Around Annapurna Trek

In general

The Around Annapurna trek, or Annapurna Circuit, takes about 18 to 23 days to finish.
It all depends on your pace, and the time you want to spend in each place on the way.
The advice is – do it easy and slowly – it is good for your health (acclimatization to the heights should be done gradually) and the places are so beautiful – take your time to enjoy every moment.

The trek is almost fully round, and the best way to do it is “anti-clock-wise”. The first part of the trek takes you up the Marsyangdi river, then you cross the amazing “Thorung-La” mountain pass (5416 meters high) and complete the route while descending through the Kali-Gandaki river.
During the trek you actually surround the Annapurna ridge, which includes very high peaks, some reach over 8,000 meters!

Thorung-La pass

Crossing Thorung-La pass is probably the hardest day of the trek.
The day starts by climbing about 900 meters (from 4500 m to 5400 m) to the mountain pass, and then descending 1600 meters on the other side – all in one day!!
The good thing about this is that it is also the most amazing day of the trek, and – it is practically the only really difficult day in the whole trek.

Safety

But – you should still remember to maintain basic safety rules.
It is really dangerous to cross the pass in a bad weather. During the winter and sometimes even in the spring when the trekking season brings many tourists to the area, it can snow there, and the pass closes.
The altitude you reach on the trek is really high – most of the trek you’ll walk above 3000 meters. 5416 meters is the highest point you reach on this trek. In these heights you should ascend gradually in heights, drink a lot, and rest as much as you can.
Mountain sickness is something you really don’t want to have.
You also have to take the right equipment, especailly warm clothes.

Arrangements

There are some important things you have to take care of before “hitting the trek”.

• ACAP fee – Entrance fee to the Annapurna region can be paid in ACAP (Annapurna Conservation  Area Project ) offices in Kathmandu or Pokhara.
• Hiring equipment – You can hire all the things you need for the trek – warm sleeping bags, coats, jackets, gloves, and so on. In most of the stores the equipment is in really good condition, and it will be a waste of money to buy those things solely for the trek.

It is recommended to hire equipment for the Around Annapurna in Pokhara. There are plenty of shops that rent trekking gear in the “lake side” of Pokhara.

• Porters – It is highly recommended to take Nepali porters with you. Knowing the way isn’t much the problem as carrying your stuff, and this is the job of these people.

Porters that speak english can help you more – to communicate with local people on the way, to tell you things about the trek, and to teach you Nepali. It is advisable to hire porters through a proper office. Most of the tourists agencies in Pokhara can provide you porters. Hiring them through an office give you a kind of insurance, so you have an address to apply to if you encounter any problems. Of course you can also find them by yourself.

• Cash money – It is almost impossible to exchange money during the trek. Take enough rupees with you, and take some spare rupees also.
• Prepare the things you will not find on the trek, or find them very expensive –

such as films for the camera, sun-glasses, warm clothes, map of the trek (buy it in Kathmandu or Pokhara)

• Goodies – You’ll be surprised to know, that during the trek you get an unexplained desire to eat sweet things. Chocolates on the trek are quite expensive, so take some sweet things with you before you start the trek.
• Other important things to take: “health kit” with some important medicine, a good flash-light, pen, notebook.

Starting point

There are two possible starting points for the Around Annapurna trek.
First is Besi Sahar and the other is Begnas Bazar, (marked Sisuwa in some maps).

Most of the tourists start the Around Annapurna (the walking) from a village called “Besi Sahar”.
The way to this village is done by taking a bus (tourist bus or local bus) from Kathmandu or Pokhara to a town named Dumre, which is on the main Kathmandu-Pokhara road, and then taking a terrible local bus to Besi-Sahar. This starting point isn’t recommended, due to the bad condition of the road to Besi-Sahar, and the always very very crowded bus taking you there.

The second starting point, and the recommended one, is to start near Pokhara, at Begnas Bazar (or Sisuwa). It is a 20 minutes ride form Pokhara by a local taxi, and the village is located just south to a lake called Begnas lake.
Starting the trek there will add two more walking days to the trek, but it’s worth it!
You’ll reach some really beautiful calm places.
After two walking days you’ll join the “main trek route”.

Annapurna region map