Annapurna Circuit Trek

Drive approx 25 minutes depending on the traffic. After the check-in formalities, there will be a full trek briefing by your Tour Leader at the hotel lobby. After the briefing you have a choice to go for group dinner to a Nepalese restaurant and experience the culture through our food and dance.

We leave Kathmandu early in the morning and we follow the Trishuli river to Mugling. We then continue to Besisahar, from here we will now change our vehicle to high clearance buses and drive to Ngaddi, where we will stay for the night.

The trail continues up the east bank of the river passing a beautiful waterfall to Ngaddi. Here we cross a suspension bridge and then begin a steady climb through scrub forest finally arriving at Lampatta, a Manangi village with Tibetan style prayer flags. A final short sharp ascent brings us to the village of Bahundanda, perched on a ridge at 1311m. From the ridge we descend to the river at Syange (1136m) where we once more cross the river. The trail then follows the river to Jagat.

An undulating trail leads to Chyamje, after which we cross a suspension bridge and climb through oak forest. The trail then emerges into a level valley where ‘Tal’ (meaning a lake ) the next village is situated at the foot of a grand waterfall (1700m). Crossing the river a couple of times we reach the village of Dharapani at 1943m.

Beyond this village we continue our climb over a spur to Bagarchap, at 2164m. The name of this village means ‘butcher’s place’ and, although Buddhist, the people of this region do hunt animals. Continuing we follow the trail through forest to Dhanagyu and climb up to Temang, where we have lunch with magnificent views of Manaslu and Peak 29. The trail then descends though fir and pine forests to Koto and Chame (2713m), administrative centre of the Manang district.

We now experience a dramatic change of scenery. Leaving the forests and vegetation of the alpine regions behind we enter the upper district of Manang, known as Nyeshang. At first our trail follows the river closely through a deep canyon before coming to Brathang at 2919m. The trail then follows the steep narrow valley through deep forest from which there are fine views of Annapurna II. We cross the river where the impressive curved rock face of Paungda Danda rises nearly 1500m from the riverbank, and climb to the village of Pisang at 3,185m.

Today is our spectacular, shorter acclimatization day. We travel the wonderful high-level path from Upper Pisang, passing via the villages of Gyaru and Ngawal, to reach Manang. This is an amazing trek with fantastic views of the Annapurna range. After a quick ascent through the forest, we make our way up to Gyaru for a tea break, which is quite steep. The higher we get, the more breathtaking the views are across the valley. From here, the trail winds majestically high above the river, offering breathtaking vistas of the Annapurna range all the way to Ngawal, our overnight destination.

After breakfast moving on from Ngawal, we pass through a stupa and descent down on our way towards Julu. Continuing our journey we now start our steady climb with great view of the valley before us after which our trail again descent down to the village of Braga, here we will be spending our night.

We depart Braga and travel past Manang on our way to the Thorong La’s base. We ascend the Jarsang Khola valley and head northwest after leaving the Marsyangdi valley. We have risen above the woodlands and are now traveling over arid, alpine terrain featuring patches of scrub juniper and sporadic clusters of birch. We stay at a lodge in Yak Kharka for the night. We plan to be at the lodge by midday, after which we will embark on an acclimatization stroll above the nearby hills. Watch careful for the Blue Sheep that live in this windy, chilly place.

One more brief day to facilitate acclimatization. As we go up the valley, the scenery gets wilder. We descend to cross the Jarsang Khola at one point, and then go up a scree slope to the isolated teahouses at Phedi, which is at the base of Thorong La. It can get rather windy and chilly in Thorong Phedi. We can take a stroll up to the final lodge, Thorong High Camp, which is located approximately an hour above Phedi, in the afternoon.

We have a long day ahead of us as we depart Phedi early the following morning to ascend the pass. The ascent is extremely steep in the beginning but becomes less steep as we get closer to the summit, however the altitude makes the going difficult. We eventually arrive at the pass proper at 5416 meters. Looking ahead, we are greeted with a breathtaking view of snow-capped peaks that stretch all the way to Tibet. To the rear, we can make out some of Annapurna’s prominent peaks. The 2,500-meter-deep Great Canyon of the Kali Gandaki is right in front of us. There’s a lengthy, easy downhill that gets steeper as we follow a series of switchbacks down to the grassy slopes, eventually the trail becomes gentler as we reach Muktinath.

A less taxing day following yesterday’s efforts. We go through a region of barren, eroded hills with snow-capped high peaks as we leave Muktinath. We hike up to Chongur, a little traditional settlement, after crossing the Jhong Khola and seeing the temples above Muktinath. A Sakya monk constructed the monastery, and the Sakya sect’s colors are used throughout the entire community. We continue on a combination of jeep tracks and walking trails until we reach Jhong, another stunning settlement. Here lie the ruins of a historic fortification and a monastery that dates back to the seventh or eighth century. We proceed down the valley through Putak hamlet, passing wind-eroded cliffs in a variety of stunning colors, and eventually descend down the steep trail towards Kali Gandaki Valley and onto our destination at Kagbeni.

The trail now follows the Kali Gandaki River down to Jomosom, a large administrative centre, at 2713m. As you walk down the rocky riverbed look out for ammonite fossils amongst the pebbles. These are sacred to Hindus who call them ‘shaligrams’. After lunch in Jomosom we cross the river to the village of Thini, where there is a small monastery. We cross a wooden bridge to Samley, from where it is about half an hour to Dumba Lake. This very small lake is considered holy by the local Thakali people. A short climb brings us to Dumba Gompa for magnificent views of the Kali Gandaki Valley, Dhaulagiri and Tukuche Peak. On treks departing in October and November we will drop down through Dumba village to the suspension bridge across the Kali Gandaki to Marpha. From December to May we continue on the same side of the river towards the Tibetan refugee camp. A wooden bridge crossing the Kali Gandaki takes us to the pretty village of Marpha (2667m) with its clean paved streets and white-washed houses. Marpha is famous for it’s locally made apple and peach brandy, which you might like to sample to celebrate your crossing of the Thorong La.

Today we follow the Kali Gandaki Valley, a major trade route. We are now in the deepest gorge in the world – to the east Annapurna 1 raise to 8091m, to the west the peak of Dhaulagiri at 8167m soars above us. Leaving the dry, barren landscapes we walk through pine, cypress and juniper forest, sometimes on the valley floor and other times on a trail high above. From Marpha we cross back over the Kali Gandaki to avoid the road. Walking through fir and pine forests we continue onto Chokhepani. In October and November we must cross the large suspension bridge just before Chokhepani to Tukuche for lunch. From December to May we can continue on to a small wooden bridge which takes us directly into Tukuche. The village is surrounded by apple and apricot orchards and the fruit brandy is famous throughout the area. After lunch we have a short walk to Larjung. In October and November we will stay on the same side of the river. From December to May we cross the river and follow a trail through Sauru village onto Larjung. We stay tonight in a simple lodge. It is definitely worth walking up towards Thasang this evening to see the sunset on Niligiri.

Today we leave the main trail and trek via Titi Tal and Titi Gaon to Kurje Gaon. We will start with a short walk along the road to the large suspension bridge below Larjung. After crossing the river, the trail climbs up through the forest to Titi Tal, a very small lake. From December to May we can cross the Kali Gandaki using a small wooden bridge to Sirkung from where we have a fairly steep walk through the forest to Nupsang Kharka. From here we get fantastic views of Dhaulagiri, Tukuche and Dhampus peaks. Dropping down through the forest we come to Titi Goan and Titi Tal. Following an easy trail we pass through Taglung to reach Kurje Gaon. We will either carry a packed lunch or have a very simple lunch in a local teahouse at Kurje . We then head towards the Lete Khola and trek on a new trail to Ghasa.

From Ghasa we drop down and cross the river. The trail climbs high above the river through a narrow gorge to Kopchepani. We continue on the same side of the river and follow an ancient trail up to Bhalebas. The trail then undulates and passes a hydroelectric project just before Tatopani. A suspension bridge brings us right into Tatopani. We usually have a longer morning today and late lunch in Tatopani, allowing time in the afternoon to enjoy a welcome soak in the hot spring baths here – guaranteed to ease any aching limbs.

The last stage of the trek takes us over a high ridge to the end of the trek. Today is a bit of a sting in the tail as we have a long climb to Ghorepani (2,855m). The trail climbs all day through small hamlets and terraced fields. Passing through Ghara, Shika and Chitre the trail climbs all day. From Chitre we enter a huge rhododendron forest and the last couple of hours take us up to Ghorepani. Ghorepani means ‘horse water’ and was a stopping place for the huge mule trains that used to ply this route. As we climb today the mountains start to appear and from Ghorepani lodge we get fabulous views of the Annapurnas South, Himchuli and 7th highest mountain Dhaulagiri.

For those who are fascinated by sunrises, this optional activity should be a must. An early start trek to the hour up to the top of Poon Hill for the sunrise. The effort is well worth it for the superb views over the Annapurna’s, Dhaulagiri and Machhapuchre. We return to our lodge for breakfast and then it’s all the way downhill today through the forest to Banthanti and then down a stone staircase through Ulleri and Tirkhedunga to Birethanti by the Modi Khola.

From Birethanti it is a very short walk to Nayapul, where we will pick up transport back to Pokhara. We usually arrive by lunchtime and have the afternoon to explore this pretty lakeside town.

Free Day, Explore Pokhara city.

Today is free for sightseeing in Kathmandu. You may wish to visit Durbar Square in the heart of the old city where the old Royal Palace, with its intricate woodcarving is located. Outside is Kumari Chowk, home of the Kumari, the young girl who is revered as a living goddess. The whole area is a maze of temples and images. Alternatively you may wish to visit the monkey temple at Swayambhunath, one of the largest Buddhist Stupas in the world at Boudhanath, or the most important Hindu temple in the valley at Pashupatinath.

Final departure. Transfer to the airport