Annapurna: A Trekker's Guide

Justifiably the most popular trekking region. Includes the Annapurna Circuit (2-3 weeks), Annapurna Sanctuary (1-2 weeks), Pilgrim’s Trail (7-9 days) and Ghandruk Foothill Trek (4-5 days), and notes on other treks and trekking peaks. Complete access and planning information including Kathmandu and access into Annapurna, handling altitude.

Approaching Kathmandu by air from India the plane swings eastward and suddenly, out of the left-hand window, a great bank of clouds hangs as a breaking wave of cumulus far above the brown wrinkled earth. At least, they look like clouds. Then you realise those clouds are rising out of clouds and they’re not clouds at all. They’re mountains – huge mountains plastered with ice and snow, a ragged barrier of fangs and domes, long white crests, abrupt faces, spurs and buttresses drawing shadow. An extensive wall like a gigantic sawblade glistening in the sunlight; a serrated, castellated horizon, fortress-like and magnificent…

The Himalaya, kingdom of the snows: dream-world for many; reality for some. Once experienced they can never be forgotten, never dismissed from memory whether one’s experience of them is gained by climbing to their summits or trekking through their valleys. Once seen they become a part of you, habit forming and intrusive.

The Himalaya, of course, contain the youngest and highest mountains on earth – mountains that are still growing, and stretch in a monstrous chain from Nanga Parbat in Pakistan to Namche Barwa in eastern Tibet – a fabulous wall of mountains with 14 peaks rising above 8000m (26,000ft). Nepal boasts eight of these giants: Everest and Kan­chen­junga, Lhotse, Makalu, Cho Oyu, Dhaulagiri, Man­aslu and Anna­purna. Annapurna was the first of the 8000m summits to be climbed and is now the focus of some of the world’s most exciting and visually spectacular treks.

Seen from the lakeside town of Pokhara in central Nepal the northern horizon, less than 40km (25 miles) away, consists of the snow-capped peaks of the Annapurna Himal. In the early morning they catch the first stain of sunrise. Hovering dreamlike, they cast their reflection in the still waters of the Phewa Tal, little more than 800m (2625ft) above sea level. Among them 12 summits rise in excess of 7000m (23,000ft), while a number of others are well over 6000m (19,500ft) high. This massive island block is moated on the east by the Marsyangdi Khola, and on the west by the deep Kali Gandaki valley. To the north, beyond the Manang Himal which forms the northern wall of the curving Marsyangdi, lies Tibet. East of the Marsyangdi rises Manaslu (8163m, 26,781ft), and to the west of the Kali Gandaki is the dramatic Dhaulagiri Himal, whose icy summit tops 8167m (26,795ft), while draining the heart of this great block of mountains is the deep shaft of the Modi Khola, at the head of which is the Annapurna Sanctuary – a miracle of ice-sculpted peaks gathered in an almost complete circle.

In addition to the mountains that dominate every scene, the Annapurna range represents one of the most ethnically and geographically diverse regions in all Asia, and is home to 10 ethnic and caste groups.

Sub-tropical forests are inhabited by monkey and deer, raucous with chattering birds in spring. There are hillsides ablaze with rhododendron, orchid, bougain­villea and poinsettia. There are jungles of bamboo, upland pastures starred with gentians, and pinewoods reminiscent of the Alps – and beyond the rain-shadow of the Himalaya lie high, arid valleys and barren, windswept plateaux similar to those of Tibet.

This book is a guide to trekking in and around the Annapurna region. It describes the lengthy challenge of the Annapurna Circuit; the shorter, but visually rewarding, Annapurna Sanc­tuary trek; the Pilgrim’s Trail to Muktinath which heads upvalley along the Kali Gandaki after first crossing the Poon Hill Danda with its famous sunrise views of Dhaulagiri and the Anna­purnas. A fourth trek, shorter and less committing than these, explores the lower foothills, while suggestions for other treks and variations are also made.

Each of these will reward the visitor with stunning panoramas and an unbelievable variety of scenic wonders – from the lush vegetation of the lowlands where rice paddies terrace the foothills to the arctic-like wilderness of ice-falls and gleaming glaciers – and will surprise the newcomer to Nepal with the broad smiles and genuine open-hearted friendliness of the local people. ‘Namaste’ is in their eyes and on their lips, and signs over lodge doorways that proclaim ‘Wel-Come’ mean just that.

If it is a dream of mountains that initially lures you to this Himalayan kingdom, it will be the valleys and hillsides populated by a wide range of ethnic groups, each united by a tradition of hospitality and cheerfulness, that ensure you do not forget it. Two hundred kilometres (125 miles) west of Kathmandu, the cultural diversity and ethnic variety is probably greater than anywhere else in all Nepal, and will surely form part of a rich and memorable experience for trekkers in the Annapurna Himal.

Landscape of Dreams

If there be a Paradise on earth,
it is now, it is now, it is now!
(Wilfred Noyce)

Noyce reached the South Col of Everest in 1953, and four years later was a member of a small expedition given the unique opportunity to attempt Machhapuchhare. He was a poet as well as a mountaineer, and the outpouring of emotion quoted above is echoed in the hearts of many who have the privilege of gazing at these astonishing mountains. Every year tens of thousands of trekkers do just that.

Such a statistic may horrify you. You may imagine immense crowds of trekkers and their porters queueing to march through a village or to cross a narrow suspension bridge, overloaded lodges, squalid, cramped campsites and broad, eroded trails knee-deep in litter. Happily the reality is not quite like that.

The Annapurna region covers an area of more than 7600km² (2934sq miles), and the main trekking seasons amount to about five months of the year. Although it would be wrong to suggest that there is no difficulty accommodating everyone in the peak season, there’s time and space enough to swallow most of the crowds.

But clearly with so many visitors the potential for environmental damage is enormous, and over the years people-pressure has brought various problems, among them deforestation, pollution and cultural decay. However, thanks to the Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP) a programme of conservation measures was begun, with the aim of repairing damage caused in the past and preventing further environmental and cultural decline in the future.

All who visit this magical region, whether on a brief once-only stroll through the foothills or on a lengthy trek or climbing expedition, should treat both the landscape and those who live in it with sensitivity and respect.