Annapurna Circuit Trek - 17 Days

You will land at Tribhuvan Airport, Kathmandu, Nepal. The Great Adventure Treks’ representatives will be there to greet you outside the airport terminal. You will then head out to your hotel with them. You will meet your guide at the hotel who wlll give you all the relevant information about the hotel and Annapurna Circuit Trek trek. He will also give you other related information during your stay in Nepal.

After breakfast, you will go for a sightseeing tour of Kathmandu, which is the capital city of Nepal. Kathmandu is a culturally as well as historically unique city. The city is modern, yet has the heritage of its ancient culture. Modern buildings as well as temples of the medieval age are found in various parts of this city. You will visit the various UNESCO World Heritage Sites this day. You will go to two important Buddhist pilgrimages in Kathmandu – Boudhanath temple and Swayambhunath temple. You will also visit two Durbar Squares- Patan Durbar Square and Kathmandu Durbar Square. Finally, you will also go on a tour of the Hindu pilgrimage- Pashupatinath Temple.

Pashupatinath Temple:

The largest as well as the most popular Hindu temple in the world-Pashupatinath Temple- lies on the banks of the river Bagmati. Tens of millions of Hindu devotees visit this temple yearly. Lord Shiva is the main deity. The temple is especially full on the occasion of Maha Shivaratri. It is a two-storied temple that has various other temples surrounding it.

Boudhanath Stupa:

The peaceful eyes of the Boudhanath temple is the greatest symbol of Buddhism in Nepal. This UNESCO World Heritage SIte made in in 1979 A.D. The temple was made about two thousand five hundred years ago. You can find people of all faiths in Boudhanath. The prayer wheels of this stupa are beautifully carved.

Kathmandu and Patan Durbar Squares:

Kathmandu Durbar Square and Patan Durbar Square lie in the districts of Kathmandu and Patan respectively. The kings of Kathmandu and Patan resided in the palaces in these squares in the past. Displays of the Newari artists and craftsmen’s skills are replete in these squares. Krishna Mandir in Patan Durbar Square and Hanuman Dhoka complex in Kathmandu Durbar Square are the most important places there along with the museums there.

After an early breakfast, you will go on a scenic drive leading to the Pokhara highway. This interesting drive takes you along the foothills of the hills surrounding the Kathmandu valley. Just a few hours before the road that leads to Pokhara, the driving route diverts from Dumre town towards north eventually Besisahar. Beshishar is the district headquarter of Lamjung region. You will spend your night here. Besisahar has altitude of 823 meters. You will reach here after a 7-8 hours bus ride from Kathmandu.

Trekking starts from Besisahar with fascinating scenery of the gorge, high hills, waterfalls, and snow-capped peaks. The trail is quite steep for half an hour leading you to lush farm terraces fields. As you trek further, you will reach the top of a ridge, which gives you a magnificent view of waterfalls. As you walk along some local villages and terrace farms, you will get to Chamje village.

From Chamje, you will cross a bridge before another steep climb to Tal. This village lies by the side of the river Marsyangdi on a gorge-valley. As you leave Tal. the trek gets easier as there is a gentle path to a large bridge. After crossing the bridge, you will reach the village of Dharapani, where you will stay overnight. Dharapani has an altitude of 1860 meters and takes about 5-6 hours of a trek from Besisahar.

From Dharapani, there is a change in vegetation. The air gets cooler. The landscape changes too. You will trek through forests before reaching Bagarchhap, which is the first village on the trek with typical Tibetan architecture. After a pleasantly cool morning walk, you will slowly gain altitude before reaching the apple country at Dhanaqi. From Dhanaqi, you will pass through the farm area, orchards and beautiful pine forest with views of Lamjung and Annapurna II peaks.

The trail then follows the upstream of Marsyangdi river as you pass by the villages of Ratamanang and Koto. From Koto, a half hour of easy walk brings to the village town of Chame for the overnight stop. Chame, which lies at an altitude of 2720 meters, is the district headquarters of Manang region. Today’s trek will be 4-5 hours long.

Today, you will trek from Chame to Pisang (3200 meters). It will take you 5-6 hours in order to get to Pisang from Chame. The walk from Chame follows the other side of the river on the northern bank. After you leave Chame, the path passes through pine woods and small villages along some gentle uphills and downhills before reaching Bratang. From here trek continues on the gradual path that leads you to a bridge. From the bridge, a short steep climb through the pine forest brings you at the top of the ridge of Pisang village. After walking past the tree lines, you can catch splendid views of Pisang peak and the Chulu peak. After a gentle descent for an hour brings you to the windswept village of Pisang.

From Pisang onwards, the trekking trails offer you constant views of the high snow-capped peaks. The trail climbs steeply up for half an hour after a short gradual walk from the Pisang village before reaching the top of a small hill. This grand spot offers dramatic views of the valleys and Humde village with its short air-strip. You can also catch some mesmerizing views of peaks like Gangapurna, Annapurna II, III, Tilicho, Chuli, and Pisang peak. You will trek downhill from here all the way to Humde. From Humde to Manang, the trek is more or less flat. You will gain slight altitude as you near to the village of Braga and Manang. You can spend some time in Braga to visit Bhrakaa Monastery. Being the largest monastery in the district, it has an outstanding display of statues, thangkas, and religious manuscripts. From Braga, it is only an hour walk to Manang for the overnight stop. Manang lies at an altitude of 3540 meters. Today’s hike will be 4-5 hours long .

You will spend this day acclimatizing in Manang. You will explore Manang this day. Manang is home to about 500 flat-roofed houses. This village is set amongst some spectacular scenery compromising of Annapurna II, Annapurna III [7,555 meters], Gangapurna [7,454 meters] to the South – Tilicho [7,132 meters] and the Grand Barrier to the West – Chulu West [6,583 meters] and Chulu East [6,059 meters] to the North.

The trail from Manang leads to a slow climb for an hour as it offers inspiring views of the Annapurna II, Gangapurna, Tilicho, and the close-up views of Chuli peaks. The trail heads up in the barren windswept terrains with juniper bushes along the way. Eventually, you will reach the small settlements of Yak-Kharka (4020 meters) for your overnight. You can explore Yak Kharka in the evening with some gentle hikes. Today’s hike from Manang to Yak Kharka is just 3-4 hours long.

The trail from Yak Kharka leads to a slow climb up to reach the last settlement of Ledar. The trail then winds up offering grand views of the Annapurna II, Gangapurna, Tilache and the close-up view of Chuli peaks. Then you will ascend as you trek along the barren windswept terrain before reaching Thorong Phedi. The trail from Thorung Phedi then depends upon your fitness.

If you are willing to go and the time permits, you will continue along a zig-zag track towards Upper Phedi or High Camp. There are a few tea houses and lodges here. If you can make it to Upper Phedi or High Camp, it makes the walk easier start for the next day. It also shortens the number of trekking hours as you head towards the pass.

You will be starting your trek early after breakfast so that you can reach the top of the pass on time before the cold wind starts to blow. The trek can be quite strenuous in the beginning as you trek along a steep zig-zag path for an hour. After reaching the first ridge, the hike continues on the narrow gradual track for half hour or more till you reach a small glacial pond. There is a small teahouse here. From here, another hour and a half trek leads to the top of the pass.

Finally, you will reach an altitude of 5,416 meters at Thorong-La. You can catch the best views of the northern Annapurna, Damodar, Bhrikuti and Dhaulagiri range of mountains from Thorong La. Despite the rough, steep descent from Thorong la, you can have excellent views of the Dhaulagiri 8,167 m.

The descent will lead you to the sacred village of Muktinath (3800 meters). This will be the longest day in terms of trekking. After reaching the bottom, there are about two or three teahouses for refreshment. After a break here, you will continue for another hour before reaching Muktinath, which is the holiest of all holy places. During Hindu & Buddhist festivals, this place is full and busy with pilgrims from all over Nepal and India.

Today, you’ll drive through the scenic Kali Gandaki Valley , passing through the picturesque town of Jomsom and the charming village of Marpha , known for its apple orchards and apple products. The journey continues to Tatopani , famous for its natural hot springs where you can relax and rejuvenate after days of trekking.

After a wonderful time at Tatopani, you will head out to Ghorepani (2860 meters) on a 6-7 hour trekking trail. As you trek from Tatopani, you will cross a suspension bridge over the Kali Gandaki river. The path leads by the river for a while just arriving at the junction of the two trails.

The trekking route diverts from here leading to an uphill climb. From here, you will encounter another steeply terraced hillside with farms and villages. From this spot, you will trek along a gentle uphill most of the day. You will walk alongside terraced fields and dense rhododendron forests before reaching Chitre. The trek continues from Chitre towards takes you through rhododendron and pine forest.

If the weather permits, you will take a one hour hike to the top of Poon-Hill(3,195m) for a beautiful sunrise over the superb panorama ranging from Dhaulagiri, Annapurna to Mt. Manaslu range.

After capturing some staggering views of mountains from Poon Hill, you will track back to Ghorepani for your breakfast. From Ghorepani, the trail follows to the main trail on the downhill path passing through a patch of cool shade of forest before reaching Birethanti.

The trek then continues on the gradual trail for a short period. The trail finally descends from Ulleri village taking you through stone paved steps all the way to the suspension bridge at Tikhedhunga (1520 meters).

From Tikhedhunga you will be driven for 2 hours to Pokhara by jeep.

This will be your leisure day in Pokhara. You can go for a sightseeing tour this day. Pokhara has some of the most beautiful lakes in the country. So you can head out to Phewa Lake, Begnas Lake, and Rupa Lake.

You can also get some boating experience here. Pokhara is also home to some adventurous caves like Gupteshwor Mahadev Cave, Bat Cave, and Mahendra Cave. So there are plenty of exciting things you can do in Pokhara on this leisure day. Or you can simply take a break and rest in your hotel.

On this day, you will drive back to Kathmandu from Pokhara. The route of the bus takes you along the beautiful, scenic hills along with sights of Trisuli and Marsyangdi River. It is also possible for you to catch views of Ganesh Himal and the Manaslu peak during this bus ride. After a ride of 6-7 hours from Pokhara, you will reach Kathmandu. You can go for some last minute shopping in Thamel to buy some souvenirs or other items you might need.

The Great Adventure Treks will transfer you to the international airport. You will your flight back home there. Our representative will drop you to the airport around 3 hours before your scheduled flight. You need to ensure that you have your air ticket as well as other necessary travel documents. The Great Adventure treks could also arrange another tour for you in Nepal if you want.