PEOPLE AND VILLAGES OF THE ANNAPURNA HIMAL.

The Pokhara Valley of Nepal is one of the most beautiful places in the world where else can one stand in a subtropical valley at 3,000 feet and gaze up at 25,000 foot Himalayan ice summits only 20 miles away? Join us for a relatively short but wonderfully varied exploration of this region, an ideal introduction to trekking in Nepal!

This 8 day trek traverses the foothills of the Annapurnas, up and down steep ridges dotted with small villages, across fields and farms of the Magar and Gurung people and through forests of oak, pine and rhododendron. We'll get a good look at Himalayan village life.

The snowy flanks of Dhaulagiri, the Annapurnas, and the famous spire of Machapuchare, the "Matterhorn of Nepal," are seen from high viewpoints at the villages of Ghorapani and Ghandrung.

Itinerary:

Day 01-03 Kathmandu to Pokhara by scheduled flight or tourist bus; meet your Sherpa Team and begin trek to Ghorapani.

Making a circuit of the Annapurna massif is a trek hard to beat for scenic and ethnic diversity, physical challenge and an in depth experience of Nepal. We make a circuit of the Annapurna massif, walking along centuries old Tibetan Nepalese trade routes and meeting Tamangs and Gurungs, Manangi Buddhists and Hindus, as we walk through their villages. Along the way, we explore a variety of Himalayan environments while reveling in the scenic grandeur of some of the most beautiful of Himalayan Mountains. The excitement of crossing a Himalayan pass the Thorong La (17,771') and walking through the world's deepest gorge the Kali Gandaki will be difficult to surpass.

Itinerary :

Day 01-06 Drive from Kathmandu to Besisahar. Meet Sherpa team and begin trek up the Marsyangdi valley to Pisang. Day 07-08 Acclimatization and local exploration in Braga.
Day 09-11 Trek to high camp and cross Thorong La pass (17,700 feet) the next day to descend to Muktinath (12,500 ft.) Day 12 Rest and local exploration day in Muktinath.
Day 13-17 Descend through the Kali Gandaki gorge to Ghorapani.
Day 18-21 Continue to Pokhara via Ghandrung. Day 22 Pokhara to Kathmandu by scheduled flight or tourist bus.

Our trail passes through rice terraced hills, forests of bamboo, rhododendron, and oak, and the villages of the Gurung and Tamang clans. We'll spend two days within the overwhelming confines of the Sanctuary, surrounded by the highest peaks of the western Annapurna Himal, including Annapurna South (23,814'), Annapurna I (26,545') and Annapurna III (24,787'), Gangapurna (24,458'), Fang (25,089'), and Machapuchare (22,958').

Itinerary:

Day 01-08 Kathmandu to Pokhara by scheduled flight or tourist bus. Meet Sherpa team and begin trek to Ghorapani. Early morning hike up Poon Hill for sunrise view over Dhaulagiri, the Annapurnas, and Machapuchare; continue towards Sanctuary.
Day 09-14 At Machapuchare Base Camp with day visit to Annapurna Base Camp. Return to Pokhara via Ghandrung.
Day 15 Pokhara to Kathmandu by scheduled flight or tourist bus.