Annapurna Circuit trek is considered as one of the greatest treks in the world, which opened for trekkers in the 1980s and since has been possible for the adventure travellers. The region no doubt is rich in sceneries apart from the diverse culture and flora and faunas. Annapurna circuit trekking route is the most popular trekking route because of its panoramic sceneries of Himalayas, including of the Mt. Dhaulagiri, Mt. Annapurna I – IV, Mt. Manaslu, Mt. Nilgiri, Mt. Fishtail, Mt. Himchuli, Lamjung Himal, Tukuche peak, and Tilicho peak. Generally, the trek duration ranges from 15 to 21 days depending on the route you prefer, with an average daily walk of 6-7 hours. Many tourists consider 15 days trip as an ideal trek for doing a circuit. The highest point of the trek will be at Thorong Pass (5,416m/ 17,769ft), which will be the challenging issue during the trek. So, walking with a slow and steady pace and getting ample acclimatisation time is key success to your trip. If you add additional 3 days in this trip, you can also visit Tilicho lake which is a 2 days side trip from Manang village. Tilicho lake is situated at an elevation of 4,919m (16,236 ft) above sea level and considered as Nepal’s highest mountain lake without any aquatic organisms.
Furthermore, there are the settlements of diverse communities such as the Brahmin, Chhetri, Thakali, Magars, and Gurung. Hence, you will be witnessing many temples and shrines influenced by both Hindus and Buddhists practices. It is a trail rich in wild animals such as Mountain Thar/ Goat, Blue Sheep, Yak, Leopard, Jackal, birds such as pheasant, snow-cock, raven, fantail bird, and long-tail birds among others. The Annapurna circuit takes you around the Annapurna Himalayas, following the courses of two mighty rivers- Marshyangdi in the east and the Kali Gandaki in the west. Kali Gandaki is the world’s deepest gorge, flanked by the giant Dhaulagiri and Annapurna Himalaya range. The flora, geography and culture also change dramatically around the Annapurna circuit trekking from sub tropical to alpine vegetation as you continue your trek further.
Annapurna circuit trekking route is the most popular trekking route because of its panoramic sceneries of Himalayas, including of the Mt. Dhaulagiri, Mt. Annapurna I – IV, Mt. Manaslu, Mt. Nilgiri, Mt. Fishtail, Mt. Himchuli, Lamjung Himal, Tukuche peak, and Tilicho peak.
Welcome to Nepal. Our team is thrilled to greet you on your very first day of your visit to Kathmandu. We will provide a private car to pick you up from the airport and take you to the hotel for your convenience. The hotel is located at Thamel, which is a hub for the tourists in Kathmandu. The dinner will be hosted by Explore Hub Nepal.
On this day, we will assign you a guide who will be leading your trek providing all the necessary information about Nepal and do the preparation thoroughly. We will also do the permits arrangements on this day while you are engaged in sightseeing around Kathmandu. Sightseeing includes the visit on UNESCO world heritage listed sites such as Pashupatinath, Boudhanath stupa, Swayambhu (monkey temple), Kathmandu Durbar Square etc. as your preferences.
We start our journey into the hills on a winding road along the Trishuli River. On the way we admire terraced farms and beautiful huts. After reaching a juncture at Mugling, we move straight ahead towards Pokhara. At Dumre, we leave the previous trail and head north to Besisahar. The total distance is about 173 km from Kathmandu to Besisahar. Overnight in Besisahar.
From Besisahar, the road gets quite rough and bumpy after half an hour until we reach Ngadi village. We will be taking 2 and half hours of jeep ride to reach Chamje, where we will be seeing majestic waterfalls. We will stop there for a photoshoot and tea break. En route, we will cross small villages like Khudi, Bulbule and Syange, Jagat, Tal, Dharapani and then to Chame. You will see Buddhist stupas and chortens in this beautiful village with nice view of the mountains.
Today after breakfast, we pass through a very dense forest that will bring us to the dramatic curved rock face rising 1500m from the river basin. We will reach Bhratang Village, which is famous for its apple farms. You can even enjoy a nice coffee with apple pie or fresh apple juice. Next, we traverse through a steep trail on the Marshyangdi Valley to reach Paungda Danda, a massive sloping rock face that rises over 5,000 ft. (1,500m) above the trail. After passing this last bit of rock, the valley opens up with majestic vistas at Dhukur Pokhari. From here, we trek for a while before reaching Pisang where we spend the night. Overnight stay in upper Pisang.
Early in the morning, we head out of Ngawal descending down an extremely steep trail that takes us straight down into the valley floor. The landscapes change so quickly as we head towards Humde. Roughly in about two hours, we reach Humde and make a short break. From Humde, we walk towards Braka without any undulating trails but just few potholes. After a quick break in Braka, we head on the path to Manang, which is easy along the road. The scenery around the valley is stunning with snow-capped peaks around us. The crowd at Manang is abundant as it is quite a happening town. Overnight in Manang.
In order to keep fit on the trails that follow over an altitude of 3,500m, we keep ourselves busy today with a short hike to either Bhojo Gumba (monastery) or Gangapurna Lake for few hours and then take a rest for the next day.
Today, we leave Manang village on a trail crossing a stream, and then climbing to Tenki village. We further continue to climb out of the Marshyangdi Valley turning northwest up the valley of Jarsang Khola. Passing a few pastures and a scrub of juniper trees, the trail passes ahead to a small village of Ghunsa, which is a cluster of flat mud roofs just below the trailhead. After crossing a small river on a wooden bridge passing through meadows and an ancient old Mani wall, we reach Yak Kharka. Overnight stay in Yak Kharka.
It is an uphill walk to Thorang Phedi. After walking for some time we cross a suspension bridge and reach Ledar village. We ascend furthermore and pass through towering cliffs before reaching Thorang Phedi, the last village before Thorong La pass. On this trip we are rewarded with one of the best views of Mt. Gundang, Mt. Syagang, Thorung Peak and Mt. Khatungkan. The word Phedi in Nepalese is referred to as the foot of a mountain. Overnight in Thorong Phedi.
Crossing Thorong La pass, one of the highest passes in the world, will be our ultimate objective today. We will be crossing the pass from east to west (Manang to Muktinath), which is the easiest and safest direction. We get up around 3:30am in the morning and walk up the mountain after a quick breakfast. When we finally make it to the top, we realize that our journey was worth it. We can take a few photos before heading to Muktinath Valley at the foot of the Thorong La pass. Muktinath is a holy place for both Hindus and Buddhist pilgrimage. Overnight in Muktinath.
From Muktinath, we will board on a 4WD private vehicle that will lead us to Tatopani after driving about 3 hours. On reaching Tatopani, we will relax in our lodge or go out to have a dip in the hot springs. Overnight in Tatopani.
We leave the Kali Gandaki and head up the Ghar Khola valley. The trail leads us through a terraced farmland with mountains all around. We pass through the villages of Shikha and Chitre before reaching a beautiful rhododendron forest. When in bloom the rhododendron trees with its average height of up to 100ft will be covered with pink or red flowers. Walking further we reach Ghorepani, a beautiful village located at a ridge top. Overnight in Ghorepani.
To catch the sunrise over the Himalayas, we make an early morning climb along the steep trail to the viewpoint of Poon Hill (3,210m/10,529ft), the most popular trekking destination of the Annapurna region. It is also a great viewpoint to enjoy the amazing views of Mustang, Pokhara and more than 20 of the highest mountains including the close-up views of the Annapurna and Dhaulagiri ranges. The snowy peaks of the high mountains loom above and around us glowing in the morning light. After taking photographs, we return back to Ghorepani. After breakfast, we head east and climb a nearby ridge. We descend through rhododendron forests, pass by spectacular waterfalls and reach Tadapani to spend the night.
From Tadapani, we make a steep descent through the dense and dark forest. This part of the trek will be through a thick forest of old rhododendron trees. When the rhododendron trees are in bloom, these forests actually turn into amazing gardens. After 2 hours of trekking, we enter the village of Ghandruk, a slope settlement with stone houses mostly inhabited by the Gurung people. Here, we enjoy the stunningly close-up towering views of Fishtail, Annapurna South, and Hiunchuli mountains. We visit Gurung Museum to wear traditional Gurung dress for a photoshoot and emmersive cultural experience. After having lunch, we will catch a shared or private jeep from Ghandruk to Pokhara. It will roughly takes 2 and half hours to reach lakeside from Ghandruk and we will hangout in a lakeside area during evening and have dinner by the Fewa lake.
After breakfast, we say goodbye to the beautiful lake city of Pokhara and catch a tourist bus to Kathmandu. There is also an option to take a domestic flight from Pokhara to Kathmandu if you insist to save time to explore Kathmandu. It is 25 minutes quick flight. On arrival in Kathmandu, we will check in at our hotel room and relax for a while. In the evening, Explore Hub Nepal will host a farewell dinner to celebrate the successful completion of our journey.
