Annapoorna Sanctuary Chronicles!

A Date with the Mighty Mountains!! 

Above the clouds, Beyond the comfort zone, Below the world’s highest peaks!!

My Annapurna Base Camp (ABC) trek plan finally materialised after 2 long years of yearning and dreaming about it and the adventure began on a bright May morning. I started with a flight to Gorakhpur, followed by a 2-hour taxi ride to the Sunauli border. From there, an overnight bus whisked me away, pulling into the Pokhara bus park on a freezing, misty dawn. I capped off the journey with a brisk bike-taxi ride to my hotel, ready to spend the day resting and adjusting to the new altitude.

I’ve put together a detailed day-by-day travelogue; feel free to skim the details or jump straight to the summary at the end.

Pokhara is the gateway to the Annapurna region. Day-1 was spent exploring Phewa lake and some nice food streets where you can try Himalayan Java coffee and do some last-minute shopping for the trek. I also visited the International Mountain Museum and Gupteshwar Mahadev Cave after my return from ABC.

Day 2: Next morning after an extensive breakfast and along with the 3 new trek mates and guide, with energy & enthusiasm, we kickstarted our adventure! After a scenic 2 hrs long bumpy jeep ride (48 kms in 2 hrs) from Pokhara to Klue and securing our permits (submit 1000 NPR fee, ID proof, medical fitness, Insurance documents), we were at the starting point to the trek.

Ascending 7kms through terraced fields we arrived at the iconic Gurung (a tribe of Nepal) village of Ghandruk, perched on the foothills of Himalayas at 2000m after 4 hrs. Famous for its stone houses, rich cultural heritage, Gandruk gifts us with incredible early views of Annapurna South and Machhapuchhre (Fishtail Peak).

The most remarkable and comforting thing I noticed about the treks in Nepal was the cozy tea houses (throughout the trek, you’ll lunching & sleeping at tea houses) that await us at the end of every tiring day with warm food, clean linen clad bed, blanketw and ater closet in stark comparison to the cold camping tents, sleeping bags and dry toilets that I’m used to in my earlier trekking experiences. We had hot steaming black coffee, Dal bhaat with eggs and a debriefing by our guide on the next day trek and retired to give our bodies their well-deserved rest!

Day3: The Ghandruk to Chhomrong hike which took us 7 hours (10 kms) was a demanding roller-coaster day. The day was a bit humid and hot initially and we had endless steps to manoeuvre! Starting with a steep descend, we traversed terraced farmlands to the Kimrong Khola (stream) before climbing steep stone steps to Chhomrong (2,170 m), a beautiful hillside village with stunning views of Annapurna South. Until Chomrong , there are multiple trails that hikers can choose from, allowing changing course in case of bad weather, landslides and avalanche risks, which are quite prevalent here. Weather wasn’t very kind to us in the initial days, and we had to stop in between to cover ourselves and the bags from rain and trek on slippery trails.

Day 4: Chhomrong to Bamboo: We covered 11 kms in 5 hours, descending thousands of steep stone steps to the Chhomrong Khola, crossed a suspension bridge, came across a magnificent Buddhist Stupa and climbed up to Sinuwa before entering the deep, cool bamboo and rhododendron forests where we spotted a langur and finally were at the destination for the day, Bamboo at 2,300 m el. As all other trails meet here, Chomrong is where the trail starts to get busy. We saw other trekkers up and down, until then our trails had been pretty like ‘a path less taken’ with hardly anyone in the near vicinity.

Day 5: Bamboo to Deurali is 9 kms and we did in 5 hours. The trail wound gently through the Modi Khola river valley, passing the village of Dovan, Himalaya and Hinku Cave. The vegetation becomes sparse as the landscape grows increasingly alpine. The Hinku river can get a bit scary and is prone to avalanches, and there is a signpost to alert the trekkers.

Day 6: 6kms from Deurali thru Machhapuchhre Base Camp (MBC), which we covered in 4 hours and halted for lunch and continued to ABC 2 kms away in 2 hours. Trekked through an avalanche-prone area to reach MBC at 3,700 m el. It sits on a spectacular glacial basin directly beneath the majestic Machhapuchhre peak. It was a slow and steady climb, and we kept our time and pace; the main challenge was the altitude gain of ~ 2000m el. in a day! From MBC, it was a gentle but ascending trek into the heart of the Annapurna Sanctuary, where we were rewarded with uninterrupted, 360-degree views of Annapurna I, Annapurna South, and Hiunchuli at 4130m el.

The night at the camp was very cold & it was snowing outside! Wrapped in thermals, holding hot tea, we shared our apprehensions about how the imminent morning would be!! We had fellow travellers who were fighting Acute Mountain sickness and had to be evacuated, and a couple of others who had injured their knees in the last lap to ABC and were discussing with their guide the possibility of a helicopter pickup. The Oxy level had dropped to around 77 SpO2, but that was not alarming; I couldn’t get a good sleep even after the tiring day!

Next day at 4 am we were outside the base camp to witness the much-awaited sunrise! Initially it was misty, but slowly the sunrays started to paint the mighty snowy peaks in golden colour, and it was a spectacle that was worth every painful step that got me there! I can’t quite describe the feeling of being surrounded by some of the world’s tallest mountains; it was simply surreal and magical!! After spending a couple of hours soaking in the mesmerising views around, we got back to the camp for breakfast and packed up to descend!

In summary, the trail passed through vast Himalayan meadows, forests of rhododendron trees and rocky glacier valleys. As the route climbed higher, the landscape became rawer and more silent, surrounded by cold winds, rugged mountains, and the ever-growing presence of the mighty Annapoorna peaks. It was a trek that felt less like a journey and more like walking deeper into the heart of the Himalayas.

Days 7 to 9: The descend! ABC ----Bamboo----Jhinu Hot spring----drive back to Pokhara

As the sun rose over the mountains, we bid goodbye to ABC and started the longest trek day of 16 kms to Bamboo. It wasn’t the most exciting day, as you’ll be returning the way you came the day before. The track is mostly downhill or flat, so it’s an easy day, although it’s still very long.

The path was quite narrow, so at times we had to step aside and wait for others to pass. I’m not a fan of ‘crowds on a trail’, but when you’re part of the problem, you can’t really complain!! We reached the same teahouse in Bamboo after 9 long hrs!

Next day we left the snow-capped mountains behind and headed to the lively village of Jhinu Danda 8 kms away, walking back through Chhomrong before turning off and down a steep valley. It’s another long day with A LOT of uphill and downhill steps. We reached after 6 hours of endless up-and-down steps to a 3-star hotel with the luxury of a big food menu and a hot-water-attached toilet! After tea, we set out to the Jhinu fame hot springs that again was 30 mins downhill. Immersing in the hot natural water was a much-needed therapy!!

It was almost the end of the trek with just a day left, and ABC felt like long gone and we were coming back to civilisation! Our guide Yam was brilliant, always ensured everyone in the group was okay and had everything they needed. He went above and beyond for our group, and if I ever did another hike in Nepal, I would love to have him as a guide again. He treated us with locally brewed Rakshi; we ate, sang and danced our hearts out and slept soundly after days!

The last day! We watched the sun rise over the Annapurna range one last time. Started a bit late, had a shorter and easy trek to the jeep, crossing the Jhinu suspension bridge. We did the last 45 mins enjoying the scenery that was still magnificent and walking through the rural villages. We got on the 3-hr off-road jeep ride covering 60 km to Pokhara and came to the same hotel we had left 10 days earlier! Thanked the guide with a tip (that’s the tradition in Nepal) and bid goodbyes to my trek mates who were on their way to Kathmandu.

In the evening, I was on my bus to the border, then to the airport! I had much time to reflect on how the past 2 weeks unfolded and wrapped up, where every moment I was wonderstruck by nature and its mysterious arcane. With sun-kissed skin, aching knees, swollen ankles, and a gratified heart, I was patting myself on completing this long trek without using a trek pole and carrying my 10 kg backpack!!

The trek itself was a moderately easy one if you have trained your calves, quads, hamstrings and breath. But a notorious feature of the trail is the sheer physical toll of the thousands of stone steps! 30,000+ of them, I suppose! Particularly relentless climb up to Chomrong, Dovan, Bamboo, Jhinu. One can use trekking poles to be kind to the knees, especially while descending; take smaller steps on toes rather than on heels and maintain a slow, steady rhythm to avoid burning out, prep/ train by climbing stairs, etc. Essentials: Trek shoes, Thermals, Raincoat, Sunscreen, Cap, Sunglasses, down jacket, gloves, mufflers, Water purifying tablets, energy bars, ORS. Optional: Trek pole.  

Trekking in Annapurna Sanctuary wasn’t just a journey for me; it was a life-changing experience. Every step was immersed in the raw beauty of the Himalayas, filling the lungs with crisp mountain air, and bringing us face-to-face with mighty majestic peaks, rewarding us with spectacular views of the range as it weaved through jungles, rice terraces, rural villages, and snow-clad mountains. At every step, it gives us more than we seek!

We are all searching for our lost pieces; sometimes they find us on the most unexpected journeys! Now I realise that this was one of those kinds!! As Sir Edmund Hillary rightly said ‘’It’s not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves’’!! #self-exploration, introspection, reflection, individuation, revelation!!