Annapurna Base Camp - 9 Days

The road out of Kathmandu climbs through the city's western edge before dropping into the green corridor of the Prithvi Highway, a 200-kilometre ribbon of tarmac that follows the Trisuli River gorge through some of Nepal's most dramatic middle-hill scenery. Your driver will make stops at local roadside restaurants where the dal bhat is fresh and the chai is sweet, and you'll watch the landscape shift from the red-brick sprawl of the Kathmandu Valley to the terraced rice paddies and banana groves of the subtropical lowlands. By the time the highway rounds its final bend and the turquoise water of Fewa Lake appears below, framed by the white wall of the Annapurna range, you'll understand why so many trekkers say this drive is a highlight in itself.

The journey takes approximately seven to eight hours depending on traffic and road conditions. Budget trekkers travel by local tourist bus, a comfortable and well-used service that runs daily. Standard trekkers ride in a private tourist vehicle with more legroom and air conditioning. Luxury trekkers get a premium private vehicle for the entire drive. Whichever tier you choose, the scenery is the same, and it is spectacular.

Pokhara sits at 820 metres on the shore of Fewa Lake, with the Annapurna massif rising directly to the north. It is Nepal's adventure capital, home to paragliding, kayaking, and some of the country's best lakeside restaurants. Your evening is free, and we recommend walking the Lakeside strip, watching the sunset paint Machhapuchhre gold from the water's edge, or simply sitting on a rooftop with a coffee and letting the mountain view sink in. Your hotel is in the heart of Lakeside, within walking distance of everything. Breakfast is included at your hotel across all tiers. Other meals in Pokhara are at your own expense, giving you the freedom to explore the city's food scene at your own pace. If you'd like recommendations, your guide knows every kitchen worth visiting.

Note on meals in Pokhara: Across all three tiers, only breakfast is included at your Pokhara hotel. Lunch and dinner are at your own choice and cost, both tonight and on any other evenings spent in Pokhara. This is intentional: Pokhara has dozens of excellent restaurants ranging from Nepali thali sets to wood-fired pizza, and we want you to enjoy whatever catches your eye rather than being locked into a group dinner. See our full guide to food on Nepal treks for what to expect once you're on the trail.

View the full Annapurna Base Camp Trek route on Google Maps

The morning drive from Pokhara to Nayapul takes about ninety minutes, winding through green foothills past Tibetan refugee settlements and roadside chai stalls. At Nayapul, you step out of the vehicle and onto the trail. The transition is instant: one moment you're in a dusty market town, the next you're walking along a stone path through terraced fields with the sound of the Modi Khola river echoing from the valley below. From Nayapul, a short jeep ride takes you up to Kimche, saving roughly ninety minutes of road walking without missing any of the good scenery.

From Kimche, the trail climbs steadily through farmland and scattered Gurung homesteads. The path is well-maintained stone steps for much of the way, wide enough for two people to walk side by side. Mule trains pass occasionally, their bells jangling as they carry supplies to the villages above. Rhododendron trees line the upper sections, and in spring (March to May) they burst into crimson and pink blooms that turn entire hillsides into a natural garden.

Ghandruk is one of the most beautiful villages in the Annapurna region. Stone houses with slate roofs sit on a wide shelf overlooking the Modi Khola valley, with Machhapuchhre (Fishtail) and Annapurna South filling the northern skyline. The village is the cultural heart of the Gurung people, and you'll see their traditions everywhere: in the carved wooden doorways, the prayer flags strung between houses, the small museum documenting Gurung life, and the elderly women spinning wool on their porches. Your teahouse sits on the village's upper edge with uninterrupted mountain views from the dining room.

This is a gentle first day of trekking, roughly three to four hours of walking with moderate elevation gain. It is designed to ease your body into the rhythm of trail life before the bigger days ahead. Your guide will point out the route to Annapurna Base Camp visible on the far side of the valley, a thin line scratched into the mountainside that you will be walking in three days' time.

You leave Ghandruk on a stone path that descends steeply through terraced fields to the Kimrong Khola, a tributary of the Modi Khola that runs cold and fast from the glaciers above. The suspension bridge across it sways gently underfoot, and on the far side the trail begins its long climb toward Chomrong. This is the day you'll feel the trek in your legs for the first time. The ascent is relentless in places, gaining and losing hundreds of metres through forested ridges and small settlements where children wave from doorways and farmers tend their terraces with hand tools that haven't changed in centuries.

The trail passes through patches of dense rhododendron forest where sunlight filters through the canopy in shafts of green and gold. Birdlife is abundant: you may spot Himalayan monals with their iridescent plumage, laughingthrushes calling from the undergrowth, or eagles circling on thermals high above the valley. The Annapurna Conservation Area protects this entire corridor, and the effect is visible. The forests are thick, the water is clean, and the wildlife has not learned to fear humans.

Chomrong sits at 2,170 metres on a steep hillside overlooking the entrance to the Annapurna Sanctuary. It is the last major village before the trail enters the Modi Khola gorge, and the last place with reliable WiFi, hot showers, and phone charging. The teahouses here are some of the best on the trail, with proper beds, attached bathrooms at higher tiers, and dining rooms that serve everything from momos and dal bhat to apple pie. Stock up on snacks and charge your devices tonight. Above Chomrong, facilities become simpler and the mountains become bigger.

From Chomrong's terrace, you can see directly into the Annapurna Sanctuary. Annapurna South dominates the left, Hiunchuli guards the right, and the gap between them is the gateway you'll walk through tomorrow. It is one of the most dramatic views on the entire trek, made better by the knowledge that you are about to enter it on foot. Your guide will brief you on acclimatisation protocols for the days ahead.

Today you enter the Annapurna Sanctuary. The day begins with the infamous Chomrong staircase: roughly 2,500 stone steps that descend steeply into the Modi Khola gorge before climbing back up the other side. It is the most physically demanding section of the entire trek, and it comes early in the morning when your legs are still cold. Take it slowly. Rest at the bottom where a small suspension bridge crosses the river, drink some water, and remind yourself that everyone who reaches Annapurna Base Camp has climbed these same steps.

Once past the staircase, the trail enters a world that feels entirely different from the Gurung villages below. Bamboo forests close in around the path, their stalks creaking in the wind. The air is cooler and damper, and the light takes on a green underwater quality. You pass through the tiny settlement of Sinuwa, then descend again to the river before climbing to Bamboo (2,310m), a cluster of teahouses in a clearing surrounded by towering bamboo and rhododendron. From Bamboo, the trail follows the river gorge upward through increasingly alpine terrain. The bamboo gives way to scrubby birch and juniper, the valley narrows, and waterfalls tumble from cliffs on both sides.

You'll stop for lunch at Himalaya Hotel (2,890m), a lonely settlement perched on a ledge above the river. The food is simple but filling: dal bhat, noodle soup, chapati with vegetables. From here, the trail climbs more steeply through open grassland dotted with boulders and crossed by small streams. The altitude is starting to make itself felt now, and your guide will remind you to drink water regularly and walk at a steady pace.

Deurali sits at 3,174 metres on a flat shelf above the river, with views up into the narrowing sanctuary ahead. The teahouse here is basic but warm, and the staff know exactly what tired trekkers need: hot water, a filling dinner, and a thick blanket. Your guide will check your oxygen levels with the pulse oximeter tonight and brief you on tomorrow's plan. You are now above the tree line, and the air is noticeably thinner. Altitude awareness matters from this point forward. Drink at least three litres of water today, avoid alcohol, and report any headache or nausea to your guide immediately.

This is the day you've been walking toward. You leave Deurali early, before the sun has reached the valley floor, and follow the Modi Khola upstream through a landscape of glacial moraine and scattered boulders. The trail is exposed and the air is cold, but the views ahead are already extraordinary. Machhapuchhre's south face grows larger with every step, its twin summit catching the first pink light of dawn while the valley below remains in shadow.

Machhapuchhre Base Camp (MBC) sits at 3,720 metres on a broad plateau with views in every direction. Despite the name, MBC is not actually at the base of Machhapuchhre. It is a resting point on the trail, named for the mountain that dominates the skyline to the east. You'll stop here for tea and perhaps a second breakfast, sitting on a bench outside the teahouse while your guide points out the peaks: Machhapuchhre (6,993m), Annapurna III (7,555m), Gangapurna (7,455m), and the ridge of Annapurna South that walls off the western sky.

From MBC, the trail crosses a broad glacial valley floor strewn with rocks deposited by ancient ice flows. The walking is relatively flat but the altitude makes every step feel heavier than it should. You're above 3,700 metres now, and the oxygen content of the air is roughly 60% of what it is at sea level. Walk slowly. Breathe deeply. Stop whenever you need to. There is no rush. Annapurna Base Camp is less than two hours ahead.

And then you arrive. The trail rounds a final moraine ridge and the Annapurna Sanctuary opens up in front of you like a natural amphitheatre. Annapurna I (8,091m), the tenth highest mountain on earth, fills the northern horizon. Annapurna South closes the west. Hiunchuli, Tent Peak, and Machhapuchhre complete the circle. You are standing inside a ring of ice at 4,130 metres, in a place the Gurung people have considered sacred for centuries. The silence is vast. Your guide will help you find the best spot for photographs, and you'll have the afternoon to explore the moraine ridges, visit the memorial plaques for climbers who didn't come home, and simply sit with the view. Sunset at ABC, when the peaks turn from white to gold to pink to purple, is one of the most moving experiences in all of Himalayan trekking.

Wake early for sunrise. If the sky is clear, and at this altitude it usually is, the first light hits the summit of Annapurna I while the base camp is still in cold blue shadow. The entire amphitheatre turns gold from the top down, peak by peak, as the sun climbs higher. It lasts perhaps twenty minutes, and it is the kind of morning that stays with you for years.

After breakfast, you begin the long descent. The return from Annapurna Base Camp retraces the same trail through MBC and Deurali, but the perspective is entirely different going downhill. You're facing south now, looking out of the Sanctuary toward the green hills and river valleys below, and the sense of emerging from the mountains is dramatic. The air thickens, the temperature rises, and the vegetation returns in layers: first scrubby grass, then juniper, then birch, then the tall bamboo forests that give your destination its name.

The descent is harder on the body than the ascent in some ways. Downhill walking puts pressure on the knees, ankles, and toes, and the stone steps that were difficult to climb are even more difficult to descend safely when wet. Trekking poles are strongly recommended. Your guide will set a pace that protects your joints while maintaining good progress. You'll stop for lunch at Himalaya Hotel or Deurali, where the dal bhat tastes even better than it did two days ago now that you're burning through altitude-earned appetite.

Bamboo sits at 2,310 metres in a narrow clearing surrounded by the dense bamboo groves that line the Modi Khola gorge. The teahouse is simple but welcoming, and the atmosphere among trekkers is celebratory. Everyone at Bamboo today has just come from Base Camp, and the dining room conversation is full of shared summit stories, photograph comparisons, and plans for what comes next. You've dropped almost 1,800 metres today, and your body will thank you for the thicker air and warmer temperature tonight.

The trail from Bamboo descends through forests that feel almost tropical after the stark moraine of the upper Sanctuary. Rhododendron, oak, and bamboo canopy the path, and the sound of running water is constant. The Modi Khola is a proper river now, wide and fast, and you'll cross it on suspension bridges that bounce gently with each step. This is some of the most pleasant walking on the entire trek: downhill, shaded, with the relief of knowing the hard altitude days are behind you.

Rather than returning via Chomrong and the brutal staircase you descended on Day 4, the trail takes a different line through the forest, branching off before the Chomrong climb and following a quieter path that contours along the hillside to Jhinu Danda. This alternative route avoids the steepest sections and gives you a completely new perspective on the valley you've been trekking through.

Jhinu Danda is famous for one thing: its natural hot springs. A ten-minute walk below the village, beside the river, stone-lined pools fed by geothermal springs sit beneath a canopy of subtropical trees. The water is hot enough to loosen every muscle you've been using for the past week, and the setting, with the river rushing past and the forest rising on both sides, is one of those perfect Nepal moments that photographs can't quite capture. Standard and Luxury trekkers have entrance included. Budget trekkers pay a small fee at the gate (around 100 rupees). Bring a swimsuit and a towel.

Your teahouse in Jhinu Danda sits on a ridge above the springs with views down the valley. The evening feels like a celebration. The trek's hard days are done, the hot water has unknotted your calves and shoulders, and tomorrow is your final morning on the trail. If you've been waiting for the right moment to buy your guide and porter a round of Nepali tea and say thank you, tonight is it. See our guide on tipping your guide and porter for what's appropriate.

Your final morning on the trail begins with a steady descent from Jhinu Danda through terraced hillsides where farmers are already at work in the early light. The path follows the river valley downward, passing through small settlements where slate-roofed houses sit among orange and lemon trees. Children in school uniforms walk the same trail in the opposite direction, heading uphill to classrooms that seem impossibly remote by Western standards. These are the communities that the Annapurna Conservation Area project supports, and their presence on the trail is a quiet reminder that these mountains are not wilderness. They are home.

The trail reaches Nayapul after approximately three to four hours of walking, where your vehicle is waiting for the ninety-minute drive back to Pokhara. The transition from trail to road feels abrupt: one moment you're walking on stone steps, the next you're in a car watching the hills recede through the window. Most trekkers feel a mix of relief and loss. Your feet are grateful. Your heart wants one more day.

Back in Pokhara, the rest of the day is yours. You might visit Sarangkot for a sunset view over the lake and mountains, browse the shops along Lakeside, or simply collapse into a comfortable bed and sleep the deepest sleep of your trip. Many trekkers book a paragliding flight over Fewa Lake on this free afternoon, combining the mountain panorama with a rush of adrenaline.

Breakfast is included at your Pokhara hotel. Lunch and dinner are at your own choice and expense, giving you freedom to explore Pokhara's excellent restaurant scene. Your guide can recommend lakeside cafes, authentic Nepali restaurants, or quiet spots to sit with a coffee and process what you've just experienced.

After breakfast at your Pokhara hotel, you'll start the seven to eight hour drive back to Kathmandu along the Prithvi Highway. The route follows the same road you drove on Day 1, but the experience feels completely different now. You've spent a week walking through the mountains that you're now watching from a car window, and the scale of what you've accomplished is easier to see from down here: the white peaks stretching across the northern horizon, the deep valleys you trekked through, the impossible steepness of the terrain you climbed on foot.

The drive includes rest stops at riverside restaurants where you can stretch your legs and have lunch (at your own expense). Your driver knows the best spots for views and the best spots for food, and the journey passes faster than you expect when the scenery is this good.

Back in Kathmandu, you'll have time to freshen up before the farewell dinner with your guide and the team. This is where Shreejan or your guide will present you with your achievement certificate and company T-shirt, and where you'll swap contact details with the people who have been walking beside you for the past nine days. The conversation is always good at farewell dinners: everyone has stories, everyone has a favourite moment, and everyone is already thinking about which trek to do next.

If you're flying out tomorrow, we'll arrange your airport transfer. If you have time in Kathmandu, your guide can recommend temples, markets, and cultural sites worth visiting. Many trekkers extend their trip with a Dhulikhel Namobuddha day hike, a visit to Bhaktapur, or a flight to Chitwan National Park for a wildlife safari. Whatever comes next, the Annapurna Sanctuary will stay with you. The ring of ice, the silence, the sunrise. You walked into it. You can always walk back.

Interactive Route Map

Explore the full trek route on our interactive Google Map. Click markers for altitude details at each stop.

Open Full Route Map in Google Maps