Day 1-2
After our flight to Kathmandu and our evening welcome in the hotel we were ready to get out and see the city we had seen glimpses of on our arrival. Our city guide Milan had a great grasp of English and illustrated the fundamentals of Nepalese life; we visited the stunning Buddhist temple of Swayambhunath and learnt about the religions which underpin the society, saw the Gurkha barracks and learnt about their proud history and wandered through Durbar Square, the old Nepalese palace and learnt all about the royal massacre and the resulting current political situation.
Day 3
We left the madness of Kathmandu behind and headed into the country on the twisting roads. One thing I will always remember is the procession of brightly coloured lorries, synonymous with this part of Asia, bring building materials to support Kathmandu’s thirst to grow. In complete contrast our next stop was Bandipour, an untouched medieval hilltop village, with one main high street, stunning architecture and our first glimpse of the Himalayas. We knew we were somewhere untouched by tourists and getting a real flavour for Nepalese rural life.
Day 4
After another short drive we arrive at Naya Pul to start our 10 day trek, our team of porters and assistant guides, welcome us with huge welcoming smiles, so typical of the Nepalese people. At this stage I remember feeling very excited in expectation at what was to come. After around five hours trekking we arrived at Ulleri and our first teahouse. These are great traditional guesthouses, with simple double and triple rooms and one or two communal areas. The overwhelming sensation of solidarity as you chat to travellers of all ages from all over the world is another lasting memory from the trip.
Day 5
This was one of the easiest walking days, a short 5 hours to Ghorepani, although we did gain a respectable 800m. Again we had a great dinner and we joined in the Nepalese dancing around the fire in the evening. This was my second day for Dhal Bat at lunch, a lentil curry which the Nepalese eat for lunch and dinner everyday. To live the life I had one everyday!
Day 6
Got up at 6am which isn’t that hard as we tend to go to bed before 10pm and made the short climb to the top of Poon Hill (3193m) for some stunning panoramic views of the Himalayas at dawn, including Annapurna South and Machhapuchare, two mountains we would be become very familiar throughout the trip. From there we left that valley descending to the traditional suspension bridge at the base of every valley path and climbing up the other side to Tadipani and on the way we saw many Langur monkeys.
Day 7
Again we dropped from one valley and climbed into the next. The days aren’t long and the pace is easy, but the undulation makes it a very interesting day’s walking. On the fourth day of the trek we were now entering Annapurna Sanctuary, two days from any roads and a real sense of being in the wilderness. Our accommodation was called the Excellent View Lodge and sat out on the terrace in the morning having breakfast I could see why.
Day 8
Moving through the Annapurna valley we continue to be surrounded by jungle which breaks for a small settlement with its rice paddy terraces, only to be closed in again by jungle, but on the horizon ever present now were the snow peaked mountains now - it’s breathtaking. As the valley is carefully managed there are less tea houses so the day’s stops have to be well planned. As we gain height the nights are getting colder and nights around a gas fire playing cards are exactly what I envisioned. Don’t forget a pack of cards!
Day 9
With the gain in height comes the loss in vegetation and the valley now starts to open up with its steep rocky sides. The cloud never really lifts today, as opposed to the warm sunny days we have had to date and this all helps give a ‘land that time forgot’ feel as we arrive at Machhapuchare Base Camp where I spent a cold night (-2oc) sleeping the General Store room!.
Day 10
Again an early start to get up to the Annapurna Basin, and at 9.30am we reached our stunning destination, Annapurna Base Camp! Wow, we are surrounded by huge 8000m+ snow covered mountains, a view only possible in the Himalayas. We spend all day here and after lunch go on a scramble to reach our trip high, 4500 metres a comfortable height and no one suffered from altitude sickness.
Day 11
This was our longest day, back down the valley covering around 2 ½ days uphill trekking in a day. The pace was high and in 7 ½ hours we reached our destination. After achieving our goal yesterday, everyone was relatively quiet, but we were rewarded for the longest day’s walking with our first warm shower in three days.
Day 12
Today we continued our downward ascent back, but we veered off the route up going back through Ghandruk, the home of the Ghurka caste and one the most picturesque villages in the region with it’s very distinctive old and new towns. The dhal bat here was a real treat and as it was the third day of the Dewali festival we joined the locals dancing and singing.
Day 13
The scenery had changed again for the last time as we were now back in the rolling foothills. Today was one of the shortest walks as we neared the end of the trek, arriving back at our starting point for a short bus ride back to Pokhara the capital of the area. This is a very chilled out Kathmandu, great for some local shopping. In the evening we met other Adventure Company groups out there and had a big party to celebrate the end of a memorable trek.
Day 14
We spent nearly 6 hours on the road to Pokhara from Kathmandu taking in the scenery of this beautiful country. The flight back took just 25 minutes! On arrival we enjoyed more sights of Kathmandu including the stunning Bodhnath Buddhist Stupa and the Hindu Temple complex of Pashhupatinath; with its Sadhus Holy Men, the latter really is something that has to be seen. The day ended with a great meal in Rum Doodle a well known destination for climbers of the Himalayas.
Day 15
This was our free day which most people used for a massage and walk around Thamel, the bustling tourist centre of Kathmandu to pick up some mementos from the thousands of stores. Come four o’clock it was time to board the plane back to Blighty and reflect on one of my most memorable experiences to date!
James completed the Annapurna Sanctuary Tour. Its Tour Reference is: AB but you can find out the full itinerary and price information on our site here
Have you been on a similar tour with us? We’d love to hear from you. We are always looking for great new entries, pictures or video footage that we can share with our online community.
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The Adventure Company
“Adventure is our middle name”
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