Annapurna Circuit Trek

Day 1 – Kathmandu Arrival
On your arrival at Kathmandu, Tribhuvan Airport, you will be met by a representative of Temples of Nirvana and taken to your hotel in the Thamel district of Kathmandu.

Day 2 – Swayambhunath Temple – Kathmandu Durbar Square
This will be the first of your sightseeing days in Kathmandu. In the morning we will head for Swayambhunath (Monkey) Temple. Swayambhunath is a UNESCO, World Heritage and one of the must see sights of the Valley. We will walk the 365 steps up to the Stupa. There is much to see, not least the three large Buddha statues of Shakyamuni Buddha, Chenrezig and Guru Rinpoche. in the park to the rear. In the afternoon we visit the Durbar square in Kathmandu

Day 3 – Kathmandhu – Chame
We leave Kathmandu early morning and take the Prithvi Highway towards Pokhara, as far as Dumre. We then take a right turn and head into the heart of the Annapurna range. The road is a Tarmac one until we reach the town of Besisahar. From there onwards the road is a little bit harder going as it winds its way higher and higher along stunning mountain passes. It will be early evening before we eventually arrive at Chame (2,650m) where we will stay the night and where our trek will begin.

Day 4 – Chame – Upper Pisang
We depart from Chame passing by the White Stupa and make our way up the valley. We are treated to spectacular waterfalls cascading down the mountain sides. We walk on roads blasted away from the side of the mountain and make our way around and across the Marsyangdi Bridge. Lunch can be taken at Dhukur Pokhari. We then cross the river and start to ascend up towards Upper Pisang where we will stay the night. Whilst in Upper Pisang we can walk up and visit the Upper Pisang Buddhist Temple (3185m).

Day 5 – Upper Pisang – Manang
From Upper Pisang we make our way around the side of the valley keeping away and above the vehicle road below. We then make our way to a higher path passing through Ghyaru with its impressive Stupa. We can take our lunch in the village of Ngawal. We then meander down again towards the valley floor passing through beautiful wooded paths with spectacular rock formations as we go. We pass through Bhraka and follow the river along to Manang village where we make it home for two nights (3351m).

Day 6 – Manang – Acclimatisation Day
There are several options for the Acclimatisation day. We can take the walk up the back of Manag to the Praken viewpoint or cross the river and walk up to the Chongkor viewpoint. Both offer stunning views of both Manang and the surrounding mountains and help with acclimatisation

Day 7 – Manang – Tilicho Base Camp
From Manang the road divides heading right up towards the Thorung La Pass or left up to Tilicho Lake. We take the left road and head out up the valley with stunning views of Annapurna lll and Gangapurna to our left. We can stop for lunch at Shree Kharka and then make our way along spectacular paths that hug the mountain side. We continue around into the next valley and to Tilicho Base Camp (4,160m) where we will spend the next two nights

Day 8 – Tilicho Lake – Tilicho Base Camp
Day eight is an excursion up to Tilicho Lake and back from Tilicho Base Camp. An ascent of around 800m takes you from 4,160m up to 4,919m which is great acclimatisation for the Thorung La ascent. The Trek up is around 3 hours each way. The view of the lake is spectacular with the Tillich Himal range as a backdrop.

Day 9 – Tilicho Base Camp – Shree Kharka
From Tilicho Base camp we retrace our route back to Shree Kharka for a relatively easy day

Day 10 – Shree Kharka – Yak Kharka
Instead of heading back to Manang from Shree Kharka we make a short cut across the lower mountain and head on up the valley towards Thorung La and stop at Yak Kharka (4,040m)

Day 11 – Yak Kharka – Thorung Phedi
From Yak Kharka the trail rises constantly as we head on up the valley. We cross the river near Deaurli and make our way up Thorung Phedi in the early afternoon. After a late lunch we may hike a little up towards Thorung High Camp to help with tomorrows acclimatisation

Day 12 – Thorung Phedi – Muktinath
The biggest test of the whole trek. Its an early start. Up at three and away for 4am. Its quite a steep ascent for the first part up to Thorung High Camp. After this the trail opens up a bit and its now a breathtaking battle against the altitude to reach the summit of the Thorung La Pass at 5,416m. After a break and some great photo opportunities the remainder of the trek is a free fall into Muktinath arriving there in the late afternoon. Its now back to the land of the living and accommodation is a lot more comfortable

Day 13 – Muktinath – Jomsom
After visiting the temples above Muktinath, we cross the Jhong Khola and head down the valley to the village of Kagbeni. The trail then follows the Kali Gandaki River down to Jomsom (2713m). Jomsom is sprawled along both banks of the Kali Gandaki and from here there are fine views of the Nilgiri peaks.

Day 14 – Jomsom to Pokhara
From Jomsom we take a flight to Pokhara where we stay for 2 nights and relax in the Lakeside area of Pokhara.

Day 15 – Day in Pokhara
We will spend the day at our leisure seeing the sights of Pokhara and around.

Day 16 – Pokhara – Kathmandu
We will take the flight back to Kathmandu

Day 17 – Kopan Monastery – Bouddhanath Stupa – Pashupatinath Temple
Our second sightseeing day in Kathmandu starts at Kopan Monastery perched majestically overlooking the Kathmandu Valley. Kopan is a little haven of serenity amongst the chaos of the Valley. We will then head for Boudhanath, the Tibetan area of Kathmandu where the mightily impressive Bouddhanath Stupa is situated. The Stupa is the second largest Stupa in the world. In the afternoon we will make our way to Pashupatinath Hindu Temple. In the evening we will take you for a farewell Dinner, to an excellent traditional Nepalese restaurant where we will enjoy a Nepalese cultural program as well as a fine meal.

Day 18 – Depart Kathmandu
Depending on the time of your flight departure, you may have time for a lttle more sightseeing or shopping in Kathmandu. We will then take you to Tibhuvan airport 3 hours before the departure time of your flight home and see you to your departure terminal where we will say goodbye and hope very much, that you will have enjoyed your time with Temples of Nirvana.