Annapurna Circuit Trek – 15 Days

You will explore Durbar Square, Pashupatinath temple, Swayambhunath stupa and Bouddhanath stupa which are all world heritage sites. Durbar Square reveals the life of the royals in ancient times. Pashupatinath temple is one of the most significant places of pilgrimage for all Hindus. Swayambhunath is also known as the Monkey Temple and Bauddhanath Stupa is one of the largest stupas in the world. At noon, you are introduced to our fellow participants and discuss our trip to our office. Overnight in Kathmandu.

After morning breakfast, you begin your journey to Western Nepal via a bus to Besisahar. Besisahar is the district’s headquarter of Lamjung. By bus, it takes about 6-7 hours to reach there. Microbus, Jeep or bus takes you faster. After lunch drive to Dharapani. Overnight at Dharapani.

Today we walk through a few forested elevations on our way to Chame, which is the headquarters of the Manang District. Throughout the trek, we can cherish amazing glimpses of the Himalayas including Lamjung Himal, Annapurna II, and Annapurna IV (7,525 m). We also come across small hot springs where we can dip in and relax our aching muscles. Overnight in Chame.

A steep and narrow path through a very thick forest will bring us to the dramatic arched rock face, rising 1500 m from the river. This is the steepest bit of the Marshyangdi Valley, so steep that the trail is carved into the vertical rock. After passing this rock, the valley opens up with majestic panoramas. As the valley widens, we observe the Paungda Danda, a massive sloping rock face that towers over 1500 m above the trail. We trek through the trail for a while before arriving Lower Pisang where we spend the night.

There are two routes to Manang but we follow the path that takes us to Upper Pisang via Geru. This trail assures excellent scenes of the beautiful panorama and the mighty mountains including Annapurna and Pisang. We begin to notice a difference in the landscape and vegetation. The cold and dry climate also forms a much more rigid environment. Our short visit to Barge monastery, the largest monastery in the whole district of Manang will be significant. Overnight at Manang.

We can make a short hike to either Bhojo Gumba or Gangapurna Lake. We can even hike to Himalayan Rescue Association in Vraga village which will provide us some concept about Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS), its symptoms, and preventions. Overnight in Manang.

Today as we leave Manang, the trail advances a mounting of almost 2000 m to the Thorung La pass. We begin the ascent steadily through Tenki, leaving the Marshyangdi Valley. As we continue along the Jarsang Khola Valley, we reach Ledar at 4,250 m. There we observe the vegetation’s steadily more scattered. This is also a snow leopard area.

The trail drops to cross the river at 4,310 m we then climb up to Phedi at 4,420 m. At High Camp at an elevation of 4,600 m, we can discover some good, recently built Guesthouses. Overnight in Phedi.

Crossing Thorong La pass, one of the highest passes in the world, will be our ultimate intention today. We will be crossing the pass from Manang to Muktinath which is the easiest and safest direction. When we finally make it to the top of Thorong La pass, we realize that our journey was worth it. We can take a few photos before traveling to Muktinath Valley at the foot of the Thorong La pass. Overnight in Muktinath.

Muktinath is a significant pilgrimage for both Hindus and Buddhists. In the morning, we visit a Bishnu Temple and a Gompa. Descending from Ranipauwa village down the sheer and desolate hillside, we descend toward Kagbeni and then to Jomsom. The trail today is pretty surreal as we trek along a hill above the Kali Gandaki River which is also the world’s deepest gorge. The barren landscape of this area resembles Tibet.  Overnight in Jomsom.

After breakfast ready to drive and fly from Jomsom to Pokhara. You will reach Pokhara. We can visit in Fewa Lakeside for a while and have dinner. Overnight at Hotel in Pokhara.

You can visit many interesting places in Pokhara today. You can go boating in the scenic Phewa Lake, visit World Peace Stupa, Fewa Lake, David’s Falls, Gupteshwor Temple, Tal Barahi Temple, Sarangkot, Begnas Lake, International Mountaineering Museum and many other places. You can also try out some adventure sports such as Whitewater Rafting, Boating, Canoeing, Paragliding, Mountain Biking and many more. Overnight at the Hotel.

To return to Kathmandu, you can take either take a 30-minute flight to Kathmandu or a 7-8 hour bus long drive. You will witness amazing landscapes either way. Upon reaching Kathmandu, feel free to stroll around the places of Kathmandu. Overnight at the hotel in Kathmandu.

We thank you for being a part of our tour and travel. We bid you farewell and drop-off at the airport, or the opportunity to join another of our programs. Our representatives will drop you at the airport 3 hours before the scheduled time of your flight.