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Annapurna, A very popular destination for all trekkers, has more trekking routes to offer. This Annapurna Circuit Trek takes us around the entire Annapurna mountain range reaching the highest point 5,416m/17,769 ft at Thorong La Pass and walk through the world’s deepest gorge ‘Kali Gandaki’. The mountain range we admire on the way are Annapurna I rising to 8091 m to the east and Dhaulagiri at 8167 m to the west. Moreover, this Trek also takes us through the ancient inhabitant like Manang, Jomsom and the Muktinath that also gives us the clear picture of diverse cultures, landscapes and Ethnic people in Nepal.
Upon arrival at Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) in Kathmandu, you will be received by our representative and transferred to your Hotel. If arrive early mid-day is free to venture around the city close to your hotel. Introduction Session at the hotel in the evening.
After breakfast, we will have a full day guided cultural tour to three of the famous UNESCO heritage sites in Kathmandu. We will first visit; the stupa of Swayambhunath (Moneky Temple) with its all-seeing eyes is perched on top of a hillock overlooking Kathmandu Valley. Swayambhunath is perhaps the best example of the religious harmony of Nepal where both Hindus and Buddhists flock to pay their homage. This Buddhist shrine is considered to be over 2000 years old. It is interesting to visit the temple in the early morning when devotees flock the temple for their morning worship. The front access to the temple has 365 steps leading to the top and each step represents a day of the year. We take an alternate route with a drive to the top and a 5 minutes climb to the temple.
It is a 30 minutes drive to Patan, Once, an independent and mighty kingdom of the Kathmandu Valley, Patan became a melting pot of two influential religions, Hinduism, and Buddhism. The pious Krishna (Hindu) temple, which rests in the middle of the town; into the very own town, whose entire city's architecture was dedicated to the philosophy of the Buddhist Dharma-Chakra (Wheel of Righteousness) molds Patan, to this date, as a glorious city of culture, religion, art, and heritage. [Lunch at Patan]
From Patan, It is about 30 minutes drive to Pashupatinath, a sacred Hindu temple located on the banks of Bagmati River also considered the holiest cremation ground for Hindus. The existence of Pashupatinath temple dates back to 400 B.C. and is believed to be the oldest Hindu temple in Kathmandu. The main temple is built in Nepalese pagoda style having four main doors all covered with sheets and covered by copper roofs of gold plating. It comprises of 264 hectars of land including 518 ancient temples and monuments and is recognized by UNESCO World Heritage site. One of the most mesmerizing rituals at Pashupatinath Temple is the “Pashupati Bagmati Aarati” which usually starts at 6:00 PM. The Bagmati river divides the temple into two sides, with the main Pashupatinath Temple being on one side and the location of this Aarati on the other.
After Breakfast, our adventure begins with a long drive into the hills on a winding road along the Trishuli River. On the way we pass through many villages, local people, farms and beautiful huts. Upon reaching Dumre, we leave the main road and head north to Besisahar. A half-an-hour's drive from Besisahar takes us to Khudi, the starting point of our trek. Khudi offers us a first glimpse of the gorgeous Manaslu range.
6-7 hoursThe first day of our trekking comprises passing through incredible waterfalls, few suspension bridges, several ups and down crossing a subtropical forest and enjoying the local settlement of ethnic Tamang people and rice paddies. At first, it’s a normal walk but as we go on we encounter the steeper trails and the mountain views gets closer. From Sirung Village, we admire great view of Mt. Manaslu (8,156m), 8th highest peak in the world.
6-7 hoursToday our trail starts with comparatively easy trail passing through the terraced rice fields, some small villages, forest with various spices of bird and along steep vertical cliffs finally getting to Jagat crossing a suspension bridge over the Marsyangdi River and walking along a riverside trail.
7-8 hoursToday we will be entering the beautiful valley of the Manang District. We begin our adventure after breakfast, we walk the downhill trail slowly from Jagat until we reach the river and then continues through a lush forest. We pass by villages and small terraced farms of barley, potatoes and corn. Further we hike carefully to sharp-edged cliff facing the riverbank stepping along a series of rock-scattered trails. Then, we go downhill to a green riverbank that takes us to Tal. As we pass through Tal, we reach beautiful village of Karte and finally to Dharapani through the winding trails of waterfalls, cliffs and crossing the suspension bridge.
5-6 hoursOur trail today will lead us through the steep ridges, few forests and several hot springs where we can dip in and take a small break to relax our muscles before reaching Chame the headquarter of Manang district. While on the walk, we also get to enjoy the mesmerizing sight of Lamjung Himal (6,983m), Annapurna II (7,937m) and Annnapurna IV (7,725m).
5-6 hoursFrom Chame, the trail drops to the river side and then crosses the Marshyangdi river on a suspension bridge. After crossing the bridge, the trail continues along the banks of the river followed by an interesting pass through the apple orchard close to a bridge at 2840 meters and the pristine hemlet of Bratang across. Historically, it used to be Khampa settlements and we will also encounter a stone memorial of a Japanese Climber there.
Moving further from forested village, there we will see the beautiful U-shape shape valley. We again pass through steep rock-strewn trails to the south side to cross long suspension bridge at 3040 meters high. And right where the valley widens stands the Paungda Danda, a massive sloping rock face that rises over 5,000ft (1500m) above the trail. Furthermore, towards Pisang we will have an opportunity to capture splendid views of Annapurna II high on the east and Pisang Peak on the north-east.
6-7 hoursWe continue our journey through steep ridge to Manang the major village of entire Manang District. In this trail, we will admire the beautiful landscape and the mighty mountains including Upper Pisang, the Manang Valley and Tilicho peak towering above 7132 meters. The environment will become colder and drier as we climb upwards and will also notice a contrast in the landscape and vegetation. We will also visit Barge monastery, the largest in Manang District.
Today is a rest day in Manang, it is very important to keep ourselves fit and get acclimatized with the altitude. Manang is a good place to do that because the next three days will be very challenging and tiring with rapid gain in altitude. Option: Excursion to Varga, it’s a small village but we can find interesting things there like we can visit to Himalayan Rescue Association and learn much about Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS).
3-4 hours From Manang village, the trail crosses a stream, climbs to a village of Tenki above Manang, and then continues to climb out of the Marshyangdi Valley turning northwest up the valley of Jarsang Khola. The trail follows this valley northward, passing a few pastures, a scrub of juniper trees, as it steadily gains elevation. The trail passes near the small village of Ghunsa, a cluster of flat mud roofs just below the trailhead where yaks and horses graze between forests. The trek is shorter today because of the higher elevation.
3-4 hours Another adventurous day to walk uphill till we reach Thorang Phedi. Phedi means the base of the mountain in Nepali. In between we reach Ledar Village after crossing the suspension bridge then followed by steep slopes. We get to enjoy mesmerizing sight of Mt. Gundang, Mt. Syagang, Thorung Peak and Mt. Khatungkan. The day to walk slow and steady.
7-8 hours Today we start early, about 3 am to avoid heavy wind in the late morning which can cause hazardous walking. The trial leads gradually gaining an altitude to reach Thorang La Pass. On the way we can see hundreds of small piles of rocks erected by pilgrims to honor their departed ancestors. Thorang La pass is one of the highest pass in the world and getting over which is our main goal today. The view is amazing form the top and it is probably the best spot to admire the entire Annapurna Mountains. After spending sometimes and taking some photographs we continue our journey with strenuous downhill towards the sacred city of Muktinath, a pilgrimage center worshipped by both Hindus and Buddhist. It has a beautiful landscape set beneath the Damodar Hills.
4-5 hours After visiting to pilgrimage sites in Muktinath, We continue the trail that goes downhill passing the village of Khingar. After about 1 hour, we will find two ways—one going to Jomsom and the other going to Kagbeni. We’ll take a route to Kagbeni. It is the starting point for trekking to the upper Mustang, which is a restricted area. From Kagbeni, we can see the majestic Kali Gandaki gorge (the world's deepest gorge). The village itself has lots of old houses and interesting structures. A further 1-hour trek down will lead us to Marpha, a large Thakali village, which exhibits the typical Thak Khola architecture of flat roofs and narrow paved alleys and passage ways. Marpha is the apple town of Nepal. The bountiful apple orchards produce some of the best apples in the country. A variety of apple products can be bought here. Apple cider and apple brandy are considered the best product of Marpha. It is a clean and pleasant village. Here we settle in for the night.
5-6 hours Today we will pass through beautiful village of ethnic Thakali people while making our move from Marpha to Kalopani via Chokhopani village. The trek passes apple orchards along with picturesque mountain sceneries. Some major peaks we are going to see today are Annapurna I, Dhaulagiri, Tukche Peak, three Nilgiris, and Fang.
6-7 hoursIt is gradually downhill as we make our way to the hot springs of Tatopani. During the early part of today’s trek, we cross the bridge at Ghasa. As we drop to lower elevations, we emerge back into subtropical forests, lush with vegetation. The trail passes the waterfall of Rupse Chahara as we enter the sub-tropical forests of the lower elevations. After an hours descent, the trail reaches the village of Dana, from where there is gradual descent to Tatopani. At Tatopani, we spend the night and enjoy the hot springs.
7-8 hoursAfter breakfast, we take the trail crossing the hanging bridge over Kali Gandaki River and head up the Ghar Khola valley. we will enter to farmlands and small villages with mountains all around. We pass through the villages of Shikha and Chitre before reaching a beautiful rhododendron forest. Ascend again for another three hours through rich forests of rhododendron to Ghorepani, a beautiful village located at a ridge top.
6–7 hoursToday we start early to climb along the steep trail to the viewpoint of Poon Hill, the most popular trekking destination of the Annapurna region to witness the most fascinating and mesmerizing sunrise view reflecting over the Himalayas. After experiencing the breath-taking moment at Poon Hill, We will return back to our lodge in Ghorepani for breakfast and then continue to walk through rhododendron forest, we will cross the Deurali Pass and then walk down to the village of Banthanti. This village is below a hill and has a beautiful river passing through it. The people here are mostly Gurungs. From Banthanti we will start to climb up a small uphill at the end of which lies the village of Tadapani.
5-6 hoursThis is our last day of trekking as we make our way back to modernization. From Tadapani, we go downhill through a thick forest of old rhododendron trees. When the rhododendron trees are in bloom, these forests actually turn into amazing gardens.
The trek to Ghandruk is 3-4 hours. Ghandruk is a cultural village settlement with stone houses mostly inhabited by the Gurung people also popular for cultural tourism. We continue our trek to Nayapul from where we drive for one hour to Pokhara. Pokhara is a mysterious place of amazing landscapes. Overnight in Pokhara hotel.
After Breakfast, we fly back to Kathmandu and hotel check-in. Rest of the day is free for independent activities. In the evening we will be having farewell dinner hosted by Travel House Nepal.
Our adventure in Nepal comes to an end today! After Breakfast, Free till departure. Transfer to the airport to connect with the onward flight.
THN-ACT21-STD
2-14 People
21 Days
Nepal
Moderate
Trekking, Pass, Great Mountain Views, Local Culture & Cuisine
5,416m/17,769ft
1,300m/4,264ft
Breakfast in Kathmandu & Pokhara. All meals during the trek
3 Star hotels in Kathmandu and Pokhara. Local Tea houses during the trek
March to May | September to December