside, on the shore of Phewa Lake, where we stay tonight and again on day 11, so whatever you do not need on the trail stays in the hotel storeroom. Lunch is a sit-down meal by the lake. Afterwards you meet your licensed Nepali trek leader and the porters, pack your duffel (up to 10 kg), collect the sleeping bag and down jacket we lend, and go through the trek day by day, including how we watch for altitude sickness. Late afternoon and evening are free: walk the lakeshore, buy any last gear, or have an early night.

Compris

• Flight from Kathmandu to Pokhara
• Airport transfers in Kathmandu and Pokhara
• Sit-down lunch at Lakeside
• Trek briefing and gear check, with a sleeping bag and down jacket to borrow

Nayapul to Ghandruk

Pokhara to Nayapul by road, then on foot via Birethanti and Kimche to Ghandruk

• Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
• Nuit : Ghandruk
• Environ 1.5 h de route

Matin

After breakfast we drive about an hour and a half west to Nayapul, where the trek begins at about 1,000 metres. At Birethanti, where the Modi and Bhurungdi rivers meet, the conservation area checkpoint stamps your permit.

Après-midi

The trail follows the Modi Khola upstream past rice terraces, water buffalo and small shops to Syauli Bazaar, where we stop for lunch, then climbs on stone steps to Kimche and up the hillside to Ghandruk. This is a large Gurung village of stone houses and slate roofs spread across a terraced slope at about 1,940 metres; many men from villages like this have served as Gurkha soldiers. If we arrive in time, we visit the Old Gurung Museum, a traditional house kept with farm tools, clothes and household objects.

Soir

On a clear evening Annapurna South, Hiunchuli and Machhapuchhre stand at the head of the valley. About 5 to 6 hours on foot and roughly 900 metres of climbing.

Compris

• Drive from Pokhara to Nayapul
• Permits and TIMS card, as set out in the quote
• Trek from Nayapul to Ghandruk with your guides and porters
• The Old Gurung Museum in Ghandruk
• Lunch on the trail and dinner at the teahouse

Over the ridge to Chhomrong

Ghandruk to Chhomrong via Kimrong Danda and the Kimrong Khola

• Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
• Nuit : Chhomrong

Matin

We leave Ghandruk after breakfast, while the mountains are clear, and climb through oak and rhododendron forest to a ridge at Kimrong Danda, roughly 2,600 metres, with the first long view up the Modi valley towards the Sanctuary.

Après-midi

From the ridge the trail drops steeply to the Kimrong Khola, where we stop for lunch by the river, then climbs again across terraced fields and along the hillside to Chhomrong. This is the last permanent village in the valley, a Gurung settlement of stone houses on a steep slope at about 2,170 metres, looking straight across at Annapurna South and Hiunchuli, with Machhapuchhre's twin summit up the valley. Arriving by mid-afternoon leaves time for a hot shower and a bakery stop if the lodges have one.

Soir

Tonight is the last village before the Sanctuary; your guide will tell you what the lodges above here serve, and menus there are usually vegetarian. About 6 hours on foot.

Compris

• Trek from Ghandruk to Chhomrong
• All meals on the trail with a hot drink and drinking water

Into the Modi gorge to Bamboo

Chhomrong to Bamboo via the Chhomrong Khola and Sinuwa

• Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
• Nuit : Bamboo

Soir

We have lunch at Bamboo itself, a small cluster of lodges in a clearing on the river, and stay the night here, which leaves a free afternoon to rest your legs. The gorge is narrow and gets little sun, so evenings are cool and damp. About 4.5 to 5.5 hours on foot.

Compris

• Trek from Chhomrong to Bamboo
• All meals on the trail with a hot drink and drinking water

Up the gorge to Deurali

Bamboo to Deurali via Dovan, Himalaya and Hinku Cave

• Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
• Nuit : Deurali

Après-midi

The trail rises through bamboo and then mossy rhododendron forest past the lodges at Dovan, crosses side streams on stepping stones and reaches Himalaya, at about 2,920 metres, where we stop for lunch. Above Himalaya the trees thin out and the trail gets rockier, passing Hinku Cave, a rock overhang beside the trail, and crossing open slopes where the cliffs close in on both sides.

Soir

Deurali sits at about 3,200 metres, the first night above 3,000. We walk slowly, drink plenty of water, and your guides check how everyone is feeling at dinner, as they will every evening from here up. From late autumn through spring this upper section can carry snow, and the stretch from Hinku Cave towards Machhapuchhre Base Camp is where avalanches are reported after snowfall; if local advice says the trail is unsafe, the group waits or turns back. About 5 to 6 hours on foot and about 900 metres of climbing.

Compris

• Trek from Bamboo to Deurali
• All meals on the trail with a hot drink and drinking water
• Evening altitude check with your guides

Machhapuchhre Base Camp

Deurali to Machhapuchhre Base Camp

• Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
• Nuit : Machhapuchhre Base Camp

Après-midi

We arrive by late morning, about 2.5 to 3 hours from Deurali, and have lunch at the lodge. The afternoon is for acclimatising: rest, drink, and if you feel well, walk slowly up the slope behind the lodges for an hour with your guide and come back down to sleep, which helps the body adjust.

Soir

Cloud often builds in the valley after midday; on a clear evening the light can turn the ice on Machhapuchhre and Annapurna South pink. The night is cold, so the down jacket earns its place.

Compris

• Trek from Deurali to Machhapuchhre Base Camp
• Time at the lodge for sunset (weather permitting)
• All meals with a hot drink and drinking water

Annapurna Base Camp at 4,130 metres

Machhapuchhre Base Camp to Annapurna Base Camp, then the moraine viewpoint

• Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
• Nuit : Annapurna Base Camp

Matin

We set off after breakfast, while the morning is clear, for the slow two-hour climb across the open valley to Annapurna Base Camp at 4,130 metres, the high point of the trip. The lodges sit in a ring of peaks: Annapurna I, at 8,091 metres the tenth highest mountain in the world, with Annapurna South, Hiunchuli, Gangapurna, Annapurna III and Machhapuchhre all around. Prayer flags and memorial stones for climbers who died on Annapurna stand at the edge of camp.

Après-midi

After lunch, if you feel well, walk a few minutes to the moraine ridge above the South Annapurna Glacier with your guide. The afternoon is for resting and drinking water.

Soir

On a clear evening the sunset light can reach the face of Annapurna I. This is the coldest night, well below freezing, in a very basic lodge with shared rooms likely in October, and you may sleep poorly at this height, which is normal.

Compris

• Trek from Machhapuchhre Base Camp to Annapurna Base Camp
• The moraine viewpoint over the South Annapurna Glacier
• Time at the lodge for sunset (weather permitting)
• All meals with a hot drink and drinking water

Sunrise at base camp, down to Bamboo

Annapurna Base Camp to Bamboo via Machhapuchhre Base Camp, Deurali and Himalaya

• Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
• Nuit : Bamboo

Matin

No climb is needed for sunrise: step out of the lodge before dawn; in clear weather the first light reaches the summit of Annapurna I and moves along the ring of peaks. After a hot breakfast we head down the way we came, and the air thickens with every hour.

Après-midi

We pass Machhapuchhre Base Camp, drop through the rocky upper gorge to Deurali and stop for a long lunch at Himalaya, then follow the forest trail back down to the lodges at Bamboo. This is the longest day of the trek, 6 to 7 hours and about 1,800 metres of descent, and it is hard on the knees; poles help, and we take it at a steady pace with rests.

Soir

Most people sleep much better tonight at about 2,310 metres. If anyone stayed at Machhapuchhre Base Camp, they come up for sunrise and walk down with the group.

Compris

• Time at the lodge for sunrise (weather permitting)
• Trek from Annapurna Base Camp to Bamboo
• All meals with a hot drink and drinking water

Back through Chhomrong to the Jhinu hot springs

Bamboo to Jhinu Danda via Sinuwa and Chhomrong, then the hot springs

• Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
• Nuit : Jhinu Danda

Matin

A morning of ups and downs.

Après-midi

From Bamboo the trail climbs back to Sinuwa, drops to the bridge over the Chhomrong Khola and climbs the long staircase up through Chhomrong, where we stop for lunch with Annapurna South now behind us. From the top of the village a steep descent on stone steps brings us down through terraced fields to Jhinu Danda, a small settlement on a ridge at about 1,780 metres. We arrive in the early afternoon, drop our bags and walk about 20 minutes down to the hot springs, a set of warm pools on the bank of the Modi Khola, for a soak after eight days on the trail. The walk back up takes about half an hour.

Soir

The evening is the warmest of the trek, and there is often time to sit outside before dinner. About 5 to 6 hours on foot, plus the hot springs.

Compris

• Trek from Bamboo to Jhinu Danda
• The Jhinu hot springs, entry fee as set out in the quote
• All meals on the trail with a hot drink and drinking water

Down to the road and back to Pokhara

Jhinu Danda to Siwai on foot, then by road to Pokhara and a boat on Phewa Lake

• Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
• Nuit : Pokhara
• Environ 2.5 h de route

Matin

The last morning on the trail is short and gentle. We follow the Modi Khola downstream on a broad path past fields and suspension bridges to the road head at Siwai, about 2 hours, where our vehicle meets us. If the jeep track is in good order, we may meet it a little higher, at New Bridge.

Après-midi

The drive back to Pokhara takes about 2.5 hours on a rough road at first, then the Baglung highway, and we stop for lunch on the way. After a hot shower at the Lakeside hotel and your stored luggage, we walk to the boat landing in the late afternoon and cross Phewa Lake in a wooden rowing boat to the island temple of Tal Barahi, as the light goes gold over the water.

Soir

In the evening we sit down for an end-of-trek dinner with the trek leader and porters, a chance to thank the crew.

Compris

• Trek from Jhinu Danda to Siwai
• Drive from Siwai to Pokhara, with lunch on the way
• Rowing boat on Phewa Lake to Tal Barahi temple
• End-of-trek dinner with the crew

Fly to Kathmandu and depart

Pokhara to Kathmandu by plane, Pashupatinath, then Tribhuvan International Airport

• Petit-déjeuner
• En avion

Matin

A morning flight back to Kathmandu, about 25 minutes; sit on the left side of the plane for a last look at the Annapurnas. If your flight home leaves from about 4 pm onwards, your guide takes you to Pashupatinath, a short drive from the airport: the great Hindu temple on the Bagmati River, where non-Hindus are reported to be unable to enter the main shrine but everyone can watch from the terraces across the river, where the river terraces look across to the temple complex. Then we drive you to Tribhuvan International Airport; allow three hours before an international departure.

Soir

Book your flight home for the evening if you can. Cloud sometimes delays or cancels the Pokhara flight, and the road takes roughly seven to nine hours (an estimate), so a later flight, or an extra night in Kathmandu that we can add, protects your connection. If you would like longer in Nepal, we can also link this trek to our classic Kathmandu, Chitwan and Pokhara trip.

Compris

• Flight from Pokhara to Kathmandu
• Airport transfers in Pokhara and Kathmandu
• Pashupatinath with your guide, entry fee as set out in the quote, for flights home from about 4 pm
• Drop-off at Tribhuvan International Airport (KTM)