Sunday, May 24, 2020

Annapurna Base Camp

“A journey to the Himalayas is the quest for the solitude and serenity”

Annapurna Base Camp

Annapurna Base Camp is one of the most adventurous trekking route along with breath taking views and scenery. I would personally recommend this trek as it has been one of the most beautiful trekking that I have been to. The journey begins from the beautiful city of Pokhara and ending at the lap of beautiful mountain ranges of Mt. Annapurna, Mt. Gangapurna and Mt. Macchapuchhre. Like any trek should be, this trek also contains many ups and downs of a rough trails but with warm and welcoming villages and stops on the way. People are very interactive and joyful to talk. The route is commercially developed with well build infrastructure and all kind of facility including hot water bath, neat and clean rooms, wifi, and food menu including western and Nepali cuisine.

Though there are several route options available for the ABC trekking, here I will share with you the itinerary we made for ourselves and hope it will be useful for you as well. A 7 day trek would be very comfortable and easy even for the first time trekkers, but the walk time varies upon the your pace and how relaxing you would want the trek to be.

 

Day 1: Pokhara – Siwai - Chomrong

We started out trek from Pokhara. We took local vehicle (Jeep) from hari Chowk to Siwai, you may hire vehicle if you wish not to share with others. If you are group of 4-6, opting for hiring is best option in terms of time. It cost us NRs.300/ person in sharing and may cost like NRs. 5000 around for hiring.

Our first stop was Chomrong village and it is one of the most difficult sought uphill in the entire trek. We reached Chomrong village around 5 p.m. Chomrong is one stop next to Jhinu Daada. You can see some nice views of Machhapuchhre from this place. Please don’t forget to try cappuccino here!

Cappuccino at Chomrong


Day 2: Chomrong - Dovan

We started our Journey from Chomrong the next day with a little bit of leg pain but with full of energy. Our target was to reach Dovan via Sinwa village and Bamboo. While moving toward Sinwa village you will encounter tourist check post for registration and if you are tourist you have to show the permit along with guides that you are going with. It rained whole day and this was where our raincoat came in very handy. Since most of the journey was along the jungle, there was less effect of the rain but lots of leeches. After a walk of 6 hours with rest in between we reached Dovan around 4 p.m. The view we saw there after the rain had stopped was amazing.




Day 3: Dovan - Deurali

Our next destination was Deurali, which is a bit close to Dovan and is just 5 hours walk if you continue to walk without any break. Since it was our last stop before heading towards the base camp we thought of taking proper rest and as per the plan, we reached there around 2 p.m. It also rained the entire day so it was best to stop at Deurali. We took ample of rest that particular day along with great food. Many trekkers straight away aim for ABC or MBC and is totally possible. We were just luxury trekkers.

Bridge on the way to Dovan

Raincoat left to dry 

Day 4: Deurali - ABC

Deurali to ABC is totally lucrative, it is not much of uphill or downhill neither a plain land but the walk from here is very smooth and relaxing.  Way to ABC from MBS is completely lustrous green hills and its is picture perfect beautiful. Distance between MBC to ABC is not that far but due to high altitude, it takes good amount of time. It took us around 2 and half hours whereas it is estimated around one and half hours whereas local does it in mere 45 minutes.

Tourist Enjoying at Annapurna Base Camp
On the way to ABC from MBC

Reflection of Mt. Macchapuchre 

Upon your arrival at the ABC which is at an altitude of 4130 m (13550 ft), you may feel headache, short breathe and a bit of dizziness due to high altitude but give yourself some rest and warm garlic soup and you will be fine, just do no panic. All the journey is worthwhile as you will be enjoying the 360 degree panoramic view  of the great mountains which includes (Annapurna I-IV), Dhaulagiri, Machhapuchhre, Manaslu, Gangapurna, Tilicho Peak, Pisang Peak, and Paungda Danda. This is one of those moments which you will want to capture in your memory forever. The view is something that cannot be expressed just with words or picture but has to be felt in the moment. We spent a wonderful time at ABC and then came the moment of truth when we realized it was already time for us to return.

Panaromic view of the Mountain Range

Day 5: ABC - Bamboo

Returning is quite comfortable, we stayed at Bamboo after around 8 hours of walk including lunch break in between. Bamboo is a very serene place surrounded with huge bamboos.

Staircase on the Way

Tourist from South Korea and Denmark shaking hand

Day 6: Bamboo – Jhinu Daada

After another 8 hours of walk from Bamboo, we reached Jhinu Daada around 5 pm. Jhinu is best known for natural hot spring, so without wasting time we kept our belonging in room and headed to the spring. Spring is located along side the rive and have to walk downhill for around half an hour however retuning back to hotel took us around an hour since it has gotten dark then. After a long tiring trek, it is soul quenching feel when you relax at hot water bath forgetting all the pain you had on the way.

Path from Chomrong to Jhinu Dada

Day 7: Jhinu Daada - Pokhara

We started trek early so we could reach Pokhara before dark. We stopped at Siwai for quick snacks since we did not want to waste any time and head back to Pokhara however since we were taking local bus and the bus would not move until it is full so had to wait around couple of hours for the bus to be filled and start moving to Pokhara.

Suspension Bridge on the way to Jhinu Dada from Pokhara

Day 8: Pokhara - Kathmandu

End to and entire awesome trek. Took morning tourist bus to Kathmandu.

I am also sharing some of the essential items I would suggest you carry during the trek. These are some of the few things which will help you a lot during the trek. Nonetheless you can always add up few more things if you want. Try making the bag as light as possible as it will be very difficult walking with the heavy weights continuously from the second day onwards.

  1. First aid kit, crepe bandage, painkillers, DFO gel and necessary medicine
  2. ORS (you need this to boost the energy while walking, it helps a lot)
  3. Bit of rock salt or normal salt ( to get rid of leeches)
  4. Raincoat
  5. Good waking stick
  6. A proper trekking bag
  7. One set of warm clothes ( during your rest at the stops) and a pair of clothes for walking
  8. Strong trekking shoes ( make sure you check/ buy proper and strong trekking shoes since long walk couple with rain will tear shoes pretty badly)
  9. Head light and pair of batteries (in case you have to walk during evening ) 1

Please enjoy some of the photos of trek in the gallery. ABC is truly a trek you should include in the bucket list!

Entrance of the Annapurna Base Camp



View on the way to ABC from MBC


Clouds over Mt. Annapurna

Hari Chowk (Here you can find vehicle to most of the trekking route)

One of the village on the way

Nepali Food (Dal, Bhat and Curry)






Means of Transportation


Portrait shot during the trip

Tourist Enjoying at Base Camp

Land being eroded due to melting snow

Enjoying the view of Mt. Macchapuchrey

Porters



Amazing view from the edge

Portrait taken at MBC


God like structure created naturally 

Tourist Enjoying Lunch with a great view



3 comments:

  1. I totally loved it. Its a real joy reading this and the photos make it come to life. Amazing photos and nicely curated blog.

    ReplyDelete
  2. It is so beautifully written. Thank you for sharing your words and pictures.

    ReplyDelete