The
Annapurna Sanctuary Trek takes us to the very heart of Annapurnas, to a wild, frosty basin ringed by awesome snow clad mountains through forests of Oak, Rhododendron and Bamboo, passing through and beyond Gurung villages and climb through the deep gorge of the Modi Khola river ( the only opening to this Himalayan amphitheatre) into the vast amphitheater of the
Annapurna Sanctuary that is encircled by the famous Himalayan peaks of Machhapuchre (6997m/22957ft), Gangapurna (7454m/24457ft)
Annapurna 1 (8091m/26547ft), unclimbed Fang (7647m/25090ft) and
Annapurna South (7219m/23686ft). This easy
Trek offers fine close up mountain views without the acclimatization problems as in Everest region. From Pokhara, after short drive we reach Nayapul, 41km/25miles away from Pokhara, which is the starting point of the
Annapurna Trek. One of the attractions of the Pokhara region is the opportunity to make short treks ranging from a few hours to a week, if you don’t have time for one of the longer treks or you are not ready for one. There are several route options from two possible trailheads for the first part of ABC
Trek upto the last major village of Chhomrong on the Modi Khola gorge from where there is a common single trail to
Annapurna Base Camp ( ABC) South. As we are on the
Annapurna circuit
Trek with
Annapurna Sanctuary Trek, we follow the route of Nayapul-Ghorepani-Chhomrong-ABC.
Trip Highlights: Cultural highlights of Kathmandu Valley by visiting temple and Stupa and the old palace of kings; insight into the lifestyle, religion and culture of mountain people specially the ethnic group of Gurungs who comprises 2. 4% of Nepal’s population; easy trek; close view of huge Himalayan amphitheatre; no acclimatization problem; forests of oak, bamboo and rhododendron; Machhapuchhre Base Camp; spectacular mountains view from
Annapurna Base Camp; sunrise and mountains view from Poonhill; opportunity of enjoying wildlife in the
Sanctuary.
DETAILED ITINERARY
Day 1 Arrival KATHMANDU (1300m/4265ft): Arrive at Kathmandu International Airport where you will be warmly welcomed by our representative and check in to the hotel. The rest of the day is free to explore this historic and vibrant city. Meals: NO
Day 2 Acclimatize KATHMANDU: After breakfast we depart the hotel for a full-day guided sightseeing tour of Kathmandu, the "city of glory. " We visit Durbar (Palace) Square, the epicenter of religious and cultural life, an area filled with old temples and historical significance with old glorious Newari architecture. Some of the sights include Kal Bhairav, Hanuman Dhoka, Taleju Temple, Kasthamandap and Kumari Ghar; home to the Living Goddess. Afterwards we visit Swoyambhunath Stupa, said to be one of the oldest Buddhist stupas in the world, which is majestically set high on a hill overlooking Kathmandu Valley. We proceed towards Pashupatinath Temple, a Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. This massive temple complex sits alongside the banks of the holy Bagmati River. Only Hindus are allowed to enter the courtyard of the temple, whereas tourists can see the temple from the eastern side of the Bagmati River. Later we visit Boudhanath, a Buddhist Stupa said to be one of the largest in the world. This massive structure stands tall with four pairs of eyes each facing the four cardinal directions, watching for righteous behavior of mankind and for human prosperity. Meals: Breakfast, Welcome Dinner
Day 3 Fly to POKHARA (884m/2900ft): After morning breakfast in the hotel, we take a 25 minutes flight from Kathmandu International Airport to Pokhara. Meals: Breakfast
Day 4 Drive to NAYAPUL (1070m/3511ft);
Trek to TIKHEDHUNGA (1540m/5053ft): After breakfast we drive 41km/25 miles to Nayapul for the start of our ABC
Trek. A steep trail from Nayapul directs us down to a bridge over a small stream to get to Birethanti, a large and prosperous village. From Birethanti we take the left branch of the trail on the west side of the bridge at the ACAP Checkpost where we need to show ACAP permit and TIMS Card. Following the trail through main streets of Birethanti, winding through bamboo forests and past a large waterfall and swimming hole we reach Sudami beyond a pasture used by caravans. We climb steadily up the side of the valley to reach Hille and about 15 minutes above Hille is the Tikhedhunga. Meals: Breakfast
Day 5
Trek to GHOREPANI (2750m/9023ft): This is a 4-6 hours
Trek which starts crossing the Tikhedhunga Khola on a suspension bridge, then drops and crosses the Bhurungdi Khola on a large bridge at 1520m. The trail climbs very steeply on a stone staircase that is said to have more than 3300 steps which continue to the large Magar village of Ulleri (2080m) and climbing gently through the pastures and cultivated fields the trail makes its way to deep forests to reach a hamlet of Banthanti. Crossing the magnificent oak and rhododendron forests the trail passes through two sparkling clear streams, a small ridge and another stream before making final climb to another Magar village of Nangathanti (2460m). About an hour past this village we reach Ghorepani where we can see eight different species of Nepal’s national flower rhododendron in the hillsides below Ghorepani. Meals: Breakfast
Day 6
Trek to POON HILL (3210m/10532ft);
Trek to TADA PANI (2710m/8892ft): After about an hours climb in the morning we reach Poon Hill which is a viewpoint for the spectacular Himalayan panorama extending from Dhaulagiri to
Annapurna to Machhapuchhre; that stretches from Dhaulagiri I ( 8167m) and Tukuche (6920m) to Nilgiri (6940m),
Annapurna South,
Annapurna I (8091m), Hiunchuli (6441m) and Tarke Kang (7193m). Climbing just a little further beyond the viewpoint, the trail descends a bit and then goes through series of ups and downs through the forest of bamboo, rhododendron and birch to reach a hamlet of Deurali which also has a viewpoint tower some 200m/660ft above the hamlet. Beyond Deurali, crossing through the slippery stretches we reach a stream and taking the path above the stream. Crossing the bridge over the stream we climb steep stone steps with iron railings and reach the hamlet of Banthanti. The path drops steeply down now through the dense forests and crossing the bridge in the stream climb steep stone steps to reach Tadapani which offers an excellent ringside view of the entire region with a ring of mountains. Meals: Breakfast
Day 7
Trek to CHHOMRONG (2210m/7251ft): This day has a long descent of 780m and ascent of 280m starting from the narrow trail through forests full of bromeliads to a pasture and now crossing through Chiule we drop down on steep steps through corn and millet fields to Siprung and then to a old suspension bridge over the Khumbu Khola from where the trail starts climbing to the spread out village of Ghurjung passing through the yards of several homes and lodges. Now crossing a wooden bridge we walk 30 minutes in and out of side valleys to Dhiklyo Danda, where the Ghandruk –Chhomrong trail joins the route. Now climbing steeply gaining the views of Machhapuchhre we pass through Taglung and reach Chhomrong. Meals: Breakfast
Day 8
Trek to DOBHAN (2500m/8203ft): Leaving Chhomrong, the trail descends on a stone staircase and crosses the Chhomrong Khola on a swaying suspension bridge at 1860m and climbs out of the side valley via the tiny settlement of Tilche, through forests of bamboo, rhododendron and oak. Climbing further on a rocky trail we reach Bhanuwa and then to Sinuwa. Now climbing in a forest of rhododendrons we reach stone paved trail that passes Kuldi from where the trail enters the upper Modi Valley and descending a long, steep, slippery stone staircase into a deep bamboo and rhododendron forest we arrive at Bamboo (2310m). Now the trail climbs steeply through stands of bamboo and then rhododendron and crossing tributary streams on narrow bridges occasionally and keeping on eye on the troops of black faced langur monkeys and after traversing several avalanche chutes we reach the stone paved trail of Dobhan. Meals: Breakfast
Day 9
Trek to ABC (4130m/13551ft): This is a long ascend which we start crossing a stream and avalanche chute we climb across a landslide to reach a forest with a small temple of Baraha and one should not carry eggs or meat beyond this point. Climbing past a cascade over a rock platform we pass a decorated temple of Shiva to reach a rocky trail through forests then up a steep ravine to Hinku Cave. Now the trail crosses the remnants of a glacier just beyond Hinku Cave from where we climb through large boulders to Deorali. Above Deorali, the valley widens and become less steep from where the gate of the
Sanctuary can be seen. The trail now diverts to the east side of the valley to avoid dangerous avalanche area and climbs through an unusual mix of bamboo and birch to reach Bagar. From here, we climb across more avalanche paths, and then through a sparse birch forest and crossing a moraine descend to a stream. Now a stone staircase leads us to a helipad and a nearby German meteorological office from where we choose lower trail to reach Machhapuchhre Base Camp (3700m/12140ft) from where we can enjoy the great mountain panorama views of Hiunchuli, AnnapurnaIII, Gangapurna and ever changing Machhapuchhre. Trail hard if fresh snow/ pleasant walk / the trail follows a stream and then climbs to a few huts, where shepherds graze their sheep during summer/the area is cold, windy and often snowbound. Walking past the porter shelter and volleyball court to a prayer flag draped viewpoint on the moraine for a spectacular view over the glacier and nearby memorial chorten for climber Anatoli Bourkreev killed in 1997 by an avalanche, we reach ABC and the
Sanctuary. In the
Sanctuary we can see few birds, tahr, Himalayan weasels and pika. Tharpu chuli (5663m), Singu Chuli (6501m) and Hiunchuli are the three trekking peaks accessible from the
Sanctuary which requires skill, equipment and advance planning to climb. Meals: Breakfast
Day 10
Trek to CHHOMRONG (2210m/7251ft): Heading back down the valley retracing our steps to Dobhan and further making a long steep climb back to the Chhomrong. Meals: Breakfast
Day 11
Trek to GHANDRUK (1970m/6464ft): To descend to Ghandruk we return to trail junction at Taglung and swing right to climb to the top of a landslide and again turn left after sometime at the trail junction and now we head towards straight south which is a heartbreaking sight. Now descending steeply we reach Kimrong village just above the Khumbu Khola. At Kimrong we cross the bridge and stay on the left trail as it climbs out of the Khumnu Valley and making a steep climb through forest we reach Kumrong Danda. From Kimrong Danda it’s an easy descent to a bridge over the Kyuri Khola, ten minutes from where the route is joined by a fork of the Ghorepani-Ghandruk trail from where we turn east to reach a second largest Gurung settlement in
Nepal, Ghandruk village that has two museums out of which Gurung Traditional Museum is the best. Meals: Breakfast
Day 12
Trek to LANDRUK (1620m/5315ft): The
Trek from Ghandruk to Landruk is the steepest part of our entire
Trek. The descent from Ghandruk to Kyumi at the bank of Modi khola is almost 70 degree vertical. Then we climb up to Landruk which is almost equally steep but shorter. Though a straight line distance between the two villages would not be more than 500 meters, it takes us more than 3 hours to reach from Ghandruk to Landruk. Meals: Breakfast
Day13
Trek to DHAMPUS (1700m/5578ft): The early morning view from Landruk is gorgeous. We see another show of the beautiful
Annapurna shrouded by clouds towards the north. Towards the south, we see the beautiful hills and the Modi river valley. The
Trek from Landruk is pretty easy for the first hour, somewhat steep for the next two or three (till Deurali) and a gentle downhill to a small village of Pothana through the forests for two more hours. The mountain views from Pothana are indeed heavenly with Machhapuchhre dominating the vista. The remainder of the
Trek is gradual downhill through the trails to Dhampus village. It takes us about two hours to reach Dhampus. Meals: Breakfast
Day 14 Back to POKHARA: Dhampus is connected to the highway by a graveled road to Pokhara. So we take a short walk downhill to Phedi passing few teashops and houses from where we reach Pokhara after half an hour drive. Meals: Breakfast
Day 15 Back to KATHMANDU: From Pokhara we fly back to Kathmandu and drop to the hotel. This is a leisure day which can be utilized buying gifts and souvenirs for your friends and family. In the evening you will be invited to join FAREWELL reviewing great photos and share experiences of the trip. Meals: Breakfast, Farewell Dinner
Day
16 Fly back HOME or extend your HOLIDAYS: If you prefer to stay longer, you can consult us for short tours such as game drive at National parks, rafting, mountain biking, Tibet,
India or Bhutan tours etc. Meals: Breakfast
TRIP COST INCLUDES
1. All domestic flights and hotel/airport transfer by private vehicles.
2. Hotel Encounter or similar standard hotel in Kathmandu and Pokhara with breakfast.
3. All accommodation and breakfast during the trip
4. Welcome & Farwell dinner
5. All costs including salary, insurance, equipment, flight, food and lodging for leaders, Sherpa, assistant
Trek leaders and porters.
6. All entry fees for sightseeing around Kathmandu.
7. All ground transport in private vehicles
8. Down jacket and seasonal sleeping bags
9. All necessary paper work and permits
10. A comprehensive medical kit
11. Portable Altitudes Chamber (PAC) for safety measure
12. All government and local taxes
13. Alpine club kit bag
TRIP COST DOES NOT INCLUDE
1.
Nepal entry visa fees.
2. International airfare and airport departure tax.
3. Bar bills and laundry.
4. Travel insurance including evacuation.
5. Lunch and dinner except welcome and farewell meals.
6. All optional additional tours or activities in your extended holidays.
7. Tips for local staffs, guides and porters.
8. All other expenses that are not mentioned in Price Includes section.
Precio: € 773
Correo electrónico: info@alpineclubofhimalaya.com
Teléfono: +977-1-4359676
Skype: encounter121
