Annapurna Expedition - 43 days

Arrive in Kathmandu, the capital city of Nepal. Meet your trekking guide at the airport and transfer to your hotel. Spend the day exploring the vibrant streets of Kathmandu and preparing for the trek. 

Today, we will spend the day sightseeing in Kathmandu Valley with our guide. We will visit Pashupatinath, which is regarded as the holiest Hindu temple in Nepal and where pilgrims worship Lord Shiva (situated on the banks of the holy Bagmati River), Bouddhanath, a Buddhist temple known as ‘Little Tibet’ and then on to Swayambhunath known as the Monkey Temple. From Swayambhunath we drive to Kathmandu’s famous Durbar Square, a UNESCO World Heritage-listed site, and located in front of the old royal palace. Upon arriving back at your hotel you may have time to do some last-minute shopping around Thamel – the tourist hub of Kathmandu.

After breakfast, we will take a scenic drive from Kathmandu and drive over zigzag hilly roads to reach Pokhara. Pokhara is a beautiful town set on the banks of the serene Fewa Lake. It is tourist’s paradise full of natural as well as cultural heritage sites such as lakes, caves, temples of Buddhist and Hindus along with the fascinating high mountains. Pokhara is much smaller and less hectic than Kathmandu. After reaching Pokhara you will be transferred to the hotel for the overnight stay.

After breakfast, take one hour drive to Nayapul. After reaching Nayapul you will start your trekking. After 30-minutes walking along the Modi stream, you will reach at Birethanti – a gorgeous village that has plenty of tea shops and guest houses. Then follow the left direction through the village. Your trek continues heading to Ulleri along the bank of the Burungdi stream. You will hike up to the valley of Hile (1495 meters) and Tikhedhunga (1525 meters). The trail leads steep up to Ulleri (2073 meters), a large stunning Magar village. Ulleri is stopping point for today.

We continue walking making sure that we’re always on the inside of the path, thereby permitting the donkeys to pass through. Occasional views of the peaks give way to a narrower valley. We then proceed through Rhododendron forest and eventually reach to Ghorepani. It is a beautiful place from where we can enjoy the most spectacular views of Dhaulagiri and Annapurna range.

The panorama of Annapurna and Dhaulagiri Mountain ranges from Poon Hill is considered one of the best and classic Himalayan views. Thus today we will wake up early for an hours' hike to reach over to the top of Poon Hill.  We will enjoy the beautiful sunrise view over Dhaulagiri, Annapurna South, Machhapuchre (Fish Tail), Tukuche Peak, Hiunchuli and other surrounding high peaks. After spending a beautiful morning at Poon Hill, we will descend back to Ghorepani. Our trail from there descends steeply for crossing a suspension bridge over Kali Gandaki River. After crossing the river our trek goes along the levelled path until we arrive at Tatopani. Tatopani means ' Hot Spring' in the Nepali language. Here we can relax at the Natural Hot Spring which is obviously a great feeling.

From Tatopani, we will trek on a broad motor road trail that can be quite dusty. Our trek goes along the Kali Gandaki river. Our trail ascends gradually as we pass through the magnificent waterfall of Rupche Chahara. From there, our trek continues along the dusty trail that leads through deep gorges. We can hear the huge flows of the river stream while trekking through the area. We will continue to trek until we arrive at the village of Ghasa for our overnight stay.

After breakfast, we leave Ghasa and follow a rising trail that climbs for some hours to reach Lete. Our trek climbs through subtropical vegetation with incredible views of surrounding mountains and beautiful valleys. Our trek continues until we arrive at Lete for the overnight stay.

Today we leave Lete and trek over the trail that climbs further to harsh alpine vegetation. Our Sherpa crew will do all the hard works of carrying the tents, climbing gears and other necessary things needed for the further trekking and climbing. After a few hours of trekking, we will arrive at Thulo Bugin where there is a good campsite. We came here to end our day.

After breakfast, we leave our campsite at Thulo Bugin and follow the trail that climbs gradually over the loose and rocky route for a few hours. Trekking in higher altitudes can be very tiring, so resting every now and then helps in restoring energy much needed for further trekking. We trek until we arrive at a good campsite near Hum Khola at 4,286 meters.

Today we leave our campsite at Hum Khola and follow the trail that comprises several ups and downs and then levels out for some time. After a few hours trekking, we approach Miristi Khola where there are good camping grounds. Once we arrive at Miristi Khola, our crew will set up the camps for our overnight camping.

After breakfast, we leave our campsite at Miristi Khola and continue our trek over then the rather levelled path for some hours to reach Annapurna North Base Camp. After arriving at the campsite our Sherpa crew will set up the base camp and make necessary preparations for setting up additional camps at higher altitudes above the base camp. From now onwards we will take extra precautions with physical fitness and mental fitness in order to conquer one of the toughest 8000 meters - Mt Annapurna I.

Climbing period - establish and acclimatize at various camps, following the expedition operator's itinerary and weather conditions.

Camps typically include Camp 1 (5,500 meters/18,045 feet), Camp 2 (6,500 meters/21,325 feet), and Camp 3 (7,400 meters/24,280 feet).

Climbing rotations and acclimatization hikes to progressively higher camps.

Final summit push involves climbing from Camp 3 to the summit of Annapurna (8,091 meters/26,545 feet).

Descent and Return:

Having achieved the summit of Mt Annapurna for a lifetime experience, we will make a relaxed start. After breakfast we engage ourselves in cleaning the base camp, then we prepare ourselves for the return journey. We start to retrace our steps on the same trail that heads back towards Miristi Khola. We will camp at Miristi Khola for the overnight stay.

From Miristi Khola we continue to retrace our steps on the same trail that passes through Hum Khola. From there we descend steeply for a couple of hours and trek to reach Thulo Bugin Campsite for our overnight camping.

After breakfast, we leave our campsite at Thulo Bugin and follow the same trail that descends down to subtropical vegetation. We trek until we arrive back to Lete where we will spend our overnight in the comfy tea house at Lete. In the evening we will celebrate our achievement together with our climbing crew members.

From Lete, we will take a 7 hours drive to reach back to Pokhara. You will be transferred to the hotel once we arrive at Pokhara. You can either have rest at the hotel or take an evening's walk in the beautiful city of Pokhara.

After breakfast, we leave Pokhara and take a drive back to Kathmandu. It takes approximately four to five hours drive to reach Kathmandu from Pokhara. We will drive along Prithvi Highway which offers scenic hilly zigzag roads through the banks of Trishuli River. During our drive journey, we will have an opportunity to observe the daily survival activities of local people while we drive passing through roadside market towns and picturesque villages.

You would surely like to see as much of Kathmandu as possible. An early start is practical to visit the temples of Kathmandu. You can pay a visit to attraction destination (world heritage sites of UNESCO) sites that weren’t possible on the second day of the trip. Also, walking around the shopping streets of Thamel is worth spending quality time at Kathmandu. We will celebrate the successful completion of Annapurna Expedition and have a final meal together in the evening.

On this day, our staff will transfer you to the airport so that you can fly back home. Hope to see you in future. Namaste to all.