The Annapurna Circuit and Annapurna Base Camp

For my first holiday out of Kathmandu I headed to the Annapurna mountain region in the centre of Nepal to the north of Pokhara. It's a fascinating area with a great diversity of scenery and culture and I trekked both around the Annapurna mountains and visited the Annapurna Sanctuary - up inside the mountain range in 22 days.

The Annapurna Circuit trekking trail starts off at lower altitudes and passes through rice paddies and villages and works its way up the Marsyangadi Khola (River ) Gorge before passing through fields of barley and apple orchards and up into pine forests, alpine yak pastures and finally high altitude desert providing amazing views over the Annapurnas before heading over the Thorung La -pass- at 5416 metres (that's about about 18,000 feet) .

The trail then drops down into the rain shadow desert area of lower Mustang and makes its way south down the Kali Gandaki river - the trading route between Nepal and Tibet - and finally back into greener scenery and warmer climes. At Tato Pani - which means hot water the climate is more or less tropical - or certainly feels it after many nights at higher altitudes and you can sit outside and enjoy beers under orange trees and flowers. You can wander on here to an exit point for the trek at Beni but I decided to continue on up to the Annapurna Sanctuary and visit Annapurna base camp. So we followed the trail to Chomrong to enter the Modi Khola Gorge and headed up the steep bamboo forested gorge into the Annapurna Sanctuary to be surrounded by snowy 8000m Himalayan Giants.

This wasn't my original plan as I aim to climb one or two 6000m peaks while I am here, in Nepal but a few days before my plan to head off to the Solo Khumbu (Evereset) region and Island Peak I had what I thought was a very bad cold and couldn't breath very well and as being able to breathe is quite useful to help you to acclimatise. So I had a last minute change of plan, hired a guide - for companionship, safety and to practise my Nepali language skills and headed to the Annapurnas where trekking starts off at much lower elevations. And it was a very good plan! I was also very keen to get out of Kathmandu very quickly as it was the Dasai holiday period and not only did I want to make good use of my annual leave - but they also slaughter lots of animals for the festival and I really did not want to be around in Kathmandu for that!

The accommodation en-route was in village lodges or tea houses, which was nice as it gave you chance to meet some of the locals and explore the towns and villages. It was also more comfortable than I expected. Most nights I had a room to myself and I had a warm (varying from just off cold to piping hot) shower in most places too - of course heated by solar power or from the kitchen stoves!

It was also a very sociable trek and you often met up with some of the same people over lunch or in the same guest house to exchange stories or play card games there were people from all over the world trekking with a guide or in twos and small groups as well as larger groups.

As it was just Dili Lama - my guide and I trekking together - we would usually set off quite early and set a good pace which meant that we avoided many of the crowds and quite often we were alone on the trail. Morning coffee stops were usually a must as there were just so many lovely places to stop and take in the scenery or watch rural Nepali life go by. Lunch would usually be Nepali Daal Bhaat rice, veggies and lentils with a bit of pickle if you were lucky - but it was good as they gave you seconds and you were able to satisfy your trekking appetite. It seemed as if all the Nepali lodge owners had all been on the same cookery course as they offered you local versions of burgers (sometimes yak) pizza and pasta in the lodges to satisfy the western palate and they were rather good usually. We'd usually trek between 4 and 8 hours a day

My trip!

Day 1 -Kathmandu - Besi Sahar - Bulbule

After a rather exciting drive from Kathmandu to Besi Sahar (800m) the start of the Annapurna circuit we trekked for just a few hours in the afternoon to Bulbule. There is a dirt track here so you could do the first part by bus - but it looked a rather bone jarring option and it was fun to test out the first bouncy suspension bridges of the trek - all quite new and flash I have to say - possibly showing the £20 entrance fee to the Annapurna area is being put to good use. We passed our first mule trains carrying supplies up to the mountain villages - and perhaps even all the way over the Thorung La and we stayed at a lovely lodge on the river bank where I was pleasantly introduced to the comforts of trekking. I had been initially a bit horrified by the number of tourists I had seen in Besi Sahar - but once on then trail they all spread out. I really couldn't believe the size of the loads some of the tourist porters were carrying firstly because you just don't need to much stuff trekking and also because the porters' eyes looked like they were about to pop out of their heads from the weight of their loads (the loads are carried in baskets on their backs held up by a strap around their heads). Some of the porters were female and really didn't look so old either! Holiday companies should really know better!

Day 2- BulBule - Jagat

We awoke to views of Manaslu and trekked up the river to Bahundanda, which means 'Upper caste people living on the cliff' so perhaps a bit of a posh place in local terms, and we ate lunch at a hill top restaurant - and then pushed onto Jagat where we arrived about 5pm - though it is usually best to stop earlier if you want a good room and a hot shower! All the donkeys had also finished for the day and were already stuck into their nose bags of oats or whatever Nepali donkeys eat! Unfortunately I was starting to feel a bit rough and had a terrible cough!

Day 3 Jagat to Tel

We arrived at lunch time in the impressive Gorge where Tel at about 2000m is located and I decided that I wasn't going any further as I didnt feel great! We had a rest day in Tel at the hotel Dragon which had a nice garden to laze around in. I phoned up my doctor in Kathmandu and he told me that I had asthma! Oh great! (This is from the crappy air quality of Kathmandu) So this involved seeking out the local health post to get some drugs to sort this out! We eventually sought out 'the man with the key despite it being holiday season and amongst the random jars and dusty shelves - they did have the drugs I needed and it worked so I could carry on!

Day 5 Tel to Danaque

Another easy day. But this time it was a bit different - there was hardly anybody else on the trail! Because of the holidays public transport in Nepal had stopped and hardly anybody had started the circuit for the last few days! We had a very pleasant trek up to Danaque along paths cut into the cliffs high above the river and were truly entering into high mountain Buddhist country as we came across our first Buddhist prayer wheel walls (long walls with lots of prayer wheels to spin - an alternative to praying) pine forests and the snowy mountain tops of some of the Annapurnas

Day 6 Danaque to Chame

We awoke very early morning to a loud braying donkey right outside my window but I didnt need to get up I could look up at the mountains out of my window while lying in bed. We had a very colourful walk that day through mountain foothills, pine forests, past pink fields of buckwheat and yellow fields of barley and apple orchards growing next to Tibetan style flat roofed villages - I think they are flat so they dont blow off in the wind!. We also met loads of goats on the trail and continued to pass lots of mule trains. We walked for about 3-4 hours max including breaks and arrived in Chame in time to enjoy a few hours of sunshine. We were at about 2800 metres here and when the sun disappeared it was very cold! Chame homes were stocked up with tons of firewood for the coming winter. I asked Dili about sustainable forest schemes in the area (replanting tress) but he didn't seem to get what I was on about! Still the immediate area near the trail didn't look as if it had seemed to suffer from tree felling.

Day 7 Chame - Pisang

Awoke to clear views over Manaslu and trekked out the village past brightly coloured Mani stones - in scripted stones put there by Buddhists to honour their dead. We passed through more spectacular scenery, rocky mountains, pine forests turning into alpine meadows with small lakes dotted around and past an amazing shaped smooth curved mountain - which would offer some amazing slab climbing! The days were quite short now due to the need to acclimatise to the new heights. We arrived in Pisang for lunch after which I went off to explore the old town and monastery on the hill over looking the Annapurnas. It was cold in the evening so we all (the guides and tourists) sat around a wood stove made out of a large oil drum in the restaurant.

Day 8 Pisang - Manang

In the morning there was a thick white frost outside! But it soon warmed up in the sunshine - we headed off up the valley under bright blue skies with, through open pine forest and meadows with the snowy Annapurna giants close by on our left. Views of the mountains unfolded as we walked - Tilicho, Ganagapurna and other Annapurna giants. The scenery was also particularly autumnal which I really loved - maybe because it reminded me of home! Red and golden trees and bushes made the scenery evenmore colourful and spectacular. As we got close to Manang - still following along the he bright blue Maryangadi river we came across our first big fluffy yaks grazing in the meadow. Manang was a lovely small town well stocked with bakeries serving chocolate cake cinnamon rolls and apple pie - all of which I had on trek - but not all in Manang. After lunch I climbed up to the view point above Manang for amazing views over the town and surrounding countryside - which was now turning to a kind of high altitude desert scrub land, - and views over the Gangapurna Ice Fall and bright blue lake. Manang also has lots of small streets to explore with monasteries, kids and opportunity to have tea in local homes.

Day 9 Manang acclimatization day - at Ice lake

Manang is about 3500 meters above sea level and the next night is 700 metres higher so its necessary for an acclimatization day to avoid Altitude sickness. So Dili and I had a long day out and climbed up to 'Ice lake' at 4600 metres and then up into high mountain meadows beyond. It was a lovely trip with even more amazing views over the Annapurnas due to our elevation - we probably climbed up to about 5000 meters and I found a small rocky outcrop to scramble up - but progress was very very slow and I was puffing and panting laods! We only saw a couple of other people up there but we did see large herds of goat like creatures which may well have been blue sheep along with a few 'mouse rabbits'

Day 10 Manang to Letdar

Trekked on through scrub land of junipers and red bushes, past Buddhist chortons and through Yak pastures to our penultimate stop before the pass. Early to bed as there are no wood fires or other heaters here to keep you warm in the evening! In bed I heard a lot of scratching around and saw that a 'mouse rabbit had joined me and was sitting on the window sill!

Day 11 Letdar to Thorung Pedi (4400m)

A short day's trek through high mountain autumnal scrub and into red rock high altitude desert with yet more fabulous views of the Annapurnas. At Thorung Pedi there are just 2 lodges - I stayed in the larger and shared a room with Ken from Japan who was 74 and had been coming to the Himalayas to trek and climb for the past several years. Lazed in the sun and sat in the dining hall which was made of glass and very much like a conservatory in the day but rather chilly at night. Was a friendly and sociable atmosphere, sitting round big dining tables chatting with many of the people that I'd met en route. It wasn't all good though! The toilets were disgusting - they say giardia is rife up here and that was evident from the state of the squat toilets!

Day 12 Thorung Pedi to Muktinath -

After a pretty poor nights sleep - (I'd taken some diamox the day before as I'd had a headache I couldn't shake off and I spent most the night peeing - which diamox makes you do!) - Dili and I set off by moonlight at about 5 am an hour before sunlight. It was so bright, just a few nights off a full moon, that we had moonlight shadows and didn't need a torch. Walking up hill to the Thorung La pass at 5416m certainly kept you warm - but it was COLD - and the cold really nipped at your nose, your cheeks, your fingers and toes despite being well wrapped up. High up there was snow on the pass. The trail wasn't so busy just clusters of tourists in pairs and small groups and a few mule trains along the way. We ascended up a red rock valley - the start of the Marsyangadi River that we'd been following the past 12 days. The sky was clear blue and the views were amazing (though I expect you're getting fed up of hearing that now!). We arrived at the top of the pass about 8.30am and then after a celebratory hot lemon from the teashop there we headed down into Mustang to the Pilgrimage site of Muktinath at 3800m for lunch!

Day 13 - Muktinath to Marpha via Kagbeni

After a chilly night we set off down through the golden desert under the blue sky gradually shedding layers. We walked through beautiful golden autumn groves past houses with solar cookers - kettles heating up in the middle of giant satellite dishes Down down down we went towards the Kali Gandaki and Kagbeni whilst over looking snowy mountains on the far side of the valley and the vast desert stretching north into upper mustang. Kagbeni is an oasis in the desert with orchards and vegetable gardens. It is an old Tibetan style town and after morning coffee and a cinnamon roll we explored the old streets with their prayer wheels and chortons and then visited the monastery which on the roof had a yaks head positioned on every corner! We then headed south towards Jomsom - along the wide valley floor - a tough walk as we had a howling wind against us. We had wonderful apple crumble in Jomsom the district capital and the 1st escape point from the Annapurna circuit by air - J also has an ATM! And then headed on to Marpha another oasis town - further down the river many towns use the river for irrigation for crops and apples are big business in Marpha - there you can buy apple pie, apple crumble, apple strudel, apple momos, dried apple rings, apple brandy, apple juice and cider or just plain apples! The guest house I stayed in had also turned their conservatory into an apple ring drying business. In Marpha apples are only 8 rupees a kilo - by the time they reach Kathmandu they are 80 rupees! Anyway enough about apples - this was a long day and by the time we reached Marpha we stopped in the first hotel where I was the only guest - I had a piping hot shower, my first western loo, a bedside light wonderful fresh green salad and seconds cos I was so hungry and I was looked after very well. Unfortunately there is now a road up to Jomsom and Muktiniath (dirt track with perilous drops and covered in landslides that hardy vehicles can negotiate) and apparently this has caused a reduction in the number of people on this part of the trek.

Day 14 - Marpha - Ghasa

After exploring Marpha we had an easy walk in the sunshine passing through lots of delightful old villages, gardens, orchards and maize fields. We stopped form morning coffee in the sun and then lunch at a lovely bakery in Lamjung where I met some other trekkers that I'd met up at Thorung Pedi. Iro joined us after lunch and we headed down towards Ghasa. The scenery was becoming green again. We passed through one the villages at school closing time and soon had kids hanging off us and my trekking poles.

Day 15 - Ghasa - Tato pani

Headed down hill into tropical climes at Tatopani - a halfday walk with coffee by a waterfall. We climbed over a huge landslide which had closed the road and had meant that we had experienced no more than the odd occasional jeep whilst trekking down the Khali Gandaki. Tato pani (which means hot water) was tropical with orange trees and flowers. After lunch got my sandals repaired by the local Dalit cobbler, he was a humble and sweet man with a bamboo shack on the edge of the village - I hope the locals were nice to him! I then went to bath in the hot water - it was pleasant but a bit crowded and occasionally you saw some terrible looking scabby feet join your pool of water which made you wonder if it was such a good idea or not! PM sat outside with Iro in the balmy climes for dinner and a beer - a rare treat so far this trip!

Day 16 - Tato Pani - Ghoripani

1750 m of ascent - but it was delightful back on small trails winding up through rice paddies and millet fields up into forests, through villages filled with bright marigolds and flowers. Had very scenic breaks en route including a long lunch with other trekkers from the UK and Finland before pushing onto Ghoripani. Ghoripani that means horses drinking water for all the load carrying mules and ponies and it is at nearly 3000 metres. When we arrived the clouds had closed in and it was rather cold! I found a place with a wood stove serving apple crumble and hot chocolate and warmed up there!

Day 17 Ghoripani to Chommrong

The lovely thing about Ghoripani is that you have amazing views over Daligiri and the Annapurnas. However for some reason everybody (several 100 people) staying in Ghoripani climbs up Poon hill in the dark for sunrise over the mountains - when you dont really need to to get the views and I didnt really care for some of the tourists' attitudes who arrogantly seemed to think that the place was theirs alone to photo and everybody else should keep out of their viewfinder! These were tourist rif raf - as we were now quite close to Pokhara - proper trekkers generally didn't behave this badly!

At first the trail leaving Ghoripani was quite busy but we soon left the crowds behind and wondered along hill tops covered in rhododendron forest. After lunch in Tado pani we passed down through terraces of millet, crossed a river and climbed up to Chommrong the gateway to the annapurna sanctuary - though we nearly didn't make it as we met a charging angry bull on the way there! It was a day of lots of ups and downs and I was feeling super fit and steaming up the hills!

Day 18 Chommrong to Derali

The views of the Annapurnas from Chomrong provide instant gratification - you are so close to the snowy giants but still in a land warmer weather, millet terraces and marigolds. We left Chomrong and trekked up to Sinoya the mouth of the delightful Modi Khola gorge. We trekked all day climbing up through bamboo forests, deciduous forests and autumnal colours, crossing over flowing mountain streams and passing by waterfalls tumbling down the sides of the gorge. We reached Derali late afternoon it was quite high up and chilly!

Day 19 Derali to Annapurna Base Camp - ABC

A chilly morning - we walked up the final part of the Modi Kholi which was all frosty and orange and gold! The trees thinned out and by the time we reached Machupicheri base camp (fish tail peak) we were in golden alpine meadows. The views were amazing with Annapurna South and Machupicheri towering above us. As we wondered up to Annapurna base camp at 4200m more glaciers and mountains revealed themselves. At ABC we sat in the warm sunshine and had lunch and then the clouds drifted up the Modi Kholi Gorge and obscured the views and made it rather chilly! You could also hear the rumble of distant avalanches - but not see any! Later in the afternoon the clouds cleared and I went for a wonder up the side of the glacial moraine next to base camp and had a look at the amazingly huge face of Annapurna 1. In the evening we all snuggled around the dining room table which had a gas heater underneath - sure it was a fire hazard - but we stayed nice and warm - met Sky and Jen from Australia and their guide BJ and we all played a Nepali version of Rummy!

Day 20 ABC to Sinoya

Woke up at first light for amazing clear blue sky views over the Annapurnas. After breakfast Dili and I climbed a hill next to the base camp for better views over the Annapurna range - we could see the backside of Gangapurna and Tilicho, other Annapurnas 2 and 3??? and lesser goals like Tent Peak at less than 6000m that you can climb as a trekking peak. It was really amazing only the clouds rolling in made it time to leave. We then headed back down the Modi Khola Gorge the same way we came in, to Sinoya for the night for omelette chips beer and more card games!

Day 21 Sinoya to the hot springs

Back down at lower altitudes it was lovely and warm. We headed back through Chomrong and down to a delightful little village (I can't remember the name!) with flowers and orange trees and stunning mountain views (for a change!). We hadn't planned to stay here but it was so nice just sitting in the sun tthere hat we did. After lunch I wondered down through the jungle to the hot spring by the Modi Khola. It was beautiful down there and much more wild than at Tato pani a few days earlier. As we climbed into the hot water pool I realised we were being watched! By a family of Grey, black faced languors! I think we had taken over their pool! I did a bit of washing and hung it in the sun to dry as the next day we were heading back to civilisation and I though I should try and be a bit presentable!

Day 22 Trekking out to Pokhara

An early start for our last day as we'd not got very far the day before! But it was lovely trekking so early and on the path to Landruk we saw a flock of about 20 green parrots and a few brightly coloured sunbirds. It was also the first day of Tihar and many of the village kids were dancing and singing and giving you flower garlands (obviously in exchange for a bit of cash!) It was fine a first - but there were loads of them and they became very demanding! We trekked out through lush green fields and forest and then we reached another place called Derali where we had lunch - this was the final view of the high Annapurna mountains on this trek and you could now look down over the lowland hills and the road to Pokhara. It was a long descent through forests and villages and golden rice paddies that were being harvested. As we reached the highway we heard bus horns honking away - reminding us that we were leaving the beautiful, quiet and relaxed Annapurnas behind and heading back to the other Nepal! A few days relaxing in (and eating my way around) Pokhara gradually prepared me for returning to the hustle and bustle of Kathmandu, but at the first opportunity got out of town and biked up the 700m up to the edge of the valley rim for more views over the Himalayas! All being well I'll be back there is a the spring!