Glimpse of Annapurna base camp trek:
Location: Nepal
Duration: 9 Days
Trek gradient: Moderate to Difficult
Maximum Altitude: 13,550ft./ 4,130m above sea level
Distance: 110 Km
Pickup/ Drop Point: Kathmandu
Temperature:
When we discuss about the Annapurna Base Camp, there is a feeling of admiration that develops which leaves every trekker mesmerized and hypnotized. Annapurna Base Camp trek is commonly known as ABC trek. The trek is popular with trekkers from all over the world due to its global fame. As you trek through the Annapurna Sanctuary, you come across some stunning flora and fauna. There are very few treks that have this mystic aura of making you fall in love with the landscapes and bring you close to the base of 7,000m and 8,000m peaks in such a short time. The Annapurna Base Camp trek is one of the most well-known treks in this region. The trail is a stunning one which will take you through various lush rhododendron forests, rice paddies, and high-altitude landscapes with the Annapurna Range floating in front of your eyes.
The breathtaking views of the Annapurna range are a feast for mountain lovers. Before you even start the trek, you will also be greeted by views of Hiunchuli, Machapuchare, and Annapurna South. This is a bonus for all trekkers. Views of different peaks of the Machapuchare I and Annapurna massif will always be in front of our eyes all the way till Sinuwa. With proper guidance, training, experience and skill set you can attempt this trek and enjoy the scenic beauty of the Himalayas in Nepal. The trek will give you a chance to catch a glimpse of Nepali culture and hospitality making it a memorable one in your entire life time.
I) When you journey through distant villages, fanciful woods, wide moorlands traversed by flowing rivers, and the blue-hued peaks of base camp that glimmer beneath the stars, you will get to experience the breathtaking diversity of the Himalayan scenery!
II) Poon Hill’s breathtaking vantage point will allow you to witness a glorious dawn over the Annapurna Mountains; the early-morning climb to get there will be well worth the effort.
III) The Annapurna route offers lodging in traditional teahouses where delectable Nepalese cuisine is served. Locals in the area who have migrated from different regions of Nepal manage these teahouses. This area is home to several floral and animal species, and you will be in awe of the beauty it has to offer. You can view the entire sanctuary, which is oval-shaped and encircled by a ring of the Annapurna Alps, from a height of 4,000 metres.
IV) You will get to witness the majestic views of Hiunchuli, Khangsar, Gangapurna, Annapurna South Annapurna I, Annapurna III and Machhapuchhare
V) In Himalaya, you will be amazed to find pizza in the menu and you must try it out. Pizza at the altitude of 2890m will be one of the best memories you will take back with you. One will find this luxury of having Italian cuisine at such an altitude only in Nepal that too in reasonable price of 600 NC for 8 pieced chicken cheese pizza!
VI) Jhinu is a small village in this valley, popular for its hot spring. The hot spring is located at a distance of 2km from the main village. It will be relaxing experience when you take a dip in the water of the hot spring which was made to collect in a man-made pool. There was a constant turnover of the hot water as the fresh hot water filled the pool from one end and a drain on the other side made way for the cooler water. The rapid river just beside the pool of the hot spring made it spooky as the darkness set in.
VII) You can come to Kaathmandu a day before the trek begins and you can visit Darbar square and Boudha stupa. You can take a walk in the zigzag lanes of Thamel market buying souvenirs and try hands on various types of singing bowls. If one gets to spend a night in Kathmandu, one must experience the night life of Thamel when the pubs & bars get dressed in multicolored lights with music that can be heard in the lanes.
Kathmandu
Kathmandu
Our basecamp is Kathmandu, from where we will start our journey. It is advisable to reach Kathmandu a day before the trek starts, so that you can acclimatize and also roam around the beautiful city. In order to reach Kathmandu you can choose one of the 3 ways given below :
By Air
Taking a flight out of India is the best method to get to Kathmandu. The busiest and most renowned airport in the nation is the Tribhuvan International Airport of Kathmandu, which is barely 6 km from the city. It has good connections to several Indian cities, including Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Lucknow, Pune, Bangalore, and more. It takes around an hour and a half to go 800 kilometres. With the international terminal, Nepal and Kathmandu are linked to over 30 cities in Europe and Asia. Air India and Jet Airways often provide the finest flights from India to Kathmandu.
By Train
You must use the Delhi-UP route if you’re taking a train from India to Kathmandu. The railroad station at Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, which is easily accessible from Delhi, is the one closest to Kathmandu. This is as near as it gets, yet there is no direct train from India to Kathmandu, Nepal, to the city. An existing railway that connected Janakpur in Nepal with Jainagar in India is unnecessary. The remaining travel must be done by road starting at Gorakhpur. Three hours can be spent travelling in local buses or jeeps to Sunauli, where overnight buses to Kathmandu can be found waiting for passengers on the other side of the border at Bhairawa.
By Road
There are a number of road links between India and Kathmandu, and people from both nations utilise them rather frequently. The busiest border between India and Nepal is at Sunaili, which is reachable from Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh. Even though the town of Raxaul is not very exciting, it is regularly utilised in Bihar, close to Patna. Depending on the starting point, it might take anywhere between 7 and 10 hours to go directly by bus from Delhi, Varanasi, or Raxaul to Kathmandu. The Panitanki border is the ideal choice for individuals who live in the east, namely in West Bengal, Sikkim, and the north-eastern provinces of India. Between Siliguri in West Bengal and Gangtok in Sikkim, there are buses, jeeps, and rental automobiles that go to Kathmandu. The journey takes about 14-16 hours.
Time Taken : 9 hrs
Altitude : 5050 ft./ 1540m
Drive distance : 220km
We will meet in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal. After a warm welcome in traditional Nepali style. We will start our journey from Kathmandu for Ulleri, the last point of the motorable road by a SUV. It will be a long journey as we will leave behind the dusty roads of Kathmandu and entered Ulleri to breathe in the fresh mountain air. We will cover the distance of 220km in 9hr that includes breakfast & lunch breaks in Pokhara. One doesn’t even have to wait for the trek to start to get a glimpse of the Annapurna massif, as a part of the massif can be seen between the mountains in a clear sky day. We will stay in a beautiful tea tree house with a window opening to an awesome view. After our dinner we will go to our rooms to get a good tight sleep before waking up for the first day of the trek.
Time Taken : 3-4 hrs
Altitude : 9385 ft./ 2860m
Distance : 8.5km
Today’s trek will be very exciting. We will wake up early to witness the sunrise from the terrace along with cups of tea. After stretching exercises & breakfast we will start our trek towards Ghorepani. We will walk through the rhododendron forest and the ascend will be mainly on the stone steps, we will be able to see several wild animals during the ascend. We will also come across the first river with a little waterfall and a scenic bridge.
We will have our lunch break in Nangethanti where we will have the delicious Nepalese thali. After a post lunch trek, we will reach Ghorepani. We will spend the evening bedazzled with the mighty Himalayan range who stood right outside our window. We will go to our rooms early, after post dinner, as the next day is supposed to be long one starting at pre-dawn.
Time Taken : 4 hrs
Altitude : 7,575 ft./ 2,309m
Distance : 11.5km
Today we will start the day early to witness one of the most spectacular sunrises from Poon Hill. We will climb a kilometer to Poon hill. 1km may sound less but it will be a tough steep climb along the beam of light from our headlamps. In an hour time we will gain an elevation of approximately 330m and we will reach at the top of Poon hill (3210m/ 10,525ft.) with a panoramic view of Machhapuchhare on our right, Annapurna massif in front and Dhaulagiri range on our left. The sun will pop from behind Mount Machhapuchhare spreading its rays over rest of the Himalayan range and it will be a golden experience in your life. Next, we will trek back from Poon hill to Ghorepani where we will have our breakfast and set out for Chuile. This will be a trek through mesmerizing Rhododendron forest. Later we will reach Banthanti and we will have our lunch. Later we will trek towards Tadapani and little further to Chuile Village. We will have fun time and have our dinner here and go off to sleep.
Time Taken : 6 hrs
Altitude : 7,677 ft./ 2,340m
Distance : 12.5km
Today we will start off early. We have to reach Sinuwa for our next halt.
Today we will cross suspension bridges, various small villages with beautifully decorated houses with colourful flowers, flock of sheeps and more of open spaces as compared to the previous days. After having lunch in Chomrong we will trek towards Sinuwa. We will trek for 12.5km and reach Sinuwa. We will spend the rest of the day here and later have our dinner and sign off to our bed.
Time Taken : 6-7 hrs
Altitude : 2,890m / 9,425ft
Distance : 13km
Today we will trek the longest uphill. We will start trekking from Lower Sinuwa through Upper Sinuwa, Bamboo, Dovan. We will trek through the dense forests and cross several streams. The streams with tiny waterfalls turned more magnificent after receiving the rain water. The dense forest will turn into bamboo forest as we reached Bamboo (name of the place). We will have lunch in Dovan and continue our journey towards Himalaya (again a name of a place). We will spend the night here after finishing our dinner.
Time Taken : 6 hrs
Altitude : 4,130m / 13,550ft
Distance : 12.5km
Today we will start trekking from Himalaya till Annapurna base camp (ABC). We will follow a route through the narrow gorge along the Modi Khola Glacier Valley, we will also cross more forests. We will be passing a large overhanging rock known as Hinku Cave then to Lower Deurali, Upper Deurali. We will gain the altitude of 1285m covering the distance of 9.5km. Glaciers will start beyond Deurali which will slow down our pace.
The gradual shift from the lush green forest to dry rocky landscape then to the snow-capped mountains surrounded by glaciers will be an experience to remember. It will be a treat to breathe in fresh air as you hear the rumbling of the river appearing from underneath the glaciers, while you witness multiple waterfalls making its way down the mighty mountains. After crossing MBC, we will continue our journey northwest to eventually reach ABC. From ABC, we will get a 360-degree view of Annapurna South to Annapurna I (8,097m/26,566ft), Hiunchuli, Khangsar Kang, , Annapurna III, Gangapurna and Machhapuchhare.
Today’s trek will take you close to several huge mountains – including Annapurna Massif (Annapurna I-IV), Dhaulagiri, Machhapuchhre, Manaslu, Gangapurna, Tilicho Peak, Pisang Peak, Paungda Danda, and numerous other peaks ranging from 6000 to 8000m in elevation. The beauty of the surrounding snow-capped mountains may make this the day that you will never forget in your entire life. The Base Camp will be our home for the evening.
Time Taken : 6-7hrs
Altitude : 2,350m / 7,700ft
Distance : 16km
We will leave from our tents early in the morning to witness a breath-taking view, where the sun will turn the surroundings to gold. After having our breakfast, we will start our trek back from the ABC to Bamboo. This will be the longest trek with a distance of 16km from ABC till Bamboo. Although downhill for most of the part, walking downhill on the glacier was tricky. We will have our lunch in Dovan. Eventually, will reach to Bamboo, our serene stopover point. We will spend the night here.
Time Taken : 4hrs
Altitude : 1,780m / 6,393ft
Distance : 9.5km
This day will technically be the last day of the trek as the next day was a trek of only 3km to the jeep stand. We will start after having our breakfast to reach Jhinu, which is a 9.5km trek. We will have our lunch in Chhomrong. The small village Jhinu can actually be seen from Chhomrong when looked downhill.
Jhinu consistently attracts thousands of visitors each year as an exotic place famous for its soothing natural hot springs. The hot spring is located at a distance of 2 kilometer from the main village. Here we will let our tired muscles relax. From the hot springs, you can enjoy the views of rhododendron forest and lush vegetation. Later we will head back to Jhinu and later we will have our dinner and spend the night here.
Time Taken : 1hr trek
Drive : 9-10hrs
Distance : 3km + 220kms
After having our breakfast, we will start our journey, we will trek 3km of distance to reach Modque in an hour, where there will be a jeep/bus stand. We will drive back to Kathmandu. With this, the beautiful trek will come to an end leaving lots of sweet memories for us to cherish.
Consume less spicy diet at least 7 days prior to the trek.
