Annapurna: A Trekker's Guide
Annapurna: A Trekker's Guide
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£14.00
Insight Guide: Nepal edited by Hans Höfer (APA Publications).
Expert contributions, both textual and photographic, give this frequently updated book an air of authority.
Nepal (Nelles Verlag/Robertson McCarta, 1990).
Gives similar coverage to the above.
Nepal: The Kingdom of the Himalayas by Toni Hagen (Kümmerley and Frey, 1980).
Not a tourist guide as such, this large-format coffee-table book is packed with information and photographs gleaned from the author’s travels throughout the country. Hagen was the first man to be given the freedom to explore the whole of Nepal, and his knowledge of the country must therefore be considered unique.
Nepal by Hugh Findlay (Lonely Planet, 5th edition, 2001).
Gives lots of practical information and advice for getting around Nepal, and includes an introduction to trekking.
Nepal – the Rough Guide by David Reed (Rough Guides, 2002).
A down-to-earth guide, largely written for budget travellers. It includes basic trekking information.
Nepal by Percival Landon (Constable, 1928 – reprinted by Biblioteca Himalayica, New Delhi).
A popular historic overview.
The Waiting Land by Dervla Murphy (John Murray, 1967).
An entertaining travelogue of this respected travel writer’s time in the mid-1960s working with Tibetan refugees near Pokhara. As ever, the writer’s observations are astute and masterfully drawn.
Travels in Nepal by Charlie Pye-Smith (Aurum Press, 1988).
Provides a thought-provoking commentary on the question of foreign-aid programmes within Nepal.
2: Trekking – Narratives and Guidebooks
Annapurna Circuit by Andrew Stevenson (Constable, 1997).
This is a highly readable narrative of one man’s experiences whilst trekking around Annapurna. Read it prior to your first trek, then re-read it on your return home.
A Nepalese Journey by Andrew Stevenson (Constable, 2002).
A photographic record of several visits to the region by the author of the above book – a perfect souvenir.
Trekking in Nepal by Stephen Bezruchka (Cordee/The Mountaineers, 7th edition, 1997).
This is the classic trekker’s guide – packed with valuable information, sensitively written and frequently revised, all prospective visitors should study a copy. The author’s love of the country and concern for its people is a shining example to all trekkers.
Trekking in Nepal, West Tibet & Bhutan by Hugh Swift (Hodder & Stoughton, 1989).
Out of print, and in places out of date, this book remains one of the most inspirational on the subject. The late Hugh Swift was an avid mountain traveller with a gift for recreating the atmosphere of the Himalaya. If you can track a copy down – do so.
Trekking in the Nepal Himalaya by Stan Armington (Lonely Planet, 8th edition, 2001).
Probably the biggest selling trekking guide to Nepal, this regularly updated book covers most regions including, of course, Annapurna. The author lives in Kathmandu and has been leading commercial treks in the Himalaya for 30 years.
Trekking and Climbing in Nepal by Steve Razzetti (New Holland, 2000).
Written and illustrated by a well-known British trek leader, the Annapurna region has good coverage, along with most other regions of mountain Nepal.
Trekking in Nepal by Toru Nakano (Springfield Books, 1990).
Brief route descriptions, regional maps and lots of colour photos in a translation of the Japanese original. The photographs will remind you to take a camera and plenty of film.
Adventure Treks: Nepal by Bill O’Connor (Cicerone Press, 1990).
Personal narratives of several treks including Annapurna Circuit and Sanctuary. Not a guidebook as such, it conveys some of the magic, as well as some of the frustrations, of trekking.
The Trekking Peaks of Nepal by Bill O’Connor (Crowood Press, 1991).
This companion volume to Adventure Treks is, perhaps, of more value, even if you have no intention of climbing any of the peaks. Brief details of major trekking routes are given, as well as outlines of the possibilities for climbing on all 18 Trekking Peaks.
Trekking in the Annapurna Region by Bryn Thomas (Trailblazer, 3rd edition, 1999).
A useful guide covering the same treks as this book. Plenty of good pre and post trek advice.
Mustang – A Trekking Guide by Bob Gibbons and Sian Pritchard-Jones (Tiwari’s Pilgrims Book House, 1993).
A book for anyone planning to visit this region north of Kagbeni.
Trekking: Great Walks of the World by John Cleare (Unwin Hyman, 1988).
Contains a lively, well-illustrated chapter about the Annapurna Circuit.
Classic Walks of the World edited by Walt Unsworth (Oxford Illustrated Press, 1985).
Also includes a chapter on the Annapurna Circuit.
Footloose in the Himalaya by Mike Harding (Michael Joseph, 1989).
Harding is both humorous and thoughtful as he recounts his journeys in several parts of the Himalaya, including a short trek in the Annapurna foothills.
The Trekkers’ Handbook by Thomas R. Gilchrist (Cicerone Press, 1996).
Written by an experienced trek leader, this is packed with good ideas and background information for trekking virtually anywhere in the world. Recommended.
The Mountain Traveller’s Handbook by Paul Deegan (BMC, 2002).
Similar to the previously mentioned volume, but with a wider remit, this is for climbers as well as trekkers, serving as a useful resource for newcomers as well as old-hands.
3: Mountains and Mountaineering
Annapurna by Maurice Herzog (Jonathan Cape, 1952).
Herzog’s account of the first ascent of an 8000m peak is a true mountaineering classic, and of interest to anyone planning to tackle the Circuit or the Pilgrim’s Trail. Annapurna has sold around 11 million copies, making it the biggest selling mountaineering book ever.
True Summit by David Roberts (Simon & Schuster, New York, 2000/Constable, London, 2001).
Another view of the first ascent of Annapurna which challenges Herzog’s account. But see also Messner’s book below.
Annapurna by Reinhold Messner (The Mountaineers, 2000).
Perhaps the world’s most successful high altitude mountaineer, Messner attempts to answer Herzog’s critics (see above), and also highlights the major climbing developments on Annapurna in the fifty years since its first ascent.
Nepal Himalaya by H.W.Tilman (Cambridge University Press 1952, now contained in a collection of The Seven Mountain Travel Books, Diadem Books/The Mountaineers 1983).
Tilman visited Manang in 1950 and made an attempt on Annapurna IV. Contains good descriptions of the Marsyangdi valley and of the peaks that wall it.
Climbing the Fish’s Tail by Wilfred Noyce (Heinemann, 1958 – latest edition published by Book Faith India, 1998).
Account of the only expedition to climb on Machhapuchhare, it provides a stimulating picture of the Sanctuary, and also records the first ascent of Singu Chuli (Fluted Peak).
Annapurna South Face by Chris Bonington (Cassell, 1971).
Bonington’s team climbed the impressive South Face in 1970, thus heralding a new era in Himalayan mountaineering. Of especial interest to those planning to trek into the Sanctuary.
Summits and Secrets by Kurt Diemberger
(George Allen & Unwin, 1971, now part of the Kurt Diemberger Omnibus published by Bâton Wicks/The Mountaineers, 1999).
Includes a brief history of attempts on, and account of the first ascent of Dhaulagiri, written in the author’s highly original style.
4: Travel and Exploration
Cloud-Dwellers of the Himalayas by Windsor Chorlton (Time-Life Books, 1982).
Describes life in Nar-Phu, the remote region of Manang District.
Himalayan Pilgrimage by David Snellgrove (Shambhala Publications, 1989).
Travels through then-remote parts of Nepal in the 1950s, including the Annapurna region, by a noted Tibetan scholar. Interesting descriptions, especially of the gompa at Braga in the upper Marsyangdi valley.
Vignettes of Nepal by Harka Gurung (Sajha Prakashan, Kathmandu, 1980).
A personal account of travels in numerous parts of Nepal by a distinguished former government minister brought up in the Marsyangdi valley.
5: Anthropology and Natural History
Birds of Nepal by Fleming, Fleming and Bangdel (Avalok, 1984).
A comprehensive field guide, richly illustrated.
A Popular Guide to the Birds and Mammals of the Annapurna Conservation Area (ACAP, 1989)
Concise Flowers of the Himalaya by Oleg Polunin and Adam Stainton (Oxford University Press, 1987)
Butterflies of Nepal by Colin Smith (Tecpress, 1989)
People of Nepal by Dor Bahadur Bista (Ratna Pustak Bhandar, 5th edition, 1987).
Background information on a number of ethnic groups of Nepal.
The Festivals of Nepal by Mary M. Anderson (George Allen & Unwin, 1971)
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