Annapurna Skyline Trek - Nepal

The wheels touch down at Tribhuvan International Airport in the legendary capital city of Kathmandu. This is the start of your Himalayan adventure! The very name Kathmandu brings all sorts of thoughts and images to mind. You deplane, pass through passport control and then into the crisp Himalayan air of the city surrounded by the amazing green hills that ring the Kathmandu Valley. Here you are met by your personal representatives of Himalayan Planet Adventures and taken to your hotel to relax from the long flight. There will be time to go to the main office of Himalayan Planet Adventures for a briefing as you prepare for your journey to Pokhara and the land of the Annapurna Mountains. Later that evening, join with your new friends at Himalayan Planet Adventures to enjoy a welcome dinner. You will discover the awesome food of Nepal which is a real explosion of flavor that will tantalize your taste buds. The dinner is followed by a cultural program where you will learn the exotic dances of the Sherpa, Gurung and Tamang people who inhabit the Himalayas.

The Kathmandu Valley is a huge place! It is larger than the country of Singapore and contains not only Kathmandu, but many other cities, villages, and farms. It is home to seven UNESCO World Heritage Sites. These sites range from complete cities to ancient Hindu and Buddhist temples. In the morning Himalayan Planet Adventures will arrive with a private car, guide, and driver to take you on a memorable tour of the Kathmandu Valley. We will only have time to visit three of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The morning features Pashupatinath, the holiest Hindu site in Nepal and one of the most important in the world. Located on the banks of the holy Bagmati River are nearly 500 temples where sadhus (Hindu Holy Men) stand and teach or sit in lotus fashion meditating. Rhesus monkeys perform all sorts of acrobatic tricks overhead. The next stop is the largest Buddhist stupa in Asia at Boudhanath. This is home of Nepal’s largest Tibetan refugee community where you will see authentic Tibetan Buddhism. The afternoon is a tour of the ancient city of Bhaktapur with its ancient palace and holy places.

Another amazing day starts after breakfast as your private car picks you up at your hotel and starts your journey westward to the beautiful lakeside city of Pokhara. This city is located on the eastern shores of Fewa Lake which reflects the snowcapped peaks of the Annapurnas on its surface. The journey will pass through the city and up in the main road to the top of the pass overlooking the Kathmandu Valley below. Now starts the switchbacks as we make our way down into the Trisuli River Valley. The Trisuli River is one of the world’s best known and finest whitewater rafting rivers in the world. Racing southward from its source in Tibet, it is full of incredible whitewater rapids that will challenge even the most experienced rafter. We cross the river at Mugling over a beautiful suspension bridge and then continue westward. The snowcapped peaks of the Annapurna come into view to the northwest. We finally arrive in Pokhara where we check into our hotel for the night. Spend some time exploring around Fewa Lake before dinner at Lakeside. Relax at your hotel after a delicious meal.

Even though you are in the Himalayas, the city of Pokhara is a low elevation place with sub-tropical vegetation. We rise and travel for around 45 minutes through a narrow valley to reach our destination of the village of Nayapol. The area is surrounded by farms and small villages as we follow along the Seti River. We arrive at Nayapol to begin our short trek to the village of Tikhedhunga. We’ll follow the Modi River upstream. Be sure to notice the sub-tropical plant life! That will soon change as we ascend higher in elevation. We do see some lovely waterfalls as well as beautiful wildflowers that abound. We stop for lunch midway, then continue to our destination. It takes around four hours today to reach Tikhedhunga, which makes for a good first-day trek. The village itself is located on a river resplendent with twists and turns in a series of waterfalls. It is a very picturesque scene. The tranquility of the Annapurna Range becomes more and more obvious the closer we get to them. Sleep tonight in the peacefulness that only can be found in the Himalayas.

It’s our first full day of trekking, and we do a lot of ascending to reach the beautiful village of Ghorepani. The trail does reward us with exquisite views of the Annapurnas as we climb higher and higher. Our goal is to reach the village of Ulleri where the trail becomes level. We walk through the forests of the Annapurna which are filled with fir, pine, and rhododendron trees. If you are trekking in March and April, the rhododendrons come alive with colorful blooms. This is the national flower of Nepal, and once you see the rhododendrons in bloom, you will understand why. Our destination is the pretty village of Ghorepani. Its name means horse-water as this was for centuries a popular spot for travelers to water their horses. We are now on what was the salt road to Tibet which merchants traveled in ancient times. You won’t meet anyone traveling to Tibet on this trail today, but it is popular with visitors to the Annapurnas. We will trek 5 – 6 hours today, spending the night at Ghorepani.

Today is definitely a highlight of your trek in the Annapurnas as you rise before sunrise to climb to the top of Poon Hill (elev. 3,210 m/10,529 ft.) It’s a 40-minutes walk to the top of the hill where you will stand and behold the most magnificent of sunrises anywhere in the world. It is here that the first rays of the morning sun turn the snowcapped peaks from the nightly grey to pink! The sun quickly rises over the mountains, turning those pink peaks to the brilliant white! You stand in awe of the wonder and beauty that the Creator has painted for us. Following the sunrise is a hearty breakfast, then back on the trail to the village of Tadapani. This village features sublime views of Mt. Machhapuchare (Fish Tail) and Mt. Manaslu ( 8th highest mountain in the world.) Fish Tail Mountain is the most distinctive feature of the Annapurna Skyline with its steeply pointed peak poking heavenwards. We trek around 5 – 6 hours today, eating lunch at the village of Banthanti.

The journey today starts out through serene alpine forests. This journey will never go above the tree line, so we will alternate between dense forests and beautiful outcroppings where we can gaze at the amazing mountain views. We’ll have plenty of places today to take pictures of these magnificent massifs that pierce the cobalt blue skies. It’s a shorter day of trekking today as we reach the village of Ghandruk around lunchtime. We will spend the night here and learn more about the amazing Gurung culture that is part of the Annapurnas. The Gurung people are the mountain people who make up the majority of the Gurkha soldiers. Their fierceness in battle is legendary, which has given them the reputation of being the finest soldiers anywhere in the world. Gurkha soldiers compose units in the British and Indian armies along with UN Peacekeepers in some of the most violent places in the world. Yet when you meet the Gurungs, you will find them some of the friendliest people anywhere. We will explore the village and maybe even sample some local wine, which is distilled liquor that the Gurung women make.

This is an easy day of trekking as we drop in elevation to the Kimrong River. The Nepal Easy Trekking in the Skyline of Annapurna is indeed an easy trek. It’s not a high elevation trek, yet never compromises on magnificent scenery. Today is no exception. We will see plenty of amazing mountain views today. We will walk through pretty little villages of stone houses. Look at the fields awash with green crops reaching for the sun. We will cross a beautiful suspension bridge. These suspension bridges were often built by the retired Gorkha soldiers to help their people to travel easier in the mountains. Remember, the trails you are taking are literally the highways of these mountains. All goods are moved up and down these trails, either on the backs of humans or donkeys. We arrive at Jhinu Danda for lunch. We check into our guest house and then enjoy the healing waters of the natural hot springs that Jhinu Danda is famous for. The hot water is relaxing and the minerals in the water healthy for your body.

We rise for breakfast, having rested very well after our soaking in the hot springs of Jhinu Danda. We start our trek toward the Modi River at Phedi. We cross a suspension bridge over the Modi River, stopping to look down at its racing waters that gurgle and swirl around and over the large rocks below. As we look up, we can see wild honey bees buzzing around hives of honey in the rocks above us. This is the famous honey of the Gurung Honey Hunters. It’s a rare form of honey that has medical value when eaten in tiny quantities but can be fatal if you eat too much! It’s a very unique type of honey bee that produces this unique wild honey. We won’t be sampling the honey but will watch for Gurungs who risk life and limb to climb these steep cliffs to get this honey.  We stop and Landruk for lunch and then finally make our way down the winding trail to reach Tolkha. It’s a tiny little village but does have a nice guest house where we spend the night.

It’s our final day of trekking. We rise for breakfast. We gaze out at the superb views of Mt. Annapurna South and Mt. Hiunchuli. We can actually see these peaks right from our room as the morning sun illuminates their snow-crowned peaks. The trek will pass through awesome villages as well as the rain forests to the top of the ridge to the village of Deurali, the highest point on the trek. It is at Deurali where we can stand and admire the peaks of the Annapurnas. This includes Mt. Dhaulagiri, the 7th highest mountain in the world to the west. The end of the trek is the Gurung village of Dhampus which features some of the finest views of the Annapurnas. Here you can sit and drink tea at a local tea house while soaking in the magnificence of the scene here. Imagine waking up every day to be greeted by this panoramic view! At Dhampus we pick up our vehicle to take us back to Pokhara where we can check in to our hotel and get a good hot shower before enjoying dinner.

Our journey to the Annapurnas has ended today as we begin our journey back to Kathmandu. We retrace our steps today. From our vehicle’s window's we can see the snowcapped peaks of the Annapurnas to our north. The area is surrounded by the foothills of the Himalayas with temples and settlements abounding. Watch the Seti River as it creates its own whitewater spectacular, racing on its way to meet up with the Trisuli River south of Mugling. All the rivers here drain into the Trisuli which becomes a new river that slows down upon entering the Terai region of Nepal. It slows down significantly as it enters India, seeking to join the sacred Ganges River. Our journey, however, will follow the Trisuli River once more at Mugling, winding its way through the valley as we ascend the steep hill to reach the crest of the pass overlooking the Kathmandu Valley. Our vehicle takes us back to our hotel where we can freshen up before going out with our guide and friends from Himalayan Planet Adventures for a delicious farewell dinner.

Today is our final day in the magical land of Nepal. We rise for breakfast at our hotel. If there is time, do some last-minute souvenir shopping in Thamel, the heart of the tourist area of the city. Here you will find a grand bazaar of activity. Your private vehicle and driver will take you to the airport to catch your flight to your next destination. Before leaving Nepal, be sure to talk with your friends about other tours and treks that are available exclusively through Himalayan Planet Adventures.  There is so much to see and do here in the magical land of the Himalayas. Himalayan Planet Adventures promotes tours not only in Nepal but also in neighboring India, Bhutan and Tibet. Talk with them before leaving and make your plans to return to this incredible place.