Summary:
Trek through Gurung Villages, one of the major ethnic group in Nepal, then climb through forests into the Annapurna sanctuary, a valley surrounded by high Himalayan Peaks. This trek offer a great opportunity to get into the closer view of mountain without the altitude problem of the Everest region.
Detail Itinerary:
Day 01 :
Drive from Kathmandu to Pokhara (820m.) which takes about seven hours. You depart for the seven hours drive to Pokhara (820m,), 200 kilometers west of Kathmandu. As you climb out of the Kathmandu valley, only to quickly descend again to the Trisuli River, you follow upstream to its junction with the Marsyangdi River. You follow the Marsyandi gently up through heavily terraced fields and small hill towns to the Seti River that takes you directly into Pokhara. Having pleasant weather, Pokhara is tourist's paradise with full of natural as well as cultural heritage sites such as lakes, caves, temples of Buddhist and Hindus along with mountains. You can observe views to the north across the hills and Phewa Tal (lake) to the white peaks of the Manaslu, Annapurna, Dhaulagiri ranges. This drive will take most of the morning, leaving much of the afternoon to fall in love with its beauty..
Day 02 :
Pokhara (820 m) - Deurali (2100m)
5 - 5½ hours, 1100m ascend, 20m descend
Drive from Pokhara (820 m.) to Dhampus Phedi (1120 m.) then steep climbing up to Dhampus Village (1770m) with views of Dhaulagiri 1st (8167m), the 7th tallest mountain in the world, Mardi Himal, Fishtail (6993m), Annapurna range, Lamjung Himal(6932m) and Manaslu range. Now the trail gently assents to the Pothana Village (1890m) through the forest. Again the trail gently assent to our final destination Deurali(2100m).
Day 03 :
Deurali (2100m) - Jhinu Danda (1780m)
4½ - 5 hours, 760m descend, 440m ascend
Treks begins to descend upto Bherikharka through forests. Now you follow flat path till you reach Tolka village. The path you follow till Landruk is really exhilarating as you pass through many local villages rich in culture, terrace fields and numerous green hills. From here the trail descends to Modi khola (stream), New Bridge and gently ascends all the way to Jhinu Danda. There is a hot springs on the west bank of the Modi Khola (Stream) which takes about half an hour from the town.
Day 04 :
Jhinu Danda (1780m) – Bambo (2310m)
6- 6½ hours, 640m ascend, 560m descend,
The first part of the trek is steep climbing upto upper chhomrong (2210m). Leaving Upper part of Chhomrong, the trail descends on a stone staircase (2226 steps, which was I had counted in last year) and crosses the Chhomrong Khola on a wooden bridge, then climbs out of the side valley. High above the Modi Khola on its west bank, the trail passes through the tiny settlement of Tilicho in forests of bamboo, rhododendron and oak. Climbing further on a rocky trail (beware of the stinging nettles) you reach three hotels at Sinuwa, at 2340m. Gently Climb in rhododendron and oak forests to Kuldi, at 2470m. This was once a British sheep breeding project; now the stone houses are an ACAP visitor centre and check post. In winter, it's common to find snow anywhere from this point on. Descend a long, steep stone staircase into deep bamboo and rhododendron forests. It is then a short distance on a muddy trail to Bamboo Lodge (2310m.).
Day 05 :
Bambo (2310m) – Deurali (3240m)
4- 4½ hours, 900m ascend, 50m descend,
You trek gently ascend through bamboo forests with varieties of rhododendron and oak trees. The first town you reach is Dovan (2540m.) where there are three lodges and camp sites. Now you pass through muddy trail which traverses high above the river. There are debris of avalanches except during winter season. After short trek, you reach at Himalayan Hotel (2840m.), the town named after the Himalayan Hotel. Beyond it, the trail is steeply ascend up to Hinko Cave (3160m.), this named as a huge overhanging rock provides some protection against rain and avalanches. It takes approximately twenty minutes through normally ascend path to reach Deurali (3240m.)
Day 06 :
Deurali (3240m) – Annapurna Base Camp (ABC) (4130m)
4- 4½ hours, 890m ascend, 100m descend,
From here, the valley widens and becomes less steep and you can see the gates to the sanctuary. The trail is less steep. As the trail continues into the sanctuary, it crosses two avalanche tracks on a narrow trail that hurdles up against the cliffs. After short trek you will be at Bagar (3310m.), a meadow and some abandoned hotels. The normal trail follows the left side of the valley. Now the trail appears gently ascend until you reach Machhapuchhare Base Camp (3700m.). Here you find almost 5 lodges. This is one of the places, where you can enjoy the view of Mount Hiunchuli (6441m.), Annapurna South (7229m.), Annapurna I (8091m.) the 9th tallest mountain in the wold, Annapurna III (7555m.), Gangapurna (7454m.) and Machhapuchhare or Fish Tail (6993m.). The path follows through alpine meadow and after some distance your trails go gently up. After a short trek, you begin to approach Annapurna Base Camp (4130m.). From here, you can see the views of several peaks at 360 degree.
Day 07 :
Annapurna Base Camp (ABC) (4130m) – Dovan (2540m)
4- 4½ hours, 1600m descend, 20m ascend,
Trek from Annapurna Base Camp, all the way down to Machhapuchhre Base Camp which is gently descend. From here again gently descend all the way to Dovan. It's much easier going down. You should have no problem reaching Sinuwa in a single day from Annapurna Base Camp.
Day 08 :
Dovan (2540m) – Chhomrong (2210m)
5½ - 6 hours, 810m descend, 610m ascend,
The path is descend up to Bamboo passing through forests with varieties of rhododendron, oaks and bamboo plants. After Bamboo, the trail goes steeply up to the Kuldi Ghar and now the trail is quite flat until you reach Sinuwa. You trek gradually descend to the Chhomrong Khola and you have to climb steep stone staircase for almost one and half an hour to reach Chhomrong. Chhomrong is the second largest Gurung village entire this trek. Also highest settlement all year round in this area.
Day 09 :
Chhomrong (2210m) – Ghandruk (1950m)
4 - 4½ hours, 720m descend, 460m ascend,
The first part of the trail stretches at flat level for early an hour passing through rhododendron forests, terraces and green scenarios as well as good mountain views. At this point, you have to go steep down till Kimrung Khola (Kimrung stream, 1800m). Now the trail keeps on ascending steeply before you reach Kimrung Hill (2260m). Here the path goes gently descend all the way to Ghandruk village, the second largest Gurung village, having about 310 households (the largest is siklis, having about 400 households), one of the major ethnic group out of the 63 identify ethnic group of Nepal and well known for the brave Indian and British regiment. There is a handicraft centre and Gurung museum. From this village you could see Annapurna south, Hiunchuli, Gangapurna, Annapurna III and Fishtail.
Day 10 :
Ghandruk (1950m) – Nayapul (1070m), then drive to Pokhara.
5 - 5½ hours, 950m descend, 50m ascend,
The first part of the trek is gently descend upto Kimche (1640m.), where there are some tiny souvenir shops and restaurants, the little village mostly occupied by Black Smith, one of the so-called untouchable caste in Nepal as well as in India. Just below the village is the nature conservation and human potential education centre, a British project that has a small visitor centre explaining its work. Again the trail gently descend to Seuli Bazaar (1140m). From here, the trail moves along the bank of Modi Khola to Birethanti. En route, you pass through forests, rice terraces, waterfalls and green scenarios. Birethanti is a small town with few lodges, shops and human settlements. Now you walk for almost thirty minutes through flat path upto Nayapul (New Bridge). Here you board vehicle to drive back to Pokhara which takes approximately one and half hours.
Day 11 :
Drive from Pokhara to Kathmandu by tourist mini bus that takes about seven hours. While driving from Pokhara to Kathmandu, you head up to Damauli, Dumre, Muglin and Kurintar where the Nepal's first Cable car is operated to reach to Manakamana Temple. En route, you could enjoy the mountain views, green sceneries, rice terrace fields, vegetable fields and people being engaged in their daily life activities. From Naubishe you climb up to Thankot, the gateway to capital city.
You can also fly from Pokhara to Kathmandu which takes approximately 25 minutes.
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Facts of the Trek: