Annapurna Circuit Trekking

Day1: Arrival in Kathmandu

Day 2: Sightseeing around Kathmandu Valley

Day 3: Kathmandu to Khudi (792m)
It is around 6:30 AM in the morning that you start your trip from Kathmandu to Khudi after having breakfast. You drive from Kathmandu (1300m) down the hill thru the high way. A long chain of green hill in both sides and beautiful river on right side follow you during the 6-7 hours drive to Khudi. Scattered beautiful hamlets throughout the hills are seen on the way. You pass thru Marsyangdi river valley to Besisahar and finally reach to Khudi where you spend your night in a guesthouse.

The guesthouse provides you local as well as few foreign delicious items in the dinner. It is mention worthy that the guest are considered as god in Nepalese culture so they are very hospitable. You always see them smiling and warm greetings on their face. They arrange you a comfortable accommodation for your sound sleeping at night in their guest house. 

The next morning you wake up around 6:00 AM, fare well the people at guest house and direct towards the Bahundanda.

Day 4: Khundi - Bahundanda (1314meter)
It takes you around 6-7 hours normal walk to reach Bahundanda. On the way you cross the bridge and continue your journey to the north above the Marsyangdi Khola. The changes in the valley’s ecosystem and its physical characteristics become evident now.

This trek fetches you the knowledge of cultural diversity of Nepal while you passes thru many typical local houses and the faces of varied ethnic tribes exchanging gr eetings (Namaste). You share the trail with mule caravans that transport supplies to the remote villages. The trek further becomes romantic when you pass thru subtropical forests and see the rice terraces of Sera of Khundi village.

You pass from Khundi to Bhulbhule to Nagdi and then finally reach to the destination of the day i.e. Bahundanda. Literally Bahun means priest and danda means hill. It is an attractive village in the saddle of a long ridge at 1311m. On the way you see a majestic waterfall (60m high), Himalchuli mountain and Manaslu (8156m).

You take rest at a lodge of Bahundanda on that night. Tomorrow morning around 6300 hours you prepare yourself and move ahead towards Chyamjie.

Day 5: Bahundanda - Chamje (1400m)
Today you have exciting walk for 6 hours to reach Chyamje. You descend to the valley floor and then, crossing the river, climb steeply out of it to follow a trail beautifully carved out to the rock wall of the valley with beautiful waterfalls. As you near the village of Jagat you have to climb a steep 200m trail that has been blasted out of the rock face. You now again climb down the hill where you get a small hot spring and then again you c limb up to Chamje .

The ever smiling people at guest house welcome you warmly. You spend night at their guesthouse.  

Day 6: Chamje - Dharapani (1943m)
As you head up the way  through stream , bamboo and rhododendron (national flower)forest , you begin to notice the changes in the people as well as the landscapes, culture and architecture. You notice that there is a concentration of people of Tibetan origin; Rock built houses, less tropical vegetation and the predominantly Tibetan Culture. The trail from Tal crosses the Marshyangdi River to its west bank after Karte Village and continuous towards the village of Dharapani. You complete this trek in just 6 hours normal walk.

You take rest in a beautifully decorated guesthouse for this night. 

Day 7: Dharapani - Chame (2713m)
Today morning at 0700 hours you pack up and start trek to Chame. You continue up the River valley and  pass the Gurung Village Thonje to Bagarchhap. You continue walk along the left bank of the river , climb up the heavily wooded Manang valley and  small settlements with outstanding views of Mt. Manaslu (8163meter) and the peaks above Larkya La. As Chame is administration town of Manang district has facility of bank. Throughout the day there are nice views of Lamjung Himal, Annapurna II and Anna purna IV (7525m). The treks end after continuous walk for 6 hours.

You spend your night in a guesthouse at Chame.

Day 8: Chame - Pisang (3185m)
Today  you do  trek for almost 5 hours to Pisang.You first pass the older part of Chame and climb up to Telekhu at 2840 meter and continue with a long pleasant and mostly level walk through the forest to Brathang, which lies at 2950 meter. After the trail rounds a bend here you see the first view of the dramatic Paungda Danda rock face, a tremendous curved slab of rock rising more then 1500 meter from the river.

Further you cross back to the south bank of the Marsyangdi River on a suspension bridge at 3080 meter and then make a long gentle climb over a ridge through blue pine forests. After this, the trek reasonably level as it heads to the upper part of Manang valley to Pisang. This town marks the beginning of the region known as Nyesyang, the upper portion of the Manang district. An excellent view of Annapurna II can be seen to south as you are now behind the main Himalayan peaks in their rain shadow area. 

Day 9: Pisang - Manang (3540m)
Today you have to trek  slowly climbed up to the Tibetan-style village of Bryaga at 3500 meter following the valley floor. At Braga you see houses stacked one atop the other, each with an open veranda formed by a neighbor’s rooftop. The gompa perched on a high crag overlooking the village, is the largest in the district and has an outstanding display of statues.

Then you  continue through a very arid countryside, dominated by weird cliffs of yellow rock, eroded into dramatic pillars alongside the trail to reach today’s destination, the village of Manang, where the shops are surprisingly well stocked with all the things you might want to refuel on.

This astonishing trek ends after 5 hours continuous walk. You stop at Manang  today.

Day 10: Acclimatization at Manang 
After many days continuous trekking, today  you stay one  day at Manang. It is important for you to acclimatize at this point furthering your trip because the altitude is going to rise up to 4700m in coming treks. You may hike to Chonkor View Point 3800m and to the monastery. The day can be utilized preparing by you for further trekking.   Then  spend a night  in a beautiful warm guesthouse.

Day 11: Manang - Yak Kharka (4000m)
Trekking slowly upwards to Thrung La you leave the large trees behind and see vegetation consisting mainly of scrub juniper and alpine grass and you pass a few meadows where horses and yaks graze. You get an opportunity to see herds of blue sheep grazing on the steep slopes at Yak Kharka. You do not feel crossing all the way in 4 hours.

Overnight at the  lodge. Tomorrow morning you prepare yourself for the highest altitude trek you have ever done before.

Day 12: Yak Kharka - Thrung Phedi/high camp (4500m/4700m)  
This day you reach to the highest point of the trek, possibly the highest point you have ever  been on in your life. From Yak kharka you will continue to climb along the east bank of the Jarang Khola to Thorung Phedi, a rock-strewn meadow surrounded by vertical cliffs at 4420 meter. Blue sheep and even snow leopards can be  seen sometimes  in this valley. High in the skies above, you can see lammergeyers and Himalayan griffons circling around.

The total walking time is 3-4 hours for this day.

Day 13 Thorang Phedi -Muktinath (3800m) via Thorang La Pass (5416m)
Today , the  long trek starts  before sunrise , maybe  at 0400 hrs to reach the pass by 0900/1000 hrs at the latest,  otherwise weather conditions will greatly affect the journey. You cross over at an altitude of 5416m, so can be effected by  strong winds if  you do   late.

Local people have been using this trail for hundreds of years to bring herds of sheep and yaks in and out of Manang. Thus the trail, while often steep, is well defined and easy to follow. Snow can block the pass at any time of the year if there comes  an unseasonable storm. It takes 4-6 hours from Thorung Phedi to La Pass. 

At the Thorung La pass, with its traditional prayer flags and stone cairn you have outstanding views. You can see the Annapunas, Gangapurna and Khatung Kang,  peaks with heavy glacier. Amazingly there is a teashop here on top of the pass at 5416 meter. From here you start a long descend of about 1600 meter with outstanding views of Dhaulagiri mountain standing alone in the distance across the valley.

After the trail becomes less steep you enter grassy fields and cross meadows to your final destination of Muktinath, which means place of Nirvana and is home to the Muktinath temple as well as several monasteries. It is said that all sorrows you feel are relieved when visiting the Temple, which is a scared pilgrimage site to both Hindus and Buddhists. The main pilgrimage normally takes place in September. The Temple is dedicated to Lord Vishnu and has 108 taps around it from which Holy water pours. Another attraction nearby is the Jwala Mai Temple and this contains a spring and an eternal flame fed by natural underground gas. You reach Muktinath from La Pass in 9 hours.

Day 14 Muktinath - Marpha via Jomsom (2700m)
 Today you follow the “Jomsom trek” in reverse order. You first go down to Kagbeni, which is a 990 meter descend through meadows, streams and fruit trees like peach orchards. Then you continue going down to Jomson (more correctly Dzongsam, or “new fort”). You descend continues through the Kali Gandaki Valley to Marpha. Marpha isa  home to many apple orchids as well as all the various food products made from the fruit. Apple Brandy is a local specialty of Marphs that you can   taste en route. It takes around 6 hours to complete this route.

Day 15 Marpha - Ghasa (2073m)   
You further trek down the Kali Gandaki valley alongside the Kali Gandaki river to Ghasa. You pass the villages of Tukuche at 2580m and Larjung at 2560 meter. Then you  cross the Kali Gandaki river by a high suspension bridge and continue through an area covered with fir, juniper and cypress trees. Towards the village of Kalopani (2530m) you have splendid 360Ëš views of Dhaulagiri, Tukuche Peak, the three Nilgiris, Fang and Annapurna I. After crossing another very long suspension bridge (107 meter long) you reach Ghasa, last point for this night.  This trek demands around 6 hours walk.

Day 16 Ghasa - Tatopani (1190m)
Today the trek leads you through the most steep and narrow  part of the Kali Gandaki valley; much of the way is cut through solid rock and subject to frequent landslides. Before you reach the village of Dana (1450m) you pass the Rupse Chhahara (‘beautiful waterfall’). Descending further down passthere will be  several landslides then  you reach Tatopani, meaning hot water, which is situated on the riverbanks where you can  stop and take a natural  hot water bath. It is 6 hours walk from Ghasa to Tatopani.

Day 17 Tatopani -Ghorepani (2856m)
Leaving the hot springs behind you have a day of climbing Ghorepani. You leave the Kali Gandaki valley and follow the Ghar Khola river and cross this river through old swing bridge. You continue ascending to Ghara (1780m) and Shika (1935m) where there  is British army training centre. The last part of the trail today is climbing through rhododendron and magnolia forests to Ghorepani, where you arrive in the mid afternoon. Seven hours is enough to reach this place.

Day 18 Ghorepani (2834m) - Poon Hill (3210m) - Tadapani (2625m)
An early start and an hour’s hiking to Poon Hill (3195m) leads you to a brilliant viewpoint. This viewpoint provides an unobstructed beautiful sunrise over the high Himalayas. After spending about 40 minutes on the hillside, you come back to Ghorepani for a hot breakfast, and start walking to Tadapani.

From Ghorepani the trail climbs along ridges and through pine and rhododendron forests and if the weather allows  you  can see panoramic view  all the way south to the plains of India. The trail follows a stream bed which becomes larger as you continue. The stream has some clear pools alongside the trail and finally becomes a series of waterfalls. Today’s final destiny is the village of Tadapani, meaning ‘far water’. Unfortunately, the water supply for this village is a long distance below. You reach here after 5 hours walk. 

Day 19 Tadapani - Ghaundrung (1950m)
 Ghaundrung trail descends steeply through forests to the village of Ghaundrung where you arrive around noon. You stay overnight here so have the afternoon to visit the Annapurna conservation office and museum. As well as you may take time to explore this maze like village. You walk just 3 hours for today.

Day 20: Ghaundrung - Pothana (1700m)
Today is the last day of your trekking on the Annapurna Circuit which ends at Pothana. 

Day 21: Pothana – Pokhara
You drive to Pokhara from Phedi (910m) where you reach early in the morning from Pothana. This night you spend on hotel at Pokhara.

Day 23: Drive Back to Kathmandu
You will arrive Kathmandu after 5 hours drive from Pokhara

Day 24: Back to your home