We spent 8 days hiking in the Himalayas to and from Annapurna Base Camp (ABC). Follow our route and travel guide below and to hike to ABC.
Day 1
We left Pokhara on the local bus heading towards Phedi. We had heard that most of what used to be able to walk was mostly new roads being built and not an ideal starting point so we decided Phedi was our starting point. The road was under construction and finding the start of the route was difficult. We asked help from a local who were happy to point us in the right direction. A gorgeous Himalayan mountain dog greeted us at the start and followed us all the way up. After the journey to the bus depot, the bus journey and finding the trail it was already past midday. We decided to stop for the night at the top of the trail as the route starts with a lot of steps and 550 meters of climbing and wanted to ease ourselves in slowly. We stayed in our first tea house (guesthouse) in Dhampus for the night. The tea houses vary in the standard of facilities but they are basic in terms of comfort so do not expect a 5*, just embrace the experience of being in the Himalayas!
Day 2
We were kept awake through the night by a mountain storm. There was thunder and lightning and it was incredibly beautiful to watch. Even with a not so great night sleep, this meant that we woke up to clear skies and our first view of the Himalayan mountains that had been hidden by clouds up to this point.
Despite not much sleep we got up reasonably early to start the days hike. We left Dhampus and headed along the trail with Landruk our final destination. We would also pass through our first check point for our trekking permits (These must be obtained in Kathmandu before departing on the trek and is a fairly straightforward process). There are plenty of places to stop along the trail for snacks and lunch, we stopped in Lumle for a late lunch. It is a fairly easy days hike to get used to the trails.
Day 3
A lot of up and downs, we had to cross down to the river twice and we walked on different sides of the river. This was also one of the biggest days of ascending, according to our data we were moving for just over 3 hours but the total time for the hike was another 7 hours. We felt good and were excited by the beautiful mountains that we were closing in on.
Day 4
A shorter day today because of the number of stairs when leaving Chhomrong. Climbed above the tree line today and heading towards Dovan. Dovan was the last town before reaching Machapuchare base camp (MBC) and then Annapurna Base Camp (ABC).
Day 5
Today is when you will start to reach the really high mountains and feel the valleys steepening sharply on both sides. The helicopters are closer now and roaring over head during the mornings hike. Start early to avoid any snow melt on the avalanche chutes during Spring, it is worth checking with locals and guides on the current situation. We lost our bearings just before reaching MBC as a lot of low cloud had rolled in. We were tired and getting cold, eventually we found the right path to reach the base camp. We decided to stop at MBC so that we could could enjoy the final short hike up to ABC in clearer weather in the morning. This also allowed us to climatise to the altitude as we were at 3700m and had seen others along the trail who were experiencing problems with altitude sickness.
Day 6
We enjoyed a bit of a lie in before packing up and eating breakfast. We watched a helicopter land right outside of our bedroom door before flying back down the valley. The hike from MBC to ABC is the shortest day if you decide to overnight at ABC which we recommend even if it is cold! We watched skiers being dropped off by helicopters as we hiked up to ABC and stopped to take plenty of photos and videos. We arrived in beautiful sunshine at the welcome to ABC sign and got plenty of photos of reaching our goal. Some people will be suffering from the altitude and will want to head down before dark to sleep at a lower altitude. If you are able to safely then we suggest sleeping at ABC and enjoying the sunset and sunrise over these incredible mountains. Take care when exploring around here as there are steep edges that drop very quickly. Another bonus to staying the night is being able to watch all the helicopters arrive the next morning. This was one our highlights of the whole trip, the feeling that you’ve made it this far and reached an elevation of 4130m, the effort was a 100% worth it.
Day 7
We woke up early to watch sunrise and the helicopters landing at base camp. After breakfast we left and originally planned to hike back down to Dovan. When we reached Dovan we felt good and decided to push on towards Chhomrong making it our longest day of hiking yet. We were tired and when we got to the Chhomrong stairs our knees were destroyed and it felt good to reach our tea house and stay with Sugar Mamma in Chhomrong where we would be staying for the night knowing that if all went well then we only had one day left before let left the mountains tomorrow.
Day 8
After the previous days long and epic hike we slept in a little and left on our final days hike a bit later. We planned to reach the nearest road where we would be able to get a jeep down to Pokhara and then find a guesthouse before night time. We loved the final days hike even though it was tough because of the heat due to being at a lower elevation. We had to negotiate for over an hour to get a reasonable price for the jeep. It was nice to be able to head straight back towards town and get a well deserved foot and leg massage!
