18 Day - Annapurna Circuit Trek

The airport representative will be waiting for your arrival at Kathmandu Airport (1340m) with a name card in their hand containing your name and you will be transferred to your Hotel by private car/van/bus which takes about 20 minutes from Airport to your Hotel.

He/she will inform you about the trip and fix the appointment with your Trekking leader for next afternoon.

The day starts with a slow and easy morning.

Your guide will pick you up from your Hotel for City sightseeing tour around Kathmandu valley, covering some major places of tourist interest, which is listed on world's heritage sites.

They are Basantapur Durbar Square where you can visit living goddess Kumari, Swyambhunath (The Monkey temple), Pashupatinath temple (Hindu religious site nearby an open Hindu cremation site), the bouddhanath stupa (Buddhist religious site).

Prepare for your trip to sort out the things you may need during the trekking.

In the afternoon your trekking guide will meet you and give detailed information about your trip. If you need any help, feel free to ask with your guide, he would be happy to settle your problem.

You will depart early morning at 6 o’clock for the 7 hours drive by public bus to Bhulbhule (829m/2720ft).

It is about 188km from Kathmandu.

The stunning view of the snow-capped mountain is remarkable to see from Besishahar and on the way to Bhulbhule.

Overnight at lodge.

The first day of your trekking starts at Bhulbhule, from where, you head on to Jagat (1341m/4400ft) passing through Ngadi, Bahundanda and Ghermu villages, experiencing the diverse culture and nature of Nepal.

Overnight at Lodge.

Our day begins with the rocky trail following the Marsyandi Rivers steadily uphill to Tal at 1675meters, the first village in the Manang district.

We make a trail verse crossing a wide, flat valley. The journey continues up and down to Dharapani at 1890 meters.

Overnight at Lodge

The trail climbs to Tyanja at 2360 meters, then continuing through forest, but near the river, to Kopar at 2590meters.

As we reach the Chame (2615m/8579ft), the headquarters of the Manang district, we are rewarded by the fine views of Annapurna II as you approach Chame & two small hot springs by the town.

Along this route, we are introduced to a local community said to have migrated from Tibet a long time past, noticeable by their different features. With them, they have bought local Tibetan house designs and maintained their ways.

Overnight at Lodge.

The day starts through deep forest in a steep and narrow valley, crosses a river on a long bridge at 2910meters.

We then cross another bridge at 3040meters, from there the view of the soaring Paungda Danda rock face really begins to appear.

From there the trail joins to climb to Pisang (3133m/10279ft), which sprawls between 3200m & 3300meters.

Overnight at Lodge.

Today we continue through the drier upper part of the Manang district (3499m/11480ft), cut off from the full effect of the monsoon by the Annapurna Range.

People of this region herd the yaks & raise crops for part of the year. They also continue to enjoy special trading rights gained way back in 1784.

Leaving Pisang, we have alternate trails north and south of the Marsyangdi River which meets up again at Mungji.

The southern route by Hongde, with its airstrip, at 3325meters which involves less climbing than the northern route via Ghyaru, though there are better views on the trail that follows the northern bank of the river. From Mungji, the trail continues past the picturesque but partially hidden village of Bryanga at 3475meters to nearby Manang at 3540meters.

Overnight at Lodge.

Today we spend a day acclimatizing in Manang.

After your breakfast you will hike to Gangapurna glacier viewpoint for acclimatization, you will enjoy the stunning view of Gangapurna lake and Gangapurna glacier.

After lunch, you will be doing some fine day walks and overviewing the magnificent views around the village & the daytime is best to gain altitude.

Overnight at Lodge.

Today we leave Manang, & the trail makes an ascent of nearly 500meters to the Yak Kharka (3968m/13018ft).

We make the climb steadily through Tenki Manang, leaving the Marsyangi Valley.

Continuing along the Jarsang Khola Valley, we reach Yak Kharka at 3968 meters, there we see the many yaks and vegetations steadily more sparse.

Overnight at Lodge.

After ascending for two hours the trail descends to cross the river at 4310meters and we then climb up to Thorong Phedi at 4450 meters where our overnight stay will be there.

We will reach our destination for today early, we will have lunch here and we will go to high camp for acclimatization and back to Thorang Phedi.

We will have dinner and go to bed early for good preparation for next morning.

Overnight at Lodge.

Today is a long trek starting before sunrise at 4 am to reach the pass by 9-10 am otherwise weather conditions will greatly affect the journey.

We cross over at an altitude of 5416 meters where we can be exposed to strong winds if crossing too late.

We start to climb steeply that is regularly used and easy to follow. However, the problem may arise due to the altitude and snow. It often causes terrible problems to cross the pass if it is covered by heavy snow.

About four hours, climb up to the pass marked by the chortens & prayer flags. As you reach the top, you are rewarded by the magnificent view from the top with another 4 hours trek will trek to the holy town of Muktinath  (3798m/12461ft).

Muktinath means place of Nirvana and is home to the Muktinath temple as well as several monasteries. It is said that all sorrows you feel are relieved when visiting the Temple, which is a sacred pilgrimage site to both Hindus and Buddhists. The main pilgrimage normally takes place in September. The Temple is dedicated to Lord Vishnu and has 108 waterspouts around it from which Holy water pours.

Another attraction nearby is the Jwala Mai Temple this contains a spring and an eternal flame fed by natural underground gas.

Overnight at Lodge.

Now it is time to descend towards to Kali Gandaki Gorge.

Today we follow almost the same trail to Jomsom, leaving behind the Tibetan like landscape and culture.

After Jomsom, you head toward the Marpha Village (2667m/8750ft), the delicious apple kingdom of Nepal.

These Thakali people are the only ethnic group living around this area and they are ready to serve you various dishes and beverages prepared by apple.

Marpha is particularly well known for its apple products i.e. apple pie, apple crumble, apple cider and apple brandy as well as apricot and peach rakshi.

Overnight at lodge.

Drive 7 hours from Marpha to Tatopani passing by some Thakali villages called Kalopani and Lete, you will have closest view of Dhaulagiri and you will also enjoy the splendid views of Nilgiri, Annapurna, Barahshikhar and many more unnamed mountains and peaks. You will enjoy the bathe at natural hot spring (1189m/3901ft).

Overnight at Lodge.

Leaving the hot springs behind us we ascend again to Ghorepani (2819m/9249ft) passing through many villages including the main village of Poon Magars called Shikha, the ethnic group mostly inhabitant in this area, name of Poon Hill is given from their sir name Poon.

Overnight at lodge.

One of the most awaited moments of your trip, sunrise view from Poon Hill (3210m/10531ft) is for today.

Today, very early in the morning, we start an hour hiking to Poon Hill at an elevation of 3210meters, a brilliant sight; this vantage point provides perfect views of the early morning sunrise over the high Himalayas.

There we spend about 1 hour, then return to Ghorepani where we take a hot breakfast at the hotel then trek down to Nayapul. On the way to Nayapul, we walk down along the ridges and through rhododendron forests to large Magar village of Ulleri at 2070meters and pass through the Gurung villages of Tkhdhunga and Hile to end the trek in Nayapul and drive an hour and a half to Pokhara.

Overnight at Hotel.

7 hrs scenic drive from Pokhara to Kathmandu by tourist bus, you will enjoy the view of river along the way.

Enjoy farewell dinner with Nepali family