Nepal: trekking to Annapurna Base Camp

Ever since a fellow PhD student presented a slide show of his trekking holiday in Nepal in the mid-1980s, I have wanted to do this trip. I managed to interest some friends in the idea – but they then went without me in 1988 while I was still finishing my doctorate! However, the idea never went away and in 2017 it was finally time to act. Ideally, I wanted to walk the Annapurna Circuit (and still do), climbing over the 5400-m Thorong La, but after my experience in the High Atlas in 2016 I had some reservations about spending so long on a guided trek, plus, truth to be told, I also had my doubts about my ability to cope with altitudes above 5000 m. So I settled on this shorter trek for a first experience of Nepal, trekking up to Annapurna Base Camp at 4130 m, and I booked it with Explore For a taste of independent travel, I decided to stay an extra four nights at the end of the trip in Kathmandu.

Costs. Flight £789. Explore tour £1150 (including single room supplement). Tips (in essence, compulsory because of the organised nature of the tour...) £42. 30-day Nepal visa £33. Kathmandu hotel after end of tour (B&B) £31 per night. Glasgow–Manchester Airport train £13 each way (pre-paid). Typical evening meal in Kathmandu with beer £6. Total cost of trip £2300.

Day 1: Travel to Muscat, Oman. I took the train from Glasgow to Manchester Airport. This was slow but okay until Bolton when a vast crowd of not entirely sober football fans stormed aboard the train (it was Saturday afternoon). My plane pushed back from the gate on time (8.45 pm) but then – unbelievably – the tug that had pushed us broke down right in front of our aircraft. And guess what? No one at Manchester Airport had a clue what to do! We took off an hour late in the end.

Day 2: Delayed in Oman. A very strange flight. The service was excellent for the first two hours but thereafter the cabin crew lost all interest in the passengers and ignored us, not even handing out water. We landed in Muscat at 8 am (local time) and were told that we had missed the Kathmandu flight. Thanks Manchester! And yet... the plane was still loading when we were bussed right past it; I could easily have made it if only Oman Air had some employees with initiative! I was rebooked onto a Qatar Airways flight via Doha... about 14 h later. Did Oman immigration, was bussed into Muscat to a decent hotel, ate, slept, ate (it was 40 °C outside and leaving the hotel was impossible), bussed back to the airport, queued a very long time to get through passport control, boarded the Qatar Airways flight, and landed in Doha at 12 midnight.

Day 3: Travel to Kathmandu. The Kathmandu flight took off just before 2 am – after waiting (Oman Air please note!!!) for some late-arriving passengers from connecting flights – and landed in Nepal at 9.10 am local time. I bought a 30-day visa; there was no need for the passport photos that I had brought with me. I changed some GBP for Nepali rupees and got a terrible (airport) exchange rate. Did immigration and collected my luggage, which by some miracle had made it through both Muscat and Doha. Got a taxi to my hotel, slept, talked briefly with the Explore! tour guide, and then went out and got myself some dinner.

Day 4: Bus to Pokhara. Breakfast at 7 am where I met a few friendly people from the tour group. Boarded tour bus for Pokhara at 8 am and met the rest of the tour group. Terrible roads and traffic out of Kathmandu. Stopped for short break about 10 am and then lunch at about 1.30 pm. A slow, pretty horrid journey but with spectacular scenery. Arrived at Pokhara hotel about 4.45 pm. Walked into town and bought Annapurna map.

Day 5: Bus to Kimche; walk to Ghandruk. Woke up to stunning views of Annapurna range. Breakfast at 6.45 am. Bus at 8 am. More stunning scenery. Changed bus at Nayapul at 10 am. Unbelievably rough road. Reached Kimche at about 11.30 am. Started walking at 11.45 am and reached Ghandruk at 12.45 pm. So 1 h walking. We had lunch and then visited a small museum, monastery, and conservation project (with a video show).

Day 6: Walk to Chhomrong. Woke to even more stunning views, the smell of incense, and the sound of Buddhist chanting. Breakfast at 7.30 am, departure at 8 am. Reached top of first col at about 9.45 am and had a cold drink. Then there was a descent down to a river where we arrived at our lunch place at 11.10 am. Started walking again at 12.30 pm, crossing suspension bridge. Climbed steep hill in great heat, which was nearly too much for some of our party. Reached top of second col at about 2.20 pm and had tea. Reached Chhomrong tea house at 3.50 pm. So 7 h 50 min walking. Poor shower, then tea and dinner. I managed to send one brief email on a weak WiFi signal, the last for many days.

Day 7: Walk to Dobhan. Woken early by cockerel and movement of other guests. Breakfast at 7.30 am, departure at 8 am. There was a long descent on steps down to a suspension bridge over a river. Then a long climb on steps until we stopped for tea about 9.30 am. And then another stop for tea about 11 am. Our group became very spread out along the route and this turned into a permanent feature. Continued about 11.30 am and reached Bamboo for lunch about 1.15 pm, but we had to endure a long descent just beforehand. Started out again at 2.30 pm and reached Dobhan (2900 m) at 3.30 pm after a steady climb in increasingly dull weather. So 7 h 30 min walking. I queued for a hot shower but eventually gave up and washed under the cold tap instead. Our rooms were for seven, five and three people so we decided to split along male-female lines.

Day 8: Walk to Deurali. Usual breakfast at 7.30 am. Started walking at 8.05 am. There was a steady climb through an attractive forest. Tea stop at about 9.40 am. Crossed a landslide area. Reached Deurali tea house (3200 m) at 12.05 pm. So 4 h walking. Clouds closed in about 1 pm. No working shower available, neither hot nor cold. Then it was lunch. The afternoon was spent in the dining room with lots of people playing cards. Tea at 5 pm. Dinner at 6.45 pm.

Day 9: Walk to Machhapuchhre Base Camp. Breakfast at 7.30 am. Departed at 8.20 am (there was a long queue for the loo!). Reached Machhapuchhre Base Camp (MBC) (3700 m) and our tea house at about 10.40 am. So 2 h 20 min walking. All seven of the blokes in one room. Walked along path towards Annapurna Base Camp (ABC) and back from 11.30 am to 12.45 pm. Lunch at 1 pm, then shower. Retired to dining room, which was very busy. And stayed there, and stayed there... forever, it seemed. Rarely have I been so bored. Tea at 4 pm. Dinner at 6.30 pm. Bed at 8 pm.

Day 10: Walk to Annapurna Base Camp; return to Machhapuchhre Base Camp. Got up at 4 am and started walking at 4.30 am. Reached Annapurna Base Camp at 6.10 am. So 1 h 40 min walking. Stunning, stunning views. Breakfast at 8 am. More admiring of the views. I felt quite emotional to be in such a remarkable place for the first and probably last time. Started descent at 11 am and reached Machhapuchhre Base Camp at 12.10 pm. So another 1 h 10 min walking, making 2 h 50 min in total. Lunch at 1 pm. Shower. Another very dull and very cold afternoon. Lots of rain and snow, with the latter settling a bit – apparently, most unusual for October! Tea at 4.30 pm. The arrival of 18 wet, cold (Trekking?) Poles and the ensuing argument with our group over a heater was the only enlivening feature of the afternoon. Dinner at 6.30 pm.

Day 11: Walk (descent) to Bamboo. Breakfast at 7.30 am. Started walking at 8 am, continuing with our descent. It was slow going at first because of the icy conditions following the previous day’s snow. Tea at Deurali. Arrived at Dobhan for lunch at 1.25 pm. But the slower part of our group did not arrive until 2.15 pm. There was heavy rain during lunch but this had eased off by the time we started walking again. We left at 3 pm and reached Bamboo at 3.45 pm. So 7 h 45 min walking. Shower then 5 pm tea. Dinner with beer – the first for 5 days because of the altitude – at 6.30 pm.

Day 12: Walk (descent) to Jhinudanda. We had an early start to try and avoid the rain. Breakfast at 7 am and started walking at 7.40 am. Tea at Sinuwa after long ascent. Then I turned my left ankle moderately badly, which slowed me down. There was a long descent and ascent into Chhomrong for a very lengthy lunch. We left at around 1.30 pm and made a long steep descent into Jhinudanda, arriving about 2.30 pm. So 6 h 50 min walking but with more than a two-hour stop for lunch (yawn). Tea at 5 pm and dinner at 6.30 pm.

Day 13: Walk (descent) to Landruk; 4WD to Pokhara. Breakfast at 7.30 am and then we started walking at 8 am. Down more steep steps from Jhinudanda and then across wooden bridge over river. But then path ahead was closed and we had to cross the new suspension bridge to the other side of the valley. Tea at Himalpani. We crossed the river again near Landruk and walked through terraced fields. Emerged onto track and follow it down to small village where our 4WD transport was waiting about 12 noon. So 4 h walking. We stopped for lunch and presented our support team of guides and porters with their tips. Continued to Nayapul, changed to the “luxury” bus, and arrived in Pokhara about 4.15 pm. Had dinner in town but was then ill (for the first time on this trip) in the night.

Day 14: Explore Pokhara. I was not feeling at all well on this morning and decided to not move very far from hotel. Slept for maybe an extra hour and a half and used the WiFi internet in the hotel foyer. Finally, I went for a walk along the lake shore, photographing dragonflies, and then returned to the hotel about 2.45 pm. Used internet in foyer again and then slept some more. Dry biscuits for dinner.

Day 15: Bus to Kathmandu. I was feeling much better on this morning. Breakfast at 7 am and then we departed at 8 am on the tour bus for Kathmandu, arriving 4.15 pm. There were stops for tea and for lunch. In the evening we had a good dinner at 6.30 pm in the Thamel district.

Days 16-19: Explore Kathmandu. After breakfast, the tour officially came to an end and our group broke up. I moved to my new hotel (pre-booked), where I would stay the next four days, at about noon. And what did I do with those four days? Well, very little, except read. I am afraid I hated Kathmandu. I found it dirty, heavily polluted, over-crowded with people, and congested with traffic. I walked to Durbar Square, where the temples and historic buildings are, but there was very little to see that was not severely damaged by the 2015 earthquake. My original plan had been to have a couple of days outside the city but I abandoned this idea when I realised how long it would take to get out of the city by taxi or bus on roads that were mostly just rubble. So when I ventured out of the hotel, I mostly stayed in the Thamel area of the city, parts of which are pedestrianised, but it is just an uninteresting tourist ghetto of bars, restaurants, and gift shops.

Day 20: Travel home. Breakfast at 7 am and at airport at 7.30 am. Did not board until 9.50 am, our scheduled departure time. Took off 40 min late at 10.30 am due to an air traffic delay, apparently. Landed in Muscat at 12.45 pm local time after a 4 h flight. Amazingly, a nice stewardess showed initiative and let three of us with connections get on the first bus with the business class passengers. Reached gate about 1.15 pm and boarded 10 min later. Airborne at 2.10 pm. Landed in Manchester at 6.05 pm after 8 h flight. Had a snack before catching 7.29 pm train to Preston and then 8.53 pm to Glasgow, arriving 11.17 pm. Home at 11.45 pm.

Kit notes. I took trekking poles with me. However, because I was taking connecting flights, I did not want to strap them to the outside of a “grip” bag as I did for my High Atlas trip. So I took a full-size suitcase (!) and put them inside that, along with my sleeping bag, etc. For my hand luggage, I had my very familiar 35+8 litre rucksack and that was what I used during the day in Nepal. On our arrival in Pokhara, Explore! gave us all a large (80 litre!) kit bag and it was these that our porters carried for us on the trek. My empty suitcase remained in Pokhara until my return from the trek. We were advised to bring a 4-season sleeping bag with us but I did not have one of these. Instead, I took my 3-season sleeping bag, a thermal liner for it, and at the highest altitudes (where it was very cold) I wore my thermal base layer plus a spare pair of thick socks.

Wildlife seen. Himalayan Griffon.

Other useful links. Explore Nepal tours

Reflections. I consider this to have been a good trip. The best thing about it by far was seeing the Himalayas. Utterly astonishing! I have seen the Alps, Rockies and High Atlas and they simply cannot compare. Reaching Annapurna Base Camp felt like a real achievement – although I wanted to carry on much higher! I was also very impressed with the beauty and greenness of the lower valleys. The tour was very well organised, as ever, and my 14 fellow trekkers were a generally pleasant and amusing bunch. The hiking was quite tough on the first couple of days because of the heat – but ridiculously easy at higher altitudes where I really wanted to walk much more than 2-3 hours each day. One problem was a near-hysteria about altitude sickness and yet we were only going up to 4130 m, the same as on my High Altas trek where altitude sickness was barely mentioned by our guide. To my amazement, some young, perfectly healthy people were taking diamox/acetazolamide as a prophylactic without ever having experienced any unwanted symptoms. I felt my four additional days in horrible Kathmandu were rather wasted; in retrospect, I should have spent the extra time in Pokhara.

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