Annapurna Circuit Trekking

From Kathmandu, we start early for our drive to Nagdi. The road up to Besisahar is quite good. Once we reached the Besiahar we change the bus and 2 hours drive to Nagdi. Nagdi is river bank small village. After the long bus journey. Once we reach there, we freshen up and spend the night at the local lodge.

On the first day of the trek, we cross through various suspension bridges, waterfalls and continue past rice paddies and forests. Once we reach the cliff in Jagat, we can view the Marsyangdi Khola below and rocky hills all around. The bee hives at the top of the cliffs is an attraction of the day’s trip. In a short while we reach Chamje where we spend the night.

As we move past narrow and steep valleys, among rhododendron, pine and bamboo forests, in the rocky folds of a mountain, we come across a bridge that takes us to a quick ascent and finally atop a climb to reveal a widening valley. After reaching the village of Tal, we have to move across barley, wheat and potato farms for a while to reach Dharapani. From there we turn west through the fir and pine forests to reach Bagarchhap.

From Bagarchhap we start ahead to reach a Danaque village and then a steep climb to reach a Tamang village with exquisite views of Manaslu, Lamjung , Annapurna and other mountain beauties. As we trek through a Tibetan village that acts as a transition between the lowlands and high hills, we follow a gradual flat path to Thanchowk, Kolo and finally to Chame.

We first pass through the older part of Chame, climb up to Telekhu and continue on a long, leveled path through forests to Brathang. The trails rounds a bend and once we continue ahead we need to cross back to the south bank of Marsyangdi River on a suspension bridge. Then the trail forms a gentle climb over a pine forested ridge and then levels again as we move from the upper part of Manang valley to Pisang.

The town of Pisang is the beginning of the upper region of the Manang district. On this day, the trek climbs to Braga, a Tibetan styled village. The houses here are stacked upon each other forming verandas with each others rooftops. The main attraction is the Gompa, the largest in the district, with a vast array of statues in display and perched on a high crag with the view of the entire village. After a while we reach Manang, where we refresh and spend the night.

As we are moving to higher elevations, we need to acclimatize to avoid the risk of altitude sickness. Manang is the perfect spot with its beautiful natural setting and a hike up to Khangsar in the afternoon for a short detour.

After the rest, we feel rejuvenated to continue forward on our trip. As we move past the tall trees towards the alpine grass and junipers, we reach meadows with a few horses and a number of yaks grazing around. The serene environment with meadows and steep slopes of Yak Kharka is the perfect place for us to spend the night. We can also choose to walk for an hour to reach Letdar and spend the night there

Trekking to Letdar helps in getting acclimatized to the increasing heights as we climb along the east bank of Jarang Khola. In some time we reach a meadow surrounded by vertical cliffs, the Thorung Phedi. Sighting of blue sheep and snow leopards have been reported a few times in the area, whereas Lammergeyers and griffons are quite common. We spend the night here.

On this day, we make the quite long hike of about 7-8 hours. The trail is comparatively easier having been trodden for years, but could get difficult with strong winds at the upper regions. The trail is believed to have been used for hundreds of years to take sheep and yaks in and out of Manang along with other trading goods. We reach Thorung Phedi in about 6 hours.

After we reach Thorung la pass, our entire hard walk will be rewarded by the beautiful views of Annapurna, Gangapurna and a heavily glaciated peak of Khatungkang. After a 1600m of descent, we view the glorious Dhaulagiri standing in the distance. After a while, the trail becomes less steep and enters grassy fields and meadows to finally reach Muktinath.

In Hindu religion, Muktinath refers to a place of nirvana which houses a temple and a number of monasteries, making it a holy site for Hindus and Buddhists alike. The main attractions of the site are the Jwalamai temple with a spring and an eternal flame as well as the 108 water sprouts that pour holy water. These are visited by thousands of pilgrims every year.

From Muktinath, we follow a path of the Jomsom trek where we descent through meadows, streams and fruit trees to reach Kagbeni. Look around the old village then keep moving downwards from Kagbeni we reach Jomson, Kali Gandaki valley.

The road from Marpha to Kalopani is through a new trail past Chokhopani village which is a traditional Thakali village. The panoramic views of the Himalayas include Nilgiri, Dhaulagiri, Tukuche, Annapurna and many other snow capped peaks. From here we cross a river and a newly constructed road to finally reach Kalopani.

Now we move from Tatopani through villages of midland Nepal with terraced fields and inclined farmlands. As we hike an ascent we move past rhododendron, magnolia and other vegetation of the area. We finally reach Ghorepani as we witness the beautiful mountains in the evening sky. We rest in Ghorepani to make an early start to Poonhill in the morning.

Early morning climb up to Poonhil for the sunrise,has to be the highlight of the trek as we make our trip to the vantage point early in the morning with sunrise. Once you see the snow capped peaks highlighted in the changing golden rays of the sunrise, it will be one of the unforgettable moments of one’s life. The peaks in the scenery include the Annapurna range and Dhaulagiri. Also known as a photographer’s paradise, we can spend some time here taking breathtaking pictures of the spellbinding surrounding, capturing the spectacular moments in a frame. Then we go down to Ghorepani breakfast then 5 hour trek down to Nayapul first part of the trek down until Tikhedhunga is quite steepn down hill with lots of steep.From there we move past terraced fields for a few hours to reach Nayapool. From there a short drive will finally take us to Pokhara.

After enjoying the beautiful Pokhara and its natural and cultural beauty, we start our drive towards Kathmandu. After a 6-7 hours drive, we finally reach Kathmandu. We can either rest or roam around the tourist attractions in the capital city.