Hiking the Annapurna Circuit in the Himalayas of Nepal
After completing a handful of thru-hikes across a range of elevations, I felt the fire for adventure burning stronger than ever — and knew I was ready to take on my next big challenge.
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Within the Himalays in Nepal there is an area called the Annapurna Conservancy, which contains the Annapurna Circuit itself. It's a protected area of wilderness, almost like a national park. Entrance is monitored at various checkpoints by Nepalese military, and as a tourist you can only stay within the area for a limited amount of time (usually the amount of time it takes to do the entire circuit).
The Annapurna Circuit has been voted the best long-distance trek in the
world as it combines a wide variety of climate zones from the tropics to the
Arctic, and cultural variety from Hindu villages to the Tibetan culture.
Distance
190.72 mi
Elevation gain
54,267 ft
Elevation loss
51,090 ft
Time
18 days
This is another hike that had been on my radar all the way back in 2018 when
I was first choosing which interntional backpacking trip I wanted to go on. But
given the wide range of elevation changes, and the fact that I had never been
on a mountain hike before, I opted for the flatter and more popular trek, the
Camino.
Having done three thru-hikes to date, each within a variety of elevations and
environments, I decided that I was ready to go on an adventure on the other
side of the planet. It was a 15 hour plane ride from Chicago to China,
and then a shorter 2 hour flight from there to Nepal.
I thought I was ready for the culture shock, but I was not. Nepal is such a
different place than what I have previously experienced, and it took a couple of
days to get used to it. However, I didn't have much time since I would be
starting the trek the very next day!
After losing a North Face fleece in the domestic flights terminal (if you can
call it that) at the Khatmandu airport, and a short one-hour propeller plane
ride to Pokhara, I had finally arrived. Pokhara is the outdoor enthusiast place
to be in Nepal due to its central location to the Himalays and other areas, and
was to be my homebase while I was out in the mountains.
What is the Annapurna Circuit
The Annapurna Circuit is a circular route that goes around the Annapurna Mountain (one of the eight tallest peaks in the world). The trail gets it start in the subtropical forests along paddy fields and waterfalls at 2,500 feet, and ascends all the way up to the frozen Arctic region at 17,800 feet reaching the Tibetan plateau.
The whole circuit is about 145 miles in length, and it took me 13 days to
complete it, even with some side treks mixed in. I went in a counter-clockwise
direction because this way the daily altitude gain was slower, and it makes
crossing the highest point easier and safer.
Where I spent each night
This trek was similar to the Camino de Santiago in terms of accommodations.
Along the trail there are several small villages, each providing a handful of
options to spend the night. The places to spend each night where called Tea
Houses, and when you arrived you would ask how many beds were available, and
then (the fun part) you start negotiating the price.
If you were a solo traveler, you probably didn't have much negotiating power.
But, if you were part of a group (like I was) then you had some sway. You could,
for example, offer to stay two nights at a discounted rate. And if you agreed to
eat there, which you aren't required to do, you could get an even more
discounted rate.
You could potentially talk them down from $20 a night (before including meals)
to $10 a night! For a budget-concious traveler, this is a big win. On our first
night we were able to share a room with three beds and a cot (since we were a
group of four), and told them we would eat there. This brought it down to about
$2 per person for the night.
Upper Pisang
What I brought
Seeing as this was my fourth thru-hike you would think that I would have made
some gear changes by now, especially since this type of trek is something I had
not done before, right? Wrong. I used the same gear from the Tour du Mont Blanc,
but with some other gear thrown in that I already had lying around. Here are
some essentials though:
Sleeping bag
Sleeping bag liner
Large power bank
Pillow
Hut slippers
Water filter
Chlorine tablets
Trekking poles
Entertainment
Warm fleece
Down jacket
You go from a very warm climate to very cold climate in about a week, so you
need to be prepared for both. This means both a bag liner for the warmer areas,
and a warm sleeping bag for the colder ones. A large power bank is necessary
since electricity might not always be available as you get higher up, and there
are also frequent blackouts in the mountain villages.
Much like the Camino you didn't have to reserve anything in advance, which is
nice. I like having the freedom to be able to go for as long as I want in a day.
Having said that, there are some areas where it's not recommend you push
yourself to go too far.
Stages
Every thru-hike is different, and while some may necesitate the need to follow the guidebook stages, others require the need to be flexible. For this thru-hike some of the stages are by-the-book, while others are a combination of two or more:
