Day by Day Guide to The Annapurna Circuit
18TH NOVEMBER 2019
Our Day by Day Account of The Annapurna Circuit
Trekking in Nepal is the most talked about activity between backpackers, tourists and travellers and is usually the reason why people visit Nepal. The Annapurna Circuit, the ‘big daddy’ of the treks, is not inaccessible to novice trekkers, allowing pretty much everyone to bask in the spectacular views of the Annapurna region. The difficulty increases as the altitude increases, but this is all worth it because the views get better and better too! This post will share a day by day account of our Annapurna Circuit trek so you know what to expect on this mammoth, amazing journey!
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Also read: Annapurna Circuit Trek: Know Before You Go
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Overview of Our Route
At its maximum, the trek can last up to 230 km over 23 days. However the most spectacular high alpine settings, and the infamous Thorung La Pass, come in the first 11 days so many people (including us) chose to finish the circuit just after this point. We chose to take the local bus from Besisahar to it's end point in Ngadi and start trekking from there. It allowed us to properly acclimatise and also witness the nature change as we gradually climbed higher! This is by far the best bit about trekking!
Other options are to trek from Pokhara or Besisahar, or take a Jeep all the way to Menang at 3500m. We don't advise the jeep option as its long way on Nepal’s EXTRAORDINARILY BUMPY mountain roads, it costs an arm and a leg in cash, and you miss out a huge chunk of beautiful scenery, guesthouses and locals.
We then took 2 acclimatisation days in Menang, crossed the pass, spent a night in Muktinath and finally took the bus back to Pokhara. You can trek all the way back to Pokhara, but we decided against this as our aim was to get over the pass and the roads past Muktinath are really really dusty.
Day 1: Pokhara to Bahundanda
We left our hostel in Pokhara really early to catch the 6:30am bus to Besisahar. We got to the bus station and were confused by the lack of tourists/people with trekking gear waiting to start the most popular trek on the planet. After a while of waiting and asking around, we spotted some locals dressed for the mountains, who confirmed we were in the right place! When the bus arrived (an hour late) it was surprisingly half full with all the conspicuous trekkers we had expected to see at the station. They'd all bought tickets in advance and boarded at the tourist bus station, not the local one. Nevertheless, we saved a bit of money by boarding here and not booking through a travel agent, yet were graced with far inferior seats. The price from Pokhara to Besisahar was 350 NPR p/p. Sam was perched facing backwards, right behind the driver. We jostled for leg room, while the front cab was ram packed with locals loving life and having a laugh as more and more people tried to pile on. After 6 hours (including a breakfast/restroom stop) we reached Besisahar. We registered ourselves at the TIMS checkpoint across the road and sat down for lunch – noodle soup. People were paying up to 10,000 rupees per jeep for a ride up the valley, we paid 150 rupees each to go as far as another local bus would take us, Ngadi. Crammed at the back with our baggage we set off in what would’ve been the sketchiest bus journey of our lives. We passed an ACAP checkpoint where the bus driver kindly got out of the cab and took our permits from the rear window to be stamped. After the bus reached its end, we set off for a short 4km walk up to the village of Bahundanda. A lovely short walk through some picturesque paddy fields and small villages. We shopped around the home-stays and ended up staying at Hotel Superb View, which had warm showers and faster Wi-Fi than the hostel we stayed in in Pokhara! The room was 100 rupees plus dinner and breakfast – curry and rice and porridge with banana. We also treated ourselves to a beer as well, despite saying we wouldn’t drink on the trek!
Day 2: Bahundanda to Tal
We had breakfast and left the guesthouse at 8:30 for a long day on the circuit. We started off in the shade on the east side of the valley, but hit the sun soon later. We passed through some villages and managed to buy an English adaptor (we left ours behind). Over the suspension bridge to the other side of the valley we joined the jeep track and continued up to the ‘short cuts’ of steep steps which cut out the winding jeep tracks. We got to Jagat knowing the presence of hot springs and headed down to see them – NOT WORTH IT. There was two empty baths and a small trickle of hot springs but not the promise of amazing springs that we’d heard of! We met a group heading down to see them and advised them against it because they were crap! We all headed for lunch, Tibetan noodle soup and a large vat of honey lemon ginger tea – delish, and then set off for Tal. Walking up the road, we were swayed to take the trekking route, which took us up into the jungle for 30 minutes and then spat us back onto the road where we actually had some views. Just before reaching the next village we stopped for photos of an amazing waterfall! Unfortunately, we missed the turn to the trekking trail, which would have taken us to the east side of the river, and ended up on the jeep track which wasn’t the most pleasant end to the day. The jeep track seemed to be endless, made even worse by the lovely looking track far on the other side of the valley. Eventually we dropped down into Tal, as a 6, and headed to find a place to stay just as the sun was setting, around 5pm. We got our rooms for free if we bought dinner and breakfast, Wifi was unfortunately down and the showers were cold (we advise trying the showers before you agree to stay somewhere, or ask the people already there). Daal Bhat and a bottle or strong beer was on the cards after a long day trekking and almost 1500m of ascending throughout the day.
Day 3: Tal to Timang
Day 3 called for a more relaxing start after yesterday’s long slog. Breakfast consisted of Tibetan bread with an omelette and honey lemon ginger tea. We set off through Tal around 10am along the first proper Himalayan trail of the trip. Due to lateness, the sun had already peeped round the mountains and my philosophy of ‘be bold, start cold’ held true as Jordan rapidly stripped down to shorts and a t-shirt. Out of Tal, the trail follows the riverbank and then begins to climb up the hill side to gain footing just below the cliff face of the valley. After about 5km of looking down into the raging torrent below the hamlet of Karte is reached. This is a good place to stop for a morning coffee, however we decided to press on to Dharapani before resting, about 2km away. Here, we split from the friends we met the day before and ploughed on towards our final destination of Timang. There is a TIMS and ACAP just after Dharaphani (in the hamlet of Thoche) so make sure your permits are not packed deep in your bag. You can take a side trek here up to the hamlet of Odar however we decided to go on the road to the next village of Bagarchhap, which was almost completely destroyed in the most recent earthquakes. We took a lunch stop here and basked in the sun, kept company by the children of the owners of the teahouse. After lunch, we quickly made it to the next village of Danagyu and decided to plow on to Timang which at our pace should have taken less than an hour… Almost 2 hours later, a blind trek through the forest and a venture over a very sketchy bridge we arrived cold and miserable just in time for sunset in Timang. We were a bit fed up until we turned round to see our first proper snow covered Himalayan peaks soaked in the evening sun. Combine this with a roasting hot shower, plenty of dinner and a free comfy bed (if we bought dinner and breakfast) and we were feeling golden again, just don’t try the local ‘wine’ – it’s more like moonshine, or paint stripper!
Day 4: Timang to Upper Pisang
After breakfast, we set off for the 23km away goal of Upper Pisang. Although you are still trekking initially on the main road to Menang, pine trees line the side of the road making it much more pleasant than previous road walking. After an hour or so, you reach Thanchok where you are required to show your permits, more importantly though, you must buy a samosa from the little girl selling them just after the checkpoint – best samosa I’ve ever had (and we'd been in India for 2 months before Nepal). After another 5km we reached the town of Chame. A few photos on the prayer flag laden bridges and a strip down of layers and we were on our way towards the famed bakery of Bratang. On the way here we decided to take the side trail which was much more pleasant than up and down for no reason steps of previous days, and didn’t alter our schedule at all. Bratang is some 6.5km from Chame but the wait to get her is well worth it, freshly baked cinnamon rolls and apple pie galore as well as basic food. We had chow mein and sat in the posh (but empty) hotel that owns the bakery. After lunch we pushed on towards dinner (yes, a trek from meal to meal) and were quickly graced by a very sobering view. A jeep that had gone off the road and ended up in the river about 40m below. Thankfully the famous slab came into view shortly, locals believe their relatives souls ascend to heaven up the walls of this astonishing piece of rock. Despite the views, it was time to get our heads down and plod our way steeply uphill through the forest for a good forty-five sweaty minutes. We took the 3km shallow walk to Upper Pisang to be situated right under Annapurna II and to take a few kilometres of the next days walk. We stayed high in the village with working wifi, warm shower, wood burning stove and daal bhat (surprise?). The room, again, was free with dinner and breakfast.
Day 5: Upper Pisang to Ngawal
This was the hardest day so far, and the most similar to that of the day going over the pass – minus the scorching temperatures. A very pretty walk from Pisang along the high route bought us up to the foot of a very daunting climb up to the hamlet of Ghyaru. We stopped at the bottom for a rest and some rehydration. Some other groups were preparing in other ways by sampling the special agriculture of the Himalayas. We began to climbing counting down the hairpins (guess who miscounted?), this is where we both started to feel the altitude on our lungs as we plodded higher. Enventually we reached the Bob Marley restaurant which notified us we weren’t far from a cup of tea in Ghyaru. Some hour and a half after starting climbing and a gain of 400m over 400m length we reached the village and sat down for a cuppa and apple pie. A few photos with the chorten at the viewpoint and the surrounding peaks and we were on our way to Ngwala. The trail climbed up to 3800m, it passes a very photogenic viewpoint laden with prayer flags. The trail then dropped closer to the river bed as more of the Annapurnas come into view, unfortunately spoiled slightly by the sea of dust covering the track. We sat down in the first place we saw for lunch – noodle soup and a coke. After lunch Sam went into the village looking for a place to stay. Put off by a place with straw stuffed yaks heads outside I found a place opposite the large prayer wheel. Again, a free bed, hot shower and wifi if we bought dinner and breakfast.
Day 6: Ngawal to Menang
Today didn’t require an early start, so much so that the staff at the teahouse thought we’d already left when we arrived for breakfast! Today’s hike held no real surprises – we headed off around 10am and took and short 3 hr hike on relatively flat track all the way to Menang and arrived for lunch. We arrived and met a group we had met on the climb the day before – after having looked around Menang for a suitable place to stay we settled with the group, getting the last room which was haggled to 100 rupees a night. We treated ourselves to a western lunch of a cheese sandwhich and tomato soup and basked in the hot midday sun. We later visited the cinema in Menang (yes they have a cinema-more like watching a movie in class at school though) and then headed back to the guesthouse for dinner – momos and enchiladas!
Day 7: Menang to Ice Lake
We had a fairly relaxed morning after we had been woken up by a hungry cow outside our room the previous night and headed down for breakfast – porridge again. We slowly packed our bag for the big climb up to the ice lake for acclimatization. It was a fairly uneventful, slow and never ending climb up to 4600m over a couple of hours. We started to feel the altitude a bit but only in the form of breathlessness – nothing major. We stopped for noodle soup and lemon ginger tea in the cafe close to the lake on the way up. I ran down from the lake and waited for the team at the bottom, eagerly eyeing up the bar across the road – should’ve got more money out!
Day 8: Menang to Yak Kharka
We left Menang around 9am and headed off into the higher altitude. The trail swung off right into an adjacent valley and didn’t follow the rather sinister looking trail we had seen from our rooftop in Menang – thank god! The landscape now was truly Himalayan, as the road finished in Menang the only sound that broke the silence was that of the bells attached to cattle as we followed the steady track up the valley. A short stop for tea broke up the short morning walk. We arrived in Yak Kharaka around midday and stopped at the first guesthouse. We went for a reccy of the village to scout the cheapest guesthouse and settled on where we had stopped. A veggie burger for lunch followed by plenty of cards and a bit of reading. A Frenchman staying in the same guesthouse, set off to find some fire wood in the hope of lighting the fire earlier than usual, it was COLD. Too cold to have a shower even, or get undressed! We slept fully clothed in down jackets under sleeping bags and blankets. Daal Bhat for dinner started the carb loading for the long day that loomed the day after next.
Day 9: Yak Kharka to Thorong Phedi
We took an early break as Jordan had a bout of AMS in the morning so she took a Diamox before stopping for a coke and a rest. The beautiful trail followed the valley high along the right before dropping down to the river bed and clambering up to establish itself on the other side where the terrain changed from grassland to rocky moraine and paths on scree slopes. We stopped for a snack on the other side of the valley and noticed many mountain bikers following behind us – a high altitude bike time trial race! We continued along the steep path etched into the hillside where a sign warned us of loose rock ahead. As I was walking a gust of wind dislodged rock higher up and sent it careering down the mountain side. I turned quickly to warn Jordan but as I turned she was struck by a fist sized rock. Luckily she had her hat on which softened the blow but was still pretty shaken. We quickly sped away from danger, keeping an eye on the rocks above. TIP: crouch and turn your back uphill if anything comes close – your packs will take the blow! This was pretty crazy – some rocks bigger than a torso were flying down, big enough to knock you into the river below (a great story now though)! Once we reached Thorung Pedhi we sat down for lunch and joined 100 or so bikers who'd finished the Yak Attack race. After lunch we attempted to climb slightly higher to a guesthouse just above Pedhi. On our way up Jordan suddenly became extremely light headed, dizzy and had severely tingling lips, feet and hands. We retreated back down and Ralph went to sort a room. After being a bit scared that she was suffering from severe AMS or even an edema, I went looking for a medic. I spoke to an aussie bloke we'd seen at a few places along the way who very non-scalontly asked ‘has she had any of them altitude pills? My daughter gets that’. Feeling relieved I rushed back down to Jordan in the restaurant and explained it was the bloody Diamox pill Ralph gave her in the morning. Little did we know, Ralph hadn’t taken them before and had probably given her a double dose…ooops! Jordan powered through the pain up to the guesthouse where we sat and played cards and chatted with fellow trekkers. We sat around the fire and had a pizza for dinner and went to bed early ready for the early start at 4am.
Day 10: Thorung Phedi, Pass to Mukintath
After I kept everyone up with sleep apnoea, we woke up properly at 4:30am and went to stuff some breakfast in us before setting off into the night. Following the trail of head torches up to high camp Jordan experienced hot aches for the first time – what a day for it! The previous motto of be bold start cold did not stand today, I had on almost every layer I'd brought. The weather was not in our favour today – white out and light snow fall shrouded the view all day – TYPICAL! The weather made the trekking harder and wasn't helped by the endless false summits. At least everyone was in the same boat and encouragement from everyone was much appreciated. This was the first day I felt the altitude while trekking. After a gruelling 5.5 hour plod we reached the pass at 10:30am and were greeted by a teahouse perched right at the top. We crammed in to what I thought was just a stall but then looked right and my eyes adjusted to a tiny shed crammed with trekkers all sharing a proud sense of accomplishment. As obliged we marked the moment with the typical Thorung La photoshoot amongst the mass of prayer flags marking 5416m then headed down the other side of the valley to what Jordan described as freedom. Quickly warming up layers were shed and we plummeted to the valley below. On our way we passed a yak herder that had passed us in the morning and found out that he does the journey over the pass and back every day! We reached lunch in Charabu around midday and sat down for noodle soup. We then took the short plod down into Mukintath to find a place to stay. We had heard of Bob Marley’s from people and in the guide and we got the last triple room! We got a shower and then went for a well-deserved beer. They advertised that they took card so we treated ourselves to multiple beers and carbonara for dinner along with a few games of pool with a tree branch for a cue.
Day 11: Muktinath to Pokhara
Ralph went for an early cigarette and luckily asked what time the bus was. It was sooner than expected so we left without breakfast and tried to pay by card (which was advertised as an option) but the machine "was broken". They eventually "got the machine working" after we said we only had 2500 NPR between us – they'd rather pay the tax than make a loss! We got the last tickets for the bus back to Pokhara and hence were perched up at the front in the cab with the driver for the long uncomfortable drive down the valley! (Book your busses at the guesthouse the night before!) We stopped some hours later for lunch – Daal Bhat again. Multiple people left the bus in Tatopani to stay and bath in the hot springs so we took our chance to nab a proper seat – this was a mistake. The back of the bus was far bumpier than the cab – we were stuck between a rock and a hard place. Our only solace was when we were forced to stop as a landslide had blocked the road, a very common issue in Nepal and one of the main reasons they don’t bother tarmacking mountain roads. We eventually arrived in Pokhara 12 hours later more exhausted from the bus ride than any other day of the trek. We collected our bags from our old hostel, checked into our new one and headed out for some crispy duck that Ralph had been craving for days. No luck on that part but we did get a huge portion of chow mein and a beer so we were more than happy! We headed to bed, kind of glad the whole thing was over.
This was one of the toughest challenges both physically and mentally for the pair of us! This was way out of Jordan's comfort zone making the pass even more of a triumph. We look back on the experience with semi-rose tinted glasses because it was HARD, but now we've done it, we're so proud of ourselves and it really is a lifetime achievement. You'll never see views like this anywhere else, you'll meet great people along the way to share your experience with, the guesthouse owners are incredible and really welcome you into their family AND the sense of accomplishment when you've finished is amazing. It's a once in a life time trek, if you're in Nepal it's something you can't miss out on. It's tough, but AMAZING! Click here for everything you need to know before you go.
