A Deep Dive Into the Annapurna Base Camp Trekking Itinerary

DAY 1: WELCOME TO WILD KATHMANDU

Kathmandu is an incredible, vibrant, and wild city that we’ve fallen in love with. That’s why we’re always so excited to receive you on the first day and share the gateway to the Himalayas with you. On arrival day, you’ll be met by an LHO representative at the airport and driven to our centrally located hotel by private transfer. Navigating Kathmandu airport can be an adventure in and of itself, so you’ll be receiving a text with detailed instructions on how to efficiently make your way to us. Your LHO Team Leader will be waiting to receive you at our hotel, check you in, and make sure that you have everything you need for our adventure.

If you arrive early, there are loads of incredible places to visit around us. Your LHO Team Leader will send you a detailed list of restaurants, coffee shops, heritage sites, and markets to visit closer to your trip start date so that you can make the most of your time. Our first official event of the trip is a team dinner hosted by your LHO Team Leader and local lead guide. This will be your first opportunity to meet everyone, ask any questions you have, hear all about the amazing week ahead of us, and enjoy a great meal. Although it’s difficult not to be tempted by the nearby nightlife, we recommend an early rest. Our adventure starts early the next day.

DAY 2: THE GREAT JOURNEY BEGINS

Distance: 4 KM | Ascend: 412 M | Descend: 55 M | Max Altitude: 2,012 M

Our first day of adventure starts early. We’ll depart from our hotel after breakfast and make our way to Kathmandu airport for an internal flight to Pokhara. The flight time is about 40 minutes, but the airport waiting time can sometimes last a few hours. This is totally normal for internal flights. With a little patience, we always eventually get there.

Upon arrival in Pokhara, the contrast is already quite apparent. The hustle and bustle of Kathmandu’s dense urban life is replaced by the vibes of a lazy lakeside resort town that is usually still asleep when we arrive. After collecting our bags, we’ll be met by our private transfer service, and we’ll make a quick pitstop at the hotel in Pokhara that we use on the way back. This is an opportunity to leave anything you don’t need for the trail like extra clothes. From there, it’s off to the mountains.

The drive up takes about two hours. Our starting point is the town of Syauli Bazaar tucked deep in the gorge formed by the rushing Annapurna river. We’ll have a quick bite to eat at a local tea house before taking our first steps on the trail into the Annapurna Sanctuary. The trail immediately begins with a series of stairs that’ll surely warm us up for the days ahead. The early portion of the trail is an opportunity for us to learn how to pace ourselves and find a sustainable rhythm that will carry us all the way to Annapurna Base Camp.

Due to flight delays, we often reach Ghandruk in the late evening just after sunset. The town itself is a hub of heritage in the region with beautiful local architecture and tiny market streets. As this is our first night in a tea house, we’ll do a quick briefing about how everything works, and then we’ll get everyone checked into their rooms. Dinner will be at the tea house.

DAY 3: THE MOUNTAINS REVEAL THEMSELVES

Distance: 9 KM | Ascend: 878 M | Descend: 659 M | Max Altitude: 2,150 M

There are few moments in life that quite compare with what it’s like to wake up in Ghandruk and see the Annapurna range in front of you for the very first time. It’s breathtaking and it serves as the backdrop to our breakfast and most of our trail for the day ahead. We’ll head out slowly after breakfast towards the North in the direction of the gigantic Annapurna South. The trail begins quite flat before gradually climbing to our first pass of the day. We usually stop at a tea house near the high point for a break and a coffee before beginning our descent deep into the forest until we hit the riverbed. It’s always exciting to cross suspension bridges, and this will be one of the first big ones of the trail! Lunch will be at a tea house on the opposite side of the river.

After lunch, we’ll begin a sustained incline back through the forest, through the rice paddies, and across the bamboo fields until we reach the town of Chomrong, our home for the evening. Checking into our tea house is usually quite straightforward now that we’ve all done it before, and because of our early arrival, we’ll have the chance to visit some of the shops and coffee houses in the town before dinner.

DAY 4: THE BIG DAY BEFORE THE BIG DAY

Distance: 12.6 KM | Ascend: 1300 M | Descend: 678 M | Max Altitude: 2,720 M

We’ll begin the day earlier than usual because we’ve got the largest distance to cover of all our trekking days. We’ll once again be woken up to a spectacular view. This time it’s even closer! The aim of the day is to reach deep into the heart of the remote Annapurna region that eventually opens up to the basin known as the Sanctuary where Annapurna Base Camp is situated. The trail starts with a long descent through the village’s staircases until we reach the suspension bridge above the river. After crossing the bridge, we’ll begin the first big ascent of the day to the town of Sinwa. This is the last village we pass that isn’t entirely dedicated to the support of trekkers and climbers. We’ll have a tea break in Upper Sinwa right underneath a spectacular view of Fishtail Mountain and Annapurna III.

From there, we’ll begin the descent to Bamboo, a collection of tea houses along the trail that are in the middle of an impressive bamboo forest. This will be our second stop of the day. Depending on our progress, we may have lunch here or choose to pause briefly for tea and have lunch at Dovan a little further up along the trail. The trail to Dovan is gradual and mostly inside deep forests. It’s possible to spot monkeys here! From Dovan, the forest begins to thin as we climb a series of stairs and ascending trails towards the Tea House collective known as Himalaya, our home for the evening. It is completely normal to feel a little overwhelmed upon arrival. Not only have we just completed the longest day of trekking on the entire trail, but we’ve also changed environments from relatively built-up villages to very remote Tea Houses. It’s nothing short of spectacular. Dinner will be at our tea house.

DAY 5: ANNAPURNA BASE CAMP

Distance: 9 KM | Ascend: 1800 M | Descend: 505 M | Max Altitude: 4,130 M

The trail to Annapurna Base Camp is made shorter by our decision to sleep in Himalaya rather than the customary stay at Dovan. We find that sleeping at slightly higher altitude gives closing the distance to the top enables us to arrive at base camp with the energy and time to enjoy it in the daylight. It also gives us the opportunity to catch both the sunset and sunrise in one of the most spectacular locations in existence. The trail begins with a gradual incline that is less steep than the previous trekking days. It’s followed by a rotation of flat sections and inclines with the occasional staircase thrown in for good measure. Fishtail mountain will be towering high above us on our right-hand side. It’s the closest we get to one of Nepal’s holy mountains.

The trail eventually reaches the tea house collective of Deurali where we’ll have the opportunity to have a tea break. From Deurali, the trail flattens out as we traverse a valley tucked deep beneath the gigantic summits of Himchuli and Fishtail Mountain. During seasons of exceptional snowfall, the trail can be diverted across the river to avoid avalanche areas. For the first time, the trail is directly adjacent to the river that forms from the melting Annapurna glacier only a few hundred meters ahead. The trail starts climbing once again as we approach Annapurna III at the end of the valley. The climb is sustained until we reach Machupuchare Base Camp, also known as Fishtail Mountain Base Camp. This is our lunch spot for the day, and the location can hardly be more epic. Flanked by the highest mountains in the world, we’ll get a first glimpse of the basin that forms the sanctuary. We are now at its entrance.

After lunch, we’ll begin the final stretch to Annapurna Base Camp. This section of the trail is the easiest of everything we would have done until now. It’s a very mild incline moving in an easterly direction. The big challenge here is to contend with the high-altitude environment. It is natural to feel easily fatigued by even basic physical functions. Your LHO Team Leader and local lead guide will make sure the pace we keep is safe and sustainable. Once you can see the entire Annapurna range in a 360-degree panorama completely unobstructed by anything, you’ve arrived! The base camp is made up of a series of Tea Houses. We’ll be checking ourselves into one, have something warm to drink, and then head out to the viewpoint to catch the deserved sunset. Dinner will be served at the tea house.

DAY 6: THE SUNRISE

Distance: 14 KM | Ascend: 572 M | Descend: 2380 M | Max Altitude: 4,130 M

Don’t miss the wakeup call. Getting up for the sunrise is worth every step you took to get here. We’ll spend the morning taking pictures at the viewpoint, getting our fix of this epic location, and then having breakfast, packing up, and heading out. Our aim for the day is to reach Bamboo. The trail retraces our steps almost identically as we make our way back to Machupuchare for a tea break, Deurali for lunch, Dovan for afternoon tea, and finally Bamboo. The descent is often quite challenging because the big objective is now behind us, and yet we still have a long distance to cover. It’s important to keep morale up and to remember to use our trekking poles for the way down to preserve our knees. Your LHO Team Leader will brief you on the proper use of trekking poles to efficiently descend the trail. The contrast of where we started, next to the glaciers and beneath an 8000-meter summit, and where we are, deep inside a bamboo rainforest, cannot be more wild. The oxygen levels shoot up, and with it, our warmth, energy, and a great night’s sleep. Dinner will once again be at the tea house.

DAY 7: JINHU HOT SPRINGS

Distance: 9.2 KM | Ascend: 595 M | Descend: 1191 M | Max altitude: 2,300 M

We’ll get an early start on our last full trekking day of the trip as we once again retrace our steps up the winding staircase to Upper Sinwa. From there, we’ll descend to Sinwa where tea and coffee await. The villages of the lower Annapurna region will come back into view as we see Chomrong on the hill facing us and Jinhudanda beneath it along the valley floor. After a break, we’ll continue our gradual descent to the suspension bridge at the entrance of Chomrong. The ascent of the Chomrong stairs is arguably one of the most mentally challenging sections to complete. Not only is it the last ascent of the entire trail but it is also one of the most challenging. Your LHO Team Leader and local lead guide will be there to help pace you, keep morale up, and ensure that we all make it to our lunch break at the top in great spirits.

Lunch is at the same tea house we stayed in only a couple of nights earlier. From there, it’s a direct descent to Jinhudanda, a village above the Annapurna hot springs and the official end of the trek. After checking in, we’ll grab our swimming suits and head to the hot springs for a well-deserved evening of relaxation. The hot springs are situated adjacent to the rushing Annapurna river. Imagine being in warm pools of water next to rushing glacier water in the middle of a deep forest at the foot of a Himalayan 8000-meter summit. That’s exactly where you will be. Dinner will be at our tea house in Jinhudanda.

DAY 8: WILD WILD POKHARA

Distance: 1 KM | Ascend: 100 M | Descend: 163 M | Max Altitude: 1,564 M

Our last day is a short one. We’ll be crossing the second longest suspension bridge in Nepal before rejoining the road and jumping into our cars. The ride down to Pokhara takes about 3 hours altogether, and we expect to arrive at lunchtime. It is customary that we have lunch altogether with the porters and guides upon arriving in Pokhara and present the local team with a group tip that your LHO Team Leader would have discreetly organized with you before lunch. After our meal, our local porter team will bid us farewell, and we’ll head to our hotel to check in. The afternoon is completely open. Your LHO Team Leader will provide you with a list of recommended coffee shops, bars, restaurants, cultural experiences, and markets to visit. It’s also possible to arrange paragliding in Pokhara. In fact, the town is well known for it, and the skyline is often dotted with paragliders. If rock climbing is your thing, it’s also possible to visit a local outdoor climbing gym. Our next event together is a team celebration dinner at a local restaurant, usually followed by a night out.

DAY 9: THE GRAND FINALE

Yes, the trail is now behind us, but the adventure isn’t over yet! After breakfast, we’ll check out of our hotel and make our way back to Pokhara airport to catch our flight to Kathmandu. Lunch may be in Pokhara, at the airport, or in Kathmandu, depending entirely on when the plane takes off because of anticipated delays with internal flights. The good news is that we don’t have to wait at the airport if we are made aware of the flight delay before check-in. Once back in Kathmandu, we’ll make our way to the hotel and check in. The afternoon is free time to roam the market streets, buy souvenirs, and rest. Your LHO Team Leader will be available to you should you need any help or recommendations. Our last official event is a bittersweet team dinner at the hotel to close an epic chapter that we’ve shared together.

DAY 10: NAMASTE

The last day is dedicated to airport transfers. Breakfast at the hotel is included. Please be sure to include the correct departure information when filling out your team details form prior to the trip start date. If any information has changed or may be incorrect, please inform your Team Leader as soon as possible for arrangements to be made.

Embarking on the Annapurna Base Camp trek is a journey of discovery, pushing physical limits, and experiencing some of the most breathtaking landscapes on Earth. Each day offers unique challenges and rewards, culminating in a deep connection with the majestic Himalayas. Namaste!