Trekking Routes: The Annapurna Circuit

Days 7-21

Day 7: Chame to Pisang Chame to Bhratang: 2 1/2 & hours; Bhratang to Pisang: 2 1/2 & hours. Elevation Gain: 1,550 ft. (472m). After crossing the river in Chame, the trail leads through an older section of the village and then traverses cultivated fields and apple orchards past a few houses and a lodge. The far side of the valley becomes a very steep wall as you hike through forests toward Bhratang (9,575 ft.; 2,918m). The old village of Bhratang, which is on the south bank of the river, was, until the 1970s, populated by Tibetan Khampas (an ethnic group renowned as warriors). New Bhratang consists mostly of a collection of lodges at the foot of a sheer cliff. Just beyond these lodges, the trail is blasted out of a vertical rock wall with the river several hundred feet below a challenging bit of trail if you suffer from vertigo. After this vertiginous section, the trail climbs through a rocky, and often icy, forest to a bridge over the Marsyangdi. As you approach this bridge, you begin to see, above you on your right, the awesome rock slope of the Paungda Danda, which rises nearly 5,000 feet (1,524m) and curves from south to west. High on this rock face, you can even see a tiny shrine. This marks the beginning of the glaciated reaches of the Marsyangdi Valley. Continue climbing through the quiet forest until the trail crests a hill and descends slightly into a wide valley with meadows scattered among the trees. Ahead of you, on a brown hillside on the opposite side of the river, you see the stone houses and prayer flags of upper Pisang (10,800 ft.; 3,292m) and soon reach lower Pisang (10,450 ft.; 3,185m), on this side of the river. Lower Pisang is surrounded by barren, rocky hills and has a long wall of prayer wheels as you enter the village. The people of the Manang region (known as Manangis) are closely related to the Tibetans, with whom they share a similar architectural style. The homes are all tiny stone fortresses with flat roofs for storing fodder and for sunning on in the cold winter months. A trip up the steep slope to upper Pisang affords a glimpse of a fascinating Manangi mountain village. The lodges in lower Pisang are better than those in upper Pisang, so there is no reason to make the steep climb up the hill with your backpack on. If you cross the bridge in Pisang and follow the stream that leads upstream, you will reach, in about 20 minutes, an unbelievably beautiful mountain lake. The waters of the lake are turquoise and reflect Annapurna II. Don't miss this little excursion. Day 8: Pisang to Manang Pisang to Hongde: 2 hours; Hongde to Manang: 2 hours. Elevation Gain: 1,150 ft. (351m). Keeping to the south bank of the Marsyangdi River, cross a tributary stream as you leave lower Pisang. Pass a mani wall and several small chortens, and then enter the forest again. The trail climbs steeply to the top of a ridge bedecked with many prayer flags. From this ridge a rugged panorama spreads before you with Tilicho Peak (23,400 ft.; 7,132m) at the far end of the valley. This is the Manang Valley, and directly below you is the Manang airstrip, which is served by Royal Nepal Airlines. There are flights 5 days a week. Airfare is $50 each way. The trail descends to the flat valley, passing the airstrip and a few lodges at Hongde (10,800 ft.; 3,292m). There is also a police checkpoint here. Beyond the airstrip, at a wide valley opening up to the south, there is a mountaineering school. The landscape here is very barren, with rocky, brown mountains rising all around. In the monsoon months, however, the valley is green with barley fields. Cross the Marsyangdi to the tiny village of Mungji (11,425 ft.; 3,482m). Ahead of you on the right, you can see, on an eroded brown hillside, the village of Braga (11,500 ft.; 3,505m). The homes of this village are built one on top of the other, with the roof of one serving as the front yard of the one above. Steep paths wind up through the village to a large old gompa, and above the gompa are the eroded rocky pinnacles that line both sides of the windswept Manang Valley. There are several good lodges in Braga, including the Hotel Buddha, making this a pleasant alternative to staying in Manang. Just past Braga there are several chortens and a prayer wall with many carved slates depicting various Buddhist deities. Crossing a barren and rocky stretch, you come to a small stream, where there are small water-driven flour mills. Cross the stream and climb the hill trail to enter Manang (11,600 ft.; 3,536m). The Hotel Yak and the Annapurna Lodge are two of the better choices in Manang. An alternative route from Pisang to Manang stays on the north bank of the Marsyangdi, passes the beautiful lake mentioned above, and climbs to the two fascinating little villages of Ghyaru and Ngawal. Not only are these two villages among the most interesting in the valley, but the view to the south just can't be beat. Day 9: Acclimatization Day in Manang Because of the elevation that you will gain in the next 2 days, it is necessary to spend at least 1 full day acclimatizing in Manang. The best way to do this is to hike to a higher elevation and then return to Manang on the same day. Though the view across the valley to the Annapurna Himal is spectacular, you can get an even better view by hiking up the ridge to the north of Manang. From this ridge, you can see (from east to west) Annapurna II (26,035 ft.; 7,935m), Annapurna IV (24,685 ft.; 7,524m), Annapurna III (24,787 ft.; 7,555m), Gangapurna (24,450 ft.; 7,452m), and Tilicho Peak (23,400 ft.; 7,132m). From this point you should also be able to walk back down the valley to a large red gompa on a ridge between Manang and Braga. You probably saw this building as you walked up the valley from Braga on the previous day. Another good day hike would be to continue up the main trail to Tengi (12,000 ft.; 3,658m), the last permanent village before the ascent of Thorong La. Manang itself is a fascinating place to explore. Perched on the edge of a high ridge overlooking a glacial lake and the Gangapurna icefall, the village is a maze of narrow alleyways, some of which actually go under houses. Each home is a multilevel compound with a stable on the first floor, living quarters on the second floor, and storage on the roof or the third floor. The villagers are primarily farmers and goat herders. Each afternoon the children herd the goats back into the village, and the tinkling of bells and bleating of goats fill the air. There is a small gompa toward the west end of the village. It's usually locked, but you should be able to see the murals on the exterior walls of the gompa's porch. In Manang you will also find the Trekkers' Aid Post of the Himalayan Rescue Asso-ciation. If you have any questions about altitude sickness or should you begin suffering from it as you climb higher, you can get information and help from the doctors here. Day 10: Manang to Yak Kharka Manang to Yak Karka: 3 hours. Elevation Gain: 1,940 ft. (582m). From Manang, the trail climbs through Tengi (12,000 feet; 3,660 meters), beyond which there are only summer villages used by herders who bring their flocks up to the high pastures. Above Tengi, the trail leaves the valley of the Marsyangdi and turns northwest up the Jarsang Khola. In the village of Gunsang (12,890 feet; 3,900 meters) there are several lodges. After Gunsang, the next lodges are at Yak Kharka (13,540 feet; 4,100 meters), a spot that was formerly nothing more than a yak pasture. Day 11: Yak Kharka to Letdar Yak Kharka to Lattar: 1 1/4 hours. Elevation Gain: 235 ft. (71m). From Yak Kharka, the trail climbs steadily to a wide alluvial plain at Letdar (13,775 feet; 4,200 meters), where there are several simple lodges. Although this seems like a very short day, remember the Elevation Gain. Day 12: Letdar to Thorong Phedi Lattar to Phedi: 2 1/2 hours. Phedi to Phedi High Camp: 1 1/4 hours. Elevation Gain: 690 ft. (207m). From Lattar, climb a ridge and then descend and cross the Jarsang Khola. The trail then climbs on the west bank of the river before crossing back to the east bank. The trail then climbs to the flat area called Thorong Phedi (14,465 feet; 4,410 meters). This is the last inhabited outpost before crossing over the Thorong La, and the two lodges here are often very crowded. However, the accommodations are relatively luxurious. Rooms with private bathrooms are available, and the menu includes fresh pasta. There's even a satellite phone (and you can pay for calls with a Mastercard or Visa). From Phedi, which translates as "Foot of the Hill," it is a long steady climb to Thorong La. If you are fully acclimatized and want to your day going over the pass, you can climb a bit higher to the more primitive lodge at Phedi High Camp. Day 13: Thorong Phedi to Muktinath Phedi to Thorong La: 4 hours; Thorong La to Chabarbu: 3 hours; Chabarbu to Muktinath: 1 hour. Elevation Gain: 3,299 ft. (1,006m). Elevation Loss: 5,289 ft. (1,612m). Do not attempt to continue over Thorong La if the weather is bad. It is very easy to lose the trail in snow. This will be a long day, and fresh, unbroken snow can make it impossible to reach Muktinath before nightfall. Even when there isn't any snow, the strong winds blowing over the pass make every footstep difficult. After Phedi, the trail immediately begins switchbacking up a steep hill. For the next several hours, the trail climbs and descends several moraines and hills before beginning a steady but gradual climb up to the pass. The many false passes will make you think the true pass is never going to appear. Thorong La (17,764 ft.; 5,414m) is marked by a chorten, several cairns, and prayer flags. The descent of more than 5,000 feet (1,524m) is gradual at first, but after about an hour, it becomes steeper and crosses a scree slope and a steep cliff. Be very careful through this section if there is snow on the ground. Below this steep section is the lone stone lodge at Chabarbu (13,450 ft.; 4,100m). As you descend, you can see Dhaulagiri (26,790 ft.; 8,166m) to the southwest down the Kali Gandaki Valley. From Chabarbu to Muktinath, the descent is much more gradual. Crossing two streams near Chabarbu, you descend gradually across grassy slopes to Muktinath (12,475 ft.; 3,802m). In Ranipowa, just below Muktinath, there are numerous lodges and a police checkpoint. Try the Hotel Muktinath, the Himalaya Hotel, or the North Pole Lodge. Jharkot, another hour down the trail, is actually a much more pleasant place to stop for the night, but most people are so beat and so glad to be over Thorong La that they're content with Ranipauwa. Days 14-21: Muktinath to Pokhara Because Muktinath is the uppermost destination of the Jomosom trek, the route onward from here, including a description of Muktinath itself, is covered in "The Jomosom Trek" section, below. Trekking from Muktinath down the Kali Gandaki to Pokhara takes 6 to 8 days, depending on which route you follow. Because you will be descending for most of the trip, your trekking times will probably be shorter than those listed for the uphill journey.

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