The Annapurna Circuit is a trek in Central Nepal that climbs to an altitude of 5,400 meters through Thorong La Pass, one of the highest trekking passes in the world, below Peaks
that rise 6,000 to 8,000 meters in elevation from the Annapurna range. We
hope to complete the track in about at days, starting mid-december when the
shoulder season promises much smaller crowds but with it a risk of avalanches frostbite and the chances of losing one's way in the deep snow that early winter can bring to the pass. The Annapurna Circuit has often been
voted as the best long-distance trek in the world, though road construction is
threatening its reputation and its future as a classic trek. We started our journey in Katmandu and
couldn't wait to escape the hustle and bustle of modern Nepal for the mountains. The trek normally begins at Besisahar, a seven hour drive from Kathmandu. We decide instead to continue on to Chamje by jeep to skip the first two days of what we heard would be mostly dusty road, so
that we would have more time to spend acclimatizing later on at higher
elevations. The trek follows an established and well
marked route, making numerous river crossings over steel and wooden bridges, passing first through lush rainforests
with waterfalls seemingly every 200 metres and plenty of wildlife. But for the first couple of days the
mountains remain shrouded in clouds. Tea houses and lodges along the circuit
are available for meals and accomodations with villages typically no more than 1 to 3 hours apart allowing for a fairly flexible itinerary. In the offseason however we are finding that many tea houses and in some cases
entire villages were closed for the winter but the ones the had remain open were very welcoming and appreciative of the
business. Side trails have been established to offer new excursions to trekkers to lesser visited towns, some as alternate
routes and others as separate multi-day camping trips. This could provide trekkers with some of
the atmosphere lost over the years from overexposure to tourism, although many of
the villages have managed to maintain their charm. On our third day we woke up to clear skies got our first glimpse of the surrounding mountains. The old village of Upper Pisang, sitting high above Lower Pisang, offered some incredible mountain views. We started to really feel the effects of altitude, with a thin air and freezing temperatures at night. This marked the beginning of the upper portion of the Manang District, home to about 5,000 in 6 main villages. The region is in the rain shadow of the
Annapurna range, where the people raise wheat barley, buckwheat, potatoes and
beans, the cold air and climate limiting them to a single crop annually. There are two routes to Manang - a lower one that follows the valley floor, and a more
strenuous but far more scenic, higher route which we of course took instead. The views of Annapurna II and III were incredible, and spending a night in
Ngawal would help us to acclimatize as we made our way towards Thorong La. We reached the normally bustling village
of Manang which sits atop a plateau below the summits of Annapurna and Gangapurna less than 8 km away, to find it all but deserted. At an early checkpoint we were told that
only 5 or 6 had started the trek the day that we did. In the high season this would normally be over 200. The eastern half of the town is lined with lodges, trekking shops, and even a video cafe, most of which were closed for
the season. The medieval Western Old Town, a compact bundle of 500 flat roof houses,
separated by narrow alleyways. We stayed in one of the few hotels still
open for business where we met up with a few of the friends we'd made along the
way who we had planned to celebrate Christmas with. We were able to get in
touch with our friends and family back home over the holidays via two-way GPS
text messages allowing them to track our progress online along the way. So we stocked up on raksi, a Nepali
homebrew for $4 a litre from a local shopkeeper and settled in. The plan was to spend the next 2 days acclimatizing for the higher elevations to come, although you could easily spend several days here exploring all the amazing sights
nearby. Bragha is said to be one of the most
picturesque villages in the Annapurnas, with most of the village's 200 houses
stacked one atop the other each with an open veranda formed by the neighbour's
rooftop. I had been going out for short runs in the afternoon after we were done trekking for the day to further
acclimatize and keep up my fitness something I continued until we hit about
4,100 meters where I found I'd get a headache I tried to push too hard. Nepal is a trail runner's dream, and there's
even a trail race covering the entire Annapurna Circuit that I've added to my
bucket list. We had heard from a porter in Manang
that it was forecast for snow within a few days, around the time that we'd hope
to go through the pass. The pass is usually snowbound from
mid-December to late-February, but snow can block the pass at any time of the year. In October 2014 the snowstorm would hit
several points along the circuit, claiming the lives of 32 trekkers from
several countries and stranding hundreds others, many of whom had to be rescued. But today on the trek from Manang to Yak
Kharka, we were treated to countless displays of nature at its finest. Hordes of crow-like birds and large
Himalayan Griffons, the largest and heaviest bird found in the Himalayas with a wingspan up to 10 feet, circled above throughout the day. Horses are still an important means of
transport in the relatively flat upper portion of the Manang valley, where blue
sheep and sometimes snow leopards are said to magically appear. People have long used the trail through Thorong La to bring herds of sheep and yaks in and out of Manang. Hotels were charging very little if
anything at all provided we commit to purchasing dinner which was typically
just a few dollars for dal bhat, an all-you-can-eat rice lentil and vegetable dish with chutney pickle and roti. Accommodations were rustic but more
than sufficient after a long day on the trail. We continued on up the narrowing valley,
past landslides and through occasional gust of wind that threatened to blow us
right off the trail. We had run into some hikers who had gone
through Thoron La from the other direction who warned of extremely heavy
winds over the pass the day before. Thorung Phedi sits surrounded by
vertical cliffs about an hour below the high camp above at 4,850 meters. The lodges can get quite crowded here in
the high season, especially if snow has backed up traffic over the pass, and
nights can be miserable because of the altitude and early departure. Since we
would have to leave here by 4 am and given how much time this would add
to our summit attempt and how windy it normally gets later in the afternoon, we
decided to press on. This would be the highest we'd slept yet
and after just a few hours of potentially dealing with headaches and
nausea we'd be making our final push up to Thorong La Pass. We took one last long look at the views
to the east and hoped for good weather in the morning. We woke up again to clear
skies, having beat the snow despite our late season attempt at the pass. Now the
only challenge would be contending with the altitude. It takes most between 3 to 5 hours to reach the summit, but the altitude and the many false summits can
make the climb feel like it goes on forever. "50 meters to go. It's gotta be right up there. Oh come on!" "It's gotta be it just over that hill..." "There it is!" We'd finally reach the wide Thorong La,
at an altitude of 5,416 meters. From here we could see the great barrier
ridge which separates the drier Tibet-like region of Manang from the rest of
Nepal. All that was left now was to drop 1,600 meters straight down to Muktinath and the luxury of having her first warm
shower in almost two weeks. After a night in Muktinath we continued on to the medieval village of Kagbeni which sits in a green oasis at the junction of two rivers. The trek down the barren Kali Gandaki Valley is said to be in a state of flux, with jeeps and mini buses now shuttling up the valley
all the way to move to Muktinath. Many dismiss the track at this point as
being over. There was even evidence of road construction snaking its way from
Muktinath up to Thorong La Pass. Mountain bikers have already started to tackle the route, some even riding the entire circuit carrying their bikes for large sections of the Manang-side. Certainly, fewer walk up the valley
compared to even just a few years back. But as in other areas, the network of
alternate trails take you away from the road, some said to offer some of the
prettiest landscapes and views in the valley. And as with the other alternate routes, the limited number of lodges and trekkers give it the feeling of trekking 20 years ago. Kagbeni still feels like a medieval village, with its closely packed mud house, dark tunnels and alleys. As the Gateway to upper Mustang, this is the furthest north you can venture without a restricted area permit. From there we walked on to Jomsom to
meet up with a few groups of trekkers we met along the way to celebrate New Year's Eve before catching a flight back to Pokhara early the following morning. Road construction will certainly continue to change this trek over the years to come. Lodges may begin to close as new day hikes become more accessible, shifting the focus of tourism from through-trekkers to day-trippers. But as new areas around Annapurna continue to open for trekkers in the upper Mustang
region, there's hope still that these can replace the charm that continues to be
eroded by the construction of roads. No matter what route you choose, the
people, the culture, and the incredible landscapes on the Annapurna Circuit are
sure to combine for an experience like none other.
Wow that brought back some memories. I did this trek in 1999 but only made it to Manang due to altitude sickness. I came back to Australia, got fitter and returned to Nepal a year later to complete the Everest base camp trek, Annapurna sanctuary and Poon Hill. Epic adventures
Good