A walk into the sanctuary, through Gurung country, bamboo and rhododendron, to the amphitheatre of Annapurna.
Distance
~48 km
High point
4,130 m
Difficulty
Moderate
Group
Small
The Valley
Know where you're walking.
i.
Gurung country
The trail belongs to the Gurung. Their language is its own, neither Nepali nor Tibetan. Their villages along the lower Modi Khola grow barley, buckwheat, and potato on hand-cut terraces. The teahouses are theirs, the porters are theirs, the millet alcohol on the table at the end of a long day is theirs.
You are not passing through someone's backdrop. You are walking through a working community that has chosen to share its trail with you.
Teahouse · Gurung community life
ii.
The Annapurna Conservation Area
The sanctuary you enter at Chomrong is the largest protected area in Nepal, and the country's first. The trail's ethic comes from there. No open fires.No left-behind plastic.Vegetarian above Dovan, because the mountain is sacred to both Hindus and Buddhists and meat is not permitted in its presence.
The cleanest trek in Nepal isn't a slogan. It's an outcome of the Gurung community deciding, year by year, that it would be.
Annapurna Conservation Area
iii.
Annapurna I, the first eight-thousander
In June 1950, Maurice Herzog and Louis Lachenal stood on the summit of Annapurna I, the first eight-thousand-metre peak ever climbed, three years before Everest. They came down with severe frostbite and lost most of their fingers and toes on the descent.
The peak you see from base camp is the one that opened the era of high-altitude mountaineering. The Sherpas and porters who made that climb possible were rarely named in the history. We name them on the trail.
The sanctuary · Annapurna I
iv.
Machhapuchhre, the unclimbed
The fishtail peak rises above every photograph of this trek. It is sacred to Shiva, and by the request of the Nepali government and local communities, it has never been summited. A British expedition in 1957 stopped fifty metres short of the top out of respect.
You will see it for seven days. It is the only major Himalayan peak no human has stood on. That fact, kept by everyone, is part of what the sanctuary means.
The fishtail · unclimbed
The Modi Khola valley · between Sinuwa and Dovan
The shape of the walk
What you'll walk through…
48 kmtotal distance4,130 mhigh point+3,300 mascent · four days
Scroll to walk
The Days
Day by day, walked.
01
The Approach · ascent
Pokhara → Chomrong
Drive in. The trail begins where the road ends.
Walk
2.5 km
Time
2–3 hrs
Ascent
+520 m
Descent
0 m
Sleep at
2,170 m
Stay
Teahouse
On this dayGurung village lifeTerraced barley fieldsFirst sight of the sanctuary
The drive from Pokhara follows the Modi Khola north into the foothills. Annapurna South and the fishtail rise on the right as the road climbs. We start walking at Jhinu and reach Chomrong by late afternoon, a Gurung village on a steep ridge, with terraced barley fields and a view of the sanctuary you will enter tomorrow.
First night in a teahouse. Wholesome dinner. Early sleep.
Notes from the trail · 3 clips · drag →
Chomrong · arrival, Day 1
02
The Approach · ascent
Chomrong → Dovan
Down to the river, then up. Bamboo, oak, rhododendron.
Walk
9.6 km
Time
6–7 hrs
Ascent
+800 m
Descent
−370 m
Sleep at
2,600 m
Stay
Teahouse
On this daySteel suspension bridgesRhododendron forestThe sacred boundary at Dovan
The trail leaves Chomrong with a long, steep descent to the Chomrong Khola, a river crossing on a steel suspension bridge, and then a longer, steeper climb out the other side to Sinuwa. From Sinuwa the gradient settles. Through Khuldigar the forest closes in: bamboo first, then oak, then rhododendron, the trees twisted and lichen-hung where the air stays damp.
Tea-stop refills are at every settlement. By mid-afternoon you reach Dovan, a clutch of teahouses where the river runs loud and the trees keep most of the sky. The walk has been long. The body is starting to know it's on a trek.
Place · the rule above Dovan
Why dinner becomes vegetarian tonight
From Dovan onward the trail is considered to enter the inner sanctuary, sacred to both Hindus and Buddhists. The Gurung community and the Annapurna Conservation Area Project keep meat off the trail above this point. The teahouse menus shift accordingly. Dal bhat with greens, fried potatoes, vegetable thukpa, the occasional egg, and tea, always tea.
Notes from the trail · 3 clips · drag →
The forest above Sinuwa · Day 2
03
The Approach · ascent
Dovan → Deurali
Up the narrow valley. The treeline thins.
Walk
5 km
Time
4–5 hrs
Ascent
+600 m
Descent
0 m
Sleep at
3,200 m
Stay
Teahouse
On this day108 sacred waterfallsMachhapuchhre revealsCrossing the treeline
A shorter day by distance, but the walk steepens and the air begins to thin. The trail follows the Modi Khola through a narrow glacial valley, the cliffs close on both sides. Past the Himalaya teahouse settlement, the forest gives way to scrub and the first long views open up: Machhapuchhre directly ahead, Annapurna South to the left.
By early afternoon you reach Deurali. The treeline is below you now. Layer up before sunset; this is the first night the cold makes itself felt.
Place · the bamboo forest
108 sacred waterfalls
The stretch between Dovan and Deurali passes through a forest the Gurung call the place of one hundred and eight waterfalls. 108 is a sacred number in both Hindu and Buddhist tradition. They are not all running at once, and counting is the wrong way to meet them. After rain, the forest sounds like a single instrument.
Notes from the trail · 3 clips · drag →
The valley narrows · Day 3
04
The Sanctuary · high point
Deurali → ABC · the high point
Into the sanctuary. The amphitheatre opens.
Walk
7 km
Time
6–7 hrs
Ascent
+930 m
Descent
0 m
Sleep at
4,130 m
Stay
Teahouse
On this dayThe sanctuary bowlThe unclimbed peakGlacier-fed coldStars at 4,130 m
The treeline thins above Deurali. The air is colder and drier; the rhododendron and oak give way to scrub, then to nothing. Just glacial moraine and the river, narrowing. The walk is steady rather than steep. Pacing matters more than effort.
By mid-morning the valley turns and Machhapuchhre Base Camp comes into view, a flat shoulder at 3,700 metres with the fishtail peak almost directly overhead. Most groups stop here for tea. From MBC the trail bends west into the sanctuary itself, and the peaks begin to circle you: Annapurna South on the left, Hiunchuli behind, Annapurna I straight ahead. There is no horizon. There is only mountain.
The 360° view does not need to be described; it does need to be earned.
You arrive at Annapurna Base Camp by early afternoon. Drop your pack. Drink water. Walk the ten minutes to the prayer-flag cairn and sit down. The four days were for this.
Dinner is in the teahouse. Lights out early. The stars at 4,130 metres are the kind that change what you thought stars were.
Place · the sanctuary
An amphitheatre of glaciers
The Annapurna Sanctuary is a near-perfect bowl, ringed by Annapurna I, Annapurna South, Hiunchuli, Gangapurna, and Machhapuchhre. It opens only to the south, where the Modi Khola escapes, the river you have been walking beside since Day One. Geologically, it is what is left after a glacier carved a circle and the ice retreated. Culturally, the Gurung consider the sanctuary the home of their old gods. Before tourism, it was rarely entered.
Place · the unclimbed peak
Why no one has stood on Machhapuchhre
The mountain you have been watching for four days is sacred to Shiva. In 1957, the only expedition ever permitted, a British team led by Wilfrid Noyce, turned back fifty metres below the summit out of respect for the request of the Nepali king and the Gurung community. Climbing has been formally forbidden ever since. From Base Camp it sits to your east, sharper than any other peak in the bowl. It is the closest thing in the Himalaya to an absolute.
Notes from the trail · 4 clips · drag →
The bowl, mid-morning · ABCMachhapuchhre · the unclimbed peak
05
The Return · descent
ABC → Bamboo
Down into the forest. The valley closes again.
Walk
14 km
Time
6–7 hrs
Ascent
0 m
Descent
−1,820 m
Sleep at
2,310 m
Stay
Teahouse
On this dayBlood pheasantsThe forest returnsThe valley, walked twice
The sanctuary releases you. The day is long but downhill, back through Deurali and the Himalaya teahouses, retracing the river. The bamboo and rhododendron return. By Bamboo it is warm again and the air is thick with green.
This is also the day, somewhere on the descent, where the valley you walked into reveals itself as a place you have actually entered. Walking out, you notice what walking in did not have time to show.
Notes from the trail · 3 clips · drag →
Walking out · Day 5
06
The Return · descent
Bamboo → Jhinu Danda
A long descent and a hot spring. The body remembers it has been working.
Walk
10 km
Time
5–6 hrs
Ascent
+250 m
Descent
−780 m
Sleep at
1,780 m
Stay
Teahouse
On this dayJhinu hot springsKimrong Khola crossingPrayer flags over terraces
The morning drops to the Kimrong Khola, knee-work, not lung-work, and then climbs again through forest, bamboo and oak and rhododendron one last time. By early afternoon you are at Jhinu Danda, a small ridge village with terraced fields, prayer flags, and a stone trail running down to the Modi Khola.
Ten minutes below the village sit the hot springs: three pools, fed from the cliff, looking onto the river. You sit in them. You stop talking. The walk has been six days; the heat undoes most of what it did.
Notes from the trail · 3 clips · drag →
Hot springs · Day 6
07
The Return · out
Jhinu → Pokhara
Out. The road, then the lake.
Walk
~3 km
Drive
4–5 hrs
Ascent
0 m
Descent
−960 m
Arrive
822 m
Stay
Hostel
On this dayPhewa Lake at duskThe drive through hill villagesLast dinner, full circle
A short walk down a dirt road to the jeep pickup, then the long, scenic drive back to Pokhara through hill villages and river valleys. By late afternoon you are by Phewa Lake. The mountains you walked through are visible from your dinner table.
Last night together. Goodbyes the next morning, by ten.
Notes from the trail · 3 clips · drag →
The road out · Day 7Phewa Lake, last evening
Is this for you?
Level 3 : Moderate
Multi-day walk, sustained effort.
Where ABC sits3 / 6
1 · Easy6 · Expedition
Age
14 to 65
Under 16 walks with a parent or guardian. Over 60 is welcome with recent activity and a doctor's note. The trail counts the legs and the lungs, not the years.
Fitness
5 to 6 hrs, daily
Be comfortable walking five to six hours on stepped trails, day after day, with a light pack. Six weeks of steady preparation builds the base.
Experience
None required
No technical skill, no ropes, no prior summit. A first multi-day trek is fine with preparation. We ask about altitude history and plan around it.
Medical
Disclosed, screened
Heart, lung and blood-pressure conditions, past altitude sickness, pregnancy, recent surgery: tell us. A few need a doctor's clearance, very few are disqualifying.
Tap for sound
Prabin · Annapurna Base Camp · 2025
Walking with you
Prabin
Trek leader · Annapurna Base Camp
Prabin has walked the Annapurna Sanctuary trail more times than he keeps count of, in every season the route runs. He is the person making the calls when weather turns above MBC, when someone in the group is moving too slow, when a teahouse on the planned route is unexpectedly full, when the descent on Day 5 has to be paced differently for someone whose knees are protesting. The work of leadership on a trek is mostly invisible. It is the absence of problems you didn't know to worry about.
He is also the person you eat with. The brand is built around the idea that the leader is not a service provider; the leader is the journey. Prabin sets the pace, reads the group, and knows every teahouse kitchen by first name, from the first morning on the trail to the last dinner in Pokhara.
Mountaineering
NMA-certifiedNepal Mountaineering Association
Medical
Wilderness First ResponderWFR-certified
Summit record
Multiple peaks6,000 m+
Good to know
Everything you need to know.
01
Fly to Kathmandu
Nepal's only international gateway (KTM). Visa on arrival for most nationalities.
02
Kathmandu to Pokhara
A 25-minute mountain flight, or a 6–7 hour drive along the Trishuli. We help you book; this leg sits outside the trek fee.
03
Meet in Pokhara
Day zero. We gather lakeside at 822 m the evening before: gear check, briefing, the first dinner together.
04
Pokhara to the trailhead
A 2–3 hour jeep to Jhinu, where the walking begins. Included, and led from here on.
Flight and drive times shift with season and traffic; we confirm the day-zero plan with you at booking.
From$469.00per person · shared teahouse · winter departures from $600
Included
Six nights' teahouse accommodation on the trail
All meals on the trek: breakfast, lunch, dinner, tea
A community dinner on the last day of the trek in Pokhara
Ground transport from and back to Pokhara
Hot showers, charging and wifi on the trail
ACAP and TIMS permits, arranged for you
Licensed lead guide and porters
Group medical kit and oximeter on the trail
Travel insurance for the trek
Six weeks of preparation: calls, training plan, gear list
Not included
International airfare and the Kathmandu–Pokhara leg
Nights and meals in Pokhara, before and after
Trip-cancellation and baggage insurance (recommended)
Personal gear and any rentals in Pokhara
Beverages and snacks on the trail
Tips for the guide and porter team
5% government tax (GST)
Indicative split. The figures and full inclusion list are confirmed in writing before any payment is taken.
Layers & footwear
Base layers, merino or synthetic
Insulated mid-layer, fleece or light down
Waterproof shell, jacket and trousers
Trekking trousers and shirts
Warm hat, sun hat, buff, gloves
Broken-in trekking boots, plus camp shoes
Trekking socks, several pairs
In the pack
30–40 L daypack with rain cover
Trekking poles
Headtorch and spare batteries
Two to three litres of water capacity, plus purification
Sunglasses, SPF 50, lip balm
Power bank for backup on the trail
Health & documents
Personal first-aid, blister care, regular medication
Diamox, only if advised on your intake call
Passport, copies and spare photos for permits
Insurance with high-altitude evacuation cover
Quick-dry towel, toiletries, wet wipes
Cash in rupees for extras on the trail
A full list, personalised to you and the season, lands in Weeks −6 to −3 of your preparation.
Deposit
A 25% deposit holds your place, due once we've spoken and both said yes. Fully refundable for seven days after you pay.
30+ days out
Cancel 30 or more days before departure: deposit refunded less a small handling fee, or moved in full to another date.
15–29 days
Half of the trek fee is refundable.
Under 14 days
The fee is non-refundable: the cohort, guides and teahouses are committed by then.
If we cancel
If we call it off for safety or too small a cohort, you choose: a full refund, or full credit toward another departure.
On the trail
Weather or altitude may reshape a day. The route flexes; the price does not.
Draft terms, indicative only. The final cancellation policy is set out in your confirmation.
ACAP permit
Annapurna Conservation Area Permit. Required, and arranged by us.
TIMS card
Trekkers' Information Management System card. Required, and arranged by us.
No. No technical skill is required, and a first multi-day trek is common on this route. What you do need is the six-week preparation and a basic cardio base, both of which we build with you.
How fit do I need to be?
Comfortable on five to six hours of stepped walking, several days running, carrying a light daypack. The readiness self-check earlier on this page is the honest bar.
Will I get altitude sickness?
Day 4 sleeps at 4,130 m. Mild symptoms are common and usually pass with rest and water. Guides carry an oximeter, and a worsening case descends, no negotiation.
Is it safe for solo travellers and women?
Yes. Cohorts cap at twelve, guides are licensed, and this is among the most travelled trails in Nepal. Many walk it solo and join the group on day zero.
What is the food like?
Teahouse cooking: dal bhat, fried potatoes, thukpa, eggs and endless tea. Above Dovan the inner sanctuary is vegetarian by long tradition.
Will I have phone signal?
Patchily, and less the higher you go. Treat the week as off-grid and carry a power bank; charging and wifi at teahouses are included, though patchy higher up.
When does it run?
Two dry windows: October to November for clear skies, February to March for late winter and spring bloom. We don't run the monsoon.
Do I get my own room?
On the trail it's simple shared teahouse rooms, often triple or quadruple share. A single room can sometimes be arranged lower down; higher up it cannot be guaranteed.
Expedition calendar.
Fixed departures
Upcoming departuresPokhara · ABC · cohort of 12
Tap an open departure to hold your place
Private & bespoke
Private journeyBonusShape your own trail.A private departure built with an experience leader, for you, your family, or a small group of your own. Flexible dates, days and added experiences.
Travellers
Approx. month
Winter departures (Dec – Feb) carry a cold-weather premium.
Holding -
Reserve your place.
One seat in a cohort of twelve. Pay in full to confirm. Checkout takes about two minutes, and you're set. Cancel within seven days for a full refund; see the cancellation terms in the details above.
Annapurna Base Camp · 7 days
₹44,555/ person
Annapurna Base Camp · 4,130 m
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