Annapurna Base Camp Trek

Your arrival in Kathmandu is the first day of the trip. We will welcome you at the arrival gate of Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu and transfer you to the trip hotel. You will have free time mostly on your own today. We will surely offer you necessary guidance on wandering around on your arrival time. We will also brief you about the entire adventure trip and answer your questions if you have any. Feel at comfort; relax and try to acclimate in the Nepalese atmosphere. Things may look and feel completely strange to you but that’s the beauty of a new place so find yourself at easy and slowly soak into the local ambience.

Kathmandu has a history of more than 2,000 years. We will take you for a tour of the historical, cultural and spiritual places in Kathmandu that are enlisted in the cultural heritage list. A guided visit to Swoyambhunath, Patan Durbar Square, Pashupatinath and Boudhanath will give you an understanding of the history, culture, spiritual practice and lifestyle of Kathmandu valley. It will be a good starter of the trip. An insightful day of exploring the cultural and historical wonders of Kathmandu will come to end after returning back to the hotel around late afternoon.

We will drive 200 kilometers west of Kathmandu to Pokhara today. The drive starts early morning after breakfast. You will be able to experience the rural surroundings of Nepal as you drive along the highway towards the destination today. Pokhara is the main gateway city to start the trekking adventure in the Annapurna region. We will be in Pokhara after around 6 hours of starting in Kathmandu. Wandering around the peaceful and beautiful atmosphere of Lakeside on the bank of Lake Fewa will be helpful in chasing off the tiredness of the long drive. It’s an easy and free time to roam around the streets.

The actual walking adventure starts today and takes us to Tikhedhunga for the overnight stay. We will drive to Nayapul from Pokhara for about one and half hour and start the trek for the day. It is an easy day of walk on the wide off-road. Although the surrounding along the walking route is beautiful, unfortunately we do not get to walk on proper walking trail today. We have to bear with the dusty off-road for the walk today to Tikhedhunga.

We go on an easy pace today. The walk starts with a steep uphill walk to Ulleri for about 2 hours. Ulleri provides the first glimpse of snow-capped mountain peaks for the day. The trail ascends gradually towards Banthanti where we can enjoy spectacular view of Mt. Fishtail. The trail then enters schima and hazelnut forest on a gradual ascent to come out at Nangethanti for lunch break. After the lunch we start on our further trekking journey which takes us through beautiful rhododendron forest to Ghorepani village for overnight stay. As soon as we reach upper Ghorepani, spectacular mountain views greet and welcome us to this beautiful settlement.

We are on an early and long day of this adventure trip. We get up early and get ready to hike to Poonhill for a beautiful sunrise view over the Himalayas. The hiking to this famous view point takes us about an hour through rhododendron forest on an uphill trail. The top that lies at 3,210 meters above sea level brings panoramic views of the mountain peaks in Annapurna and Dhaulagiri mountain range. The charm of Himalayan panorama becomes even more fascinating when the sunrise pours magical colors upon the mighty peaks. This sunrise hike is one of the most awaited highlights of the trip. We hike back to our teahouse for breakfast and to start the trek to Tadapani. The trek today goes up and down the hill starting with a steep climb followed by a long downhill. The final section of the walk is another steep uphill climb to reach Tadapani to enjoy close up view of Annapurna south, Fishtail and Hiunchuli.

The trail descends steeply through a forested area when we start the trek to Chhomrong today. It emerges to an open lawn with a teahouse at Chuile before descending steeply on a tricky trail with loose soil and gravels on it. We walk all the way down to a river on the tricky downhill trail and cross a suspension bridge to start an uphill walk – first a steep section then becomes gradual. The final section of the trek today is an easy trail walking after much effort demanding downhill and uphill walk of the day. Chhomrong is a beautiful Gurung village where we can exploit some of the amazing cultural riches of the place as we are spending overnight here.

We traverse the trail deeper into the Annapurna valley today when we trek to Dobhan. The trail descends first to Chhomrong khola just to set on an uphill trail again. The journey today takes us higher and deeper into the Annapurna valley towards Annapurna Base Camp. The glorious Annapurna massif shows us immense attraction to lure us more and more to be there. The beautiful and mountain ethnic culture of Gurung community becomes more fascinating when the nature adds its flavor on top.

The Himalayan massif becomes more visible and up close as we walk to Machhapuchhre base camp today. The trail passes through several forested and bamboo covered area. We also walk past beautiful waterfalls along the trail before reaching the destination. After about five hours of a bit effort demanding walk on the trail, we reach MBC just past the settlement of Deurali. We are staying overnight at MBC to make the hike to Annapurna Base Camp easier tomorrow.

We are reaching the ultimate destination of this awesome trip today. We start the trek early morning to the Annapurna Base Camp. We reach the highest elevation on the trek, 4,130 meters above sea level, when we reach the famous Annapurna Base Camp. The boulder strewn path that leads us to the ABC is much endurance testing although it looks much easier. We enjoy the beautiful moment of being at the heavenly place surrounded by gigantic mountains. Later, we set on our return trip back to Dobhan via MBC. We traverse the trail all the way down to Dobhan for overnight stay.

Walking towards lower elevation is much faster than going up although it can be tough going down at the same time. The retracing of the trail brings the beauty of the place to us from a different angle which we must have perceived differently on the way up. We reach the village of Chhomrong and take the route that descends to Jhinu danda which lies on a hill just above Modi Khola. Once we reach Jhinu, we might go to the river bank to enjoy a natural hot spring bath that is so soothing after these many days of mountain trekking. The natural hot spring in Jhinu is one of the most famous ones in Nepal. As we take the bath the hot pool, we can enjoy the melodious flow of Modi Khola that comes right from Annapurna Sanctuary.

We hit the last section of the trail on our walking trip to Ghorepani Poon Hill. Walking down to Nayapul brings the walking adventure to the end. We may take a jeep ride to Nayapul after walking for around four hours. It will be lovely experience traversing the trail loop in the mountains. We will drive to Pokhara and spend a relaxing evening wandering around the Lakeside.

We will drive back to Kathmandu today. There is an option of flying back with the payment of an extra flight cost.

As the last day on this beautiful adventure trip, we will drive you to the airport for your departure flight as per your flight schedule. If this is not your departure day, the service for this trip ends here. If you have extra days to spend in Nepal and need any other assistance, please do let us know. We will certainly help you in whatever way we can.

The walking adventure to the Annapurna base camp goes through the trail that meanders up and down the mountains frequently. Although this is not an extremely difficult trip, you will certainly feel some challenges of walking in the high altitude during the trip. We would rate it as a moderate trip in difficulty level.

Walking hours vary from day to day on this trip. You walk from 4-8 hours every day depending on the distance you cover. You can expect the walking hours to be around 6 hours on average.

Since it is walking adventure trip, you do not need any climbing skills, experience or equipment. However, you will need a high level of determination to traverse the mountain trail in the wilderness for several days. This is just a trekking trip, not a climbing adventure.

The walking route to the Annapurna base camp is a well-trodden and popular trail. You will find enough teahouses along the trail where you normally spend the overnights. Teahouses along the route are basic lodges with accommodation and dining facilities where the trekkers spend overnight. These teahouses are comfortable but not super luxurious. The overnight places for each day are specified in the itinerary. However, your trip guide can change the overnight places on his/her sole discretion if s/he thinks it necessary for your comfort and better experience.

Dal Bhat is the staple food in the mountains. This combo of rice, lentil soup, vegetables, curry etc. is available everywhere you go. In addition to this Nepali food, you can enjoy momos, noodle soup (Thukpa), chowmein, pizza, sandwitch, Gurung bread, soup etc. along the trail. Options of vegetarian and non-vegetarian foods are also available. We highly recommend you to go for vegetarian food during the trek.

When you go for the walking adventure trip, you will pack two different bags – one big backpack that your porter will carry for you and the other, a small daypack for yourself to carry with necessary things that you need for the day. You can refer to our Things to Carry page for a complete guide on what you need to have when you are in the mountains.