Annapurna Base Camp Trail

In the past, people used to start the Annapurna Base Camp trail in Nayapul or Birethanti, but the construction of a new dirt road leading to Ghorepani made it possible for most hikers to start from there way higher, as it is the last village accessible by jeep from Pokhara through a rough dusty teeth-grinding road as Nepal is infamous for.

Also, you can reach Ghorepani by foot from the old Annapurna circuit trek in Tatopani. From there, Ghorepani still feels like a tourist hub with slightly higher prices for day hikers that just come to the Poon Hill viewpoint and then head down back to Pokhara. Poon Hill requires a ticket to climb up, but you will see way better viewpoints if you hike the ABC trek, as soon as you reach Deurali Pass a few kilometers after the start of your trek, and it offers similar views for free. After Deurali Pass, you will go down through what feels like a series of mildly thick jungles, with river waterfalls and huge elevation drops and climbs as you go through a few river canyons. This part of the forest can be very warm and humid so hike in something light or synthetic as you will sweat a lot. You’ll then reach the village of Tadapani, which offers incredible views of the next valley you will explore, with the Annapurna South summit and the beautiful Macchapuchre, also called “fishtail” due to its recognizable shape. After that, you will keep going down, and soon reach the lowest elevation in Chomron, the biggest village in the region after Ghorepani. This village sits on a cliff, one side towards India, one side towards the Annapurna. The first side has more sun, but the second one has a better view. I recommend staying at the top, towards the International Guesthouse, because after that the village goes down quite deeply and the bottom is colder due to less sun and the river.

After that, you will go down the steep and high steps of the village, find the mandatory ABC checkpoint office, most likely a friendly orange seller, and start going higher and higher from there. However, you will not be done with stairs, and it can become very heavy on your knees and thighs so take it easy and stretch and rest enough. You will then go up through the last rice terraces beautifully carved in the cliff and go more and more towards the river gorge. From Sinuwa you will start to enter the canyon created by the river fed by the glacier and will follow the same unique path towards ABC.

From here you can decide to make a stop halfway between Chomrong and ABC, either in Bamboo, Dovan, or Upper Dovan, depending on your pace, energy, and level. These three places are quite similar as they seem built purposefully for welcoming hikers or porters, but yet do feel like a small village. If you want to take your time, you can hike up in three days, a lot of options on where to sleep between Chomrong and ABC can create different schedules. Try to calculate it depending on which time or part of the day you want to be at ABC, if you just want to go to the top and back on the same day and sleep at a lower altitude, or sleep on the camp at night (which I strongly recommend), depending of your level of fitness and acclimatization.

After Dovan and the million stairs, you will go progressively more into the wilderness and once you reach Deurali (3200m) the last “village”, you will have proper rugged mountain terrain with little vegetation. This part climbs up quite a lot but tends to be more progressive and less steep than before, with only one or two major hills to climb. On top of the canyon, you can find the Machhapuchhre base camp, at 3700m and you can sleep there if you don’t feel like pushing to ABC (4120m), as this last push can stretch an already long day and you will tackle the most difficult part in terms of level of oxygen, cold and lack of light. However, I remember leaving Upper Dovan at around 9 and making it to ABC for 4 PM, but the sun was setting, so going all the way up for the night is doable but I would recommend it only if you are already acclimatized and fit. This part is undeniably the most beautiful as you will keep going up side by side with the glacier’s moraine of Annapurna, and will be surrounded by Macchapuchre behind you, and some of the most noticeable Annapurna range summits in front of you. The ABC lodge has something quite special in itself by its location and history, and take the time to explore the monuments of hikers and Maurice Herzog’s statue behind the camp. In front of the camp, facing Machhapuchhre, it is an incredible spot to observe stars at night if you are lucky and have warm clothes.

From there, it’s only going down, you will go back by the same trail you came from, but it will show you a very different perspective than when you hiked up before. Going down is faster, and you can reach Bamboo from ABC in one day. After, you can stop in Chomrong again, and either keep going back towards Ghorepani, but most people can now catch a jeep in Ghandruk. For this, you can ask your local teahouse, and from Chomrong, only walk to Jinhu then the longest suspended bridge in the region towards Ghandruk. The state of roads and availability of jeeps or buses for transport can vary from one season to the other, but word is going fast most guesthouses even in Pokhara or Kathmandu will be able to advise you better once you get there.

Nepal has two main active seasons, each one between winter and the monsoon. The first most crowded and arguably the best time of the year to hike in the Himalayas is between September and December, and the second period ranges from April to May. The first tourist season tends to be described as the one having the most clear blue skies and the least rain with a dry atmosphere and progressively colder temperatures, but shorter days. The second period tends to be more humid, with remnants of the last winter. Still, it shows more attractive colors in the fauna as spring unveils beautiful flowers like rhododendrons and many others.

Outside of these periods, the Annapurna Base Camp trail might be either uncomfortably hot and humid in summer, or extremely cold and snowy in winter. Bear in mind that due to climate change effects in the region, over the past couple of years, the starting/ending dates tend to be more variable and each season tends to shift or linger, therefore predictions on the weather a few months/weeks prior might not follow usual trends anymore. As an example, I was still hiking in January 2023 in the Everest region, and according to locals, trails should have been covered in snow already. Also, it has been reported that a few heavy monsoon rain showers tend to still happen up until late October, enough to create flooding of river beds or even landslides in many regions of the Himalayas. From personal experience, and maybe luck, the end of November / December seems to be the best weather-wise and with fewer crowds due to being considered the “end of season”.

Prices can also be a bit bargained with tourism agencies or tea houses regarding room prices, depending on the season and tourist affluence of the moment. For instance, in Annapurna, it is easier to get a free room if you stay eating dinner and breakfast in a lodge or discount a shower if you are in low season.

Altitude

Altitude Sickness or Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS) is a medical consideration faced while trekking in the Himalayas and it is nothing to joke about. It rarely occurs at altitudes lower than 2,800m/9,186 ft., and only minor symptoms occur below 3,000m/9842ft. The sickness occurs when the body does not adjust well to the lack of oxygen at higher altitudes. The major cause of high altitude sickness is ascending to a height greater than 2,800m or 9000 ft. too rapidly. Giving the body little to no time to get used to the thinner air and lower oxygen levels triggers AMS.

The primary signifier of altitude sickness is a persistent headache. However, if not addressed in due time, it may develop into more complicated variations such as high-altitude cerebral edema and high-altitude pulmonary edema. Medicine like Diamox can be taken to help prevent symptoms. However, they are to take into consideration that they are not a cure, just temporarily help your body to acclimatize, but do not take them if you are stranded at a high altitude with severe symptoms. The only medicine is to go down on altitude as quickly as you can, and nothing else. Taking paracetamol or anything else can even worsen the effects.

It is imperative to communicate your symptoms immediately to a person in your group, a guide of another group, or a staff from the tea houses who will know what to do. Many hikers each year get surprised and get into trouble once they reach 4000m. It is recommended to not go higher than 500m in elevation compared to the elevation of the last place you slept, as it is after 6 hours at high altitude that the “discreet” symptoms can occur in your body.

Most hiking groups and guides will stop in Samagoan to have a rest day to acclimatize, however, they can advise not to if they see you fit and show no symptoms of altitude sickness, as was the case for me. There are many more detailed articles regarding AMS and its effect on the body, and it is always good to know what are the basic symptoms and how they affect the body before going to this region.

There’s a way to avoid this on this trail, if you are worried, you can decide to sleep at a lower altitude the day before the base camp (the two last accommodations are in the village of Deurali and then Machhapuchhre base camp) and hike up to the base camp, then down in the same day and not sleep at 4120m.

Cold

From Chomrong, you’ll progressively get colder and colder, and be careful as since you will hike inside a canyon in a south-north axis, the Sun will set behind the mountain way quicker than usual, and temperatures can drop quite dramatically very fast starting from 3 PM, it is very good practice to start hiking quite early in the morning (leaving no later than 9 AM). Starting from 3000m, it is advisable to wear proper gear for the season and not underestimate the temperatures. For instance, when I slept at the base camp, temperatures in my room were negative and it is strongly recommended to bring a sleeping bag with you, even if most lodges provide thick blankets and often fire in the kitchen area.

Recommended gear

The Annapurna Base Camp trail is not very rugged except towards the end, but for the vast majority, the trail is quite wide, frequented, and overall well maintained. There’s an uncountable amount of stairs, so a pair of walking sticks can help as you will go on top, and it helps alleviate the pain on your knees when you go down as well. There’s no ice except during colder months (January-March) but if you go on other trails in the region, a pair of microspikes can be helpful. Warm clothes for the evening as rare are the rooms heated. A sleeping bag for the night, even during the warmer seasons. A system to filtrate or purify your water. You can have a lightweight backpack as long as it fits a sleeping bag, warm clothes, water, and snacks. I’ve done this trail in mid-hiking boots, but it is easily doable in trail runners as well, except if there’s snow.

All of the gear listed here can be found in all knock-off markets of Kathmandu or Pokhara. Some small gear can be replaced in some shops during the trail, but choice can be limited with higher prices. Not that they are necessary, but you can find most bookshops in Kathmandu have cheap paper maps of the region. You can pack some snacks from Kathmandu and Pokhara that will be cheaper, like nuts, snickers, biscuits, tea bags, coffee bags, honey, peanut butter, etc but the Annapurna has a nice supply chain and often you can find most of the snacks and drinks you can imagine in all the tea houses there.