Nepal Part 2 - Annapurna Circuit

It didn’t take long of being in Kathmandu before I was ready to get out. The pollution and commotion of the city just doesn’t do it for me, take me to the mountains! I managed to get food poisoning on my second day there so my birthday was spent praying I wouldn’t poop my pants while spending 10 hours on a bus to Besi Sahar in the Annapurna region. We literally averaged 13 mph on this bus. The infrastructure of Nepal is so terrible, the main highway is still a (very shitty) dirt road. The poverty was very apparent while watching the scenery on this bus ride as well. Again, I feel so lucky to have been brought up in the US/Western world. The bus I was on was the locals bus, aka I was one of 4 tourists. They picked up and dropped off locals the whole way to our destination and packed people in like sardines. The whole journey cost around $6, and I now know why. It was certainly an experience, not one I need to have again - especially not when I have food poisoning. I befriended a German guy on the bus ride and we ended up walking 1.5 hours to the first village together as the sun set that first day because we both just needed to do some walking. The guide book I have says the Annapurna Circuit should take 16 days. Since I was already acclimatized from the Three Passes trek and we started at a very low elevation, my plan was to skip the suggested acclimatization days and do long hiking days. Unfortunately, the weather was not great and I rarely had good views of the mountain peaks. It wasn’t until day 5 that I saw a peak and by that point I wasn’t in a location where you could see all the big name ones. 

 Early section of the trail

Along the trail to Manang 

On the way up to Thorung La Pass 

Top of Thorung La Pass 

Top of Poon Hill

The first couple days were hot, again you start low in elevation. The scenery in these areas reminded me of the Pacific Northwest in the US. Overall, I was not impressed with the tea houses or the vibe of the areas along the trail, especially when comparing to the Everest region. Plus, there’s a dirt road that goes along the river that the trekking trail follows and it really takes away from the experience and ambiance of being in nature. I only had two days where I didn’t see the road or a car which was quite disappointing. The day before I was supposed to do the Thorung La Pass, it started snowing in the afternoon and hadn’t stopped by the time I went to bed so I was nervous for the next day - crossing passes after a big snowfall is not a good idea. For some reason I don’t understand, everyone was taking off at 4 or 4:30am that next morning. I found that stupid for many reasons, most of which was having to get up at an ungodly hour. I decided to leave at 6am, which worked out great because by then everyone else had walked through the snow enough to either make it melt or pack it down. Weather was yet again not on my side. It was 100% clouds and started lightly snowing when I got to the top of the pass. No amazing views for me this time :( Despite literally being the last person to leave in the morning, I’m pretty sure I was the first person to reach the first town on the other side of the pass (it took me 2:20 hours to get to the top of the pass from Thorung Phedi). The pass had snow the majority of the way, so some parts (especially going down) were slippery. And without the sun shining on me I think that day was the coldest I have been in Nepal while trekking. Given how early it was and the fact that I was annoyed with the weather, I ended up walking 30 miles that day, all the way to Marpha. The next day I grudgingly got on a bus and suffered through the bumps for two hours before getting off in Ghasa and then walking the rest of the way to Tatopani. I took the bus just to cut out some time walking along the road. The next day I gained 1800m to get up to Ghorepani. I was beat by the end of that trek. The next day I left early for Poon Hill, a very popular viewpoint spot for Annapurna South. Yet again, the weather failed me. So down, down, down I went, losing 1800m on thousands of stone steps. My knees hated me by the end of it but eventually I reached the end of the Annapurna Circuit in Naya Pul. 9.5 days in total. I shared a cab to Pokhara (the second biggest city of Nepal) with a German couple I randomly found on the main street in Naya Pul. They had done the Thorung La Pass the day before me and had beautiful weather. They showed me pictures, and the views were awesome, I’m bummed I missed it. 

Pokhara ended up being heaven compared to Kathmandu. It is hippie central. Lots of vegan and healthy food places, which was great. And it’s right on a lake which makes for very pretty scenery. I spent 4 days there, mainly just relaxing and organizing my next 2 months of travel. One morning I ran up to the town of Sarangkot and FINALLY I got views of the Annapurna peaks. It was an incredible sight. Overall, I was disappointed with the Annapurna region but I think the poor weather/lack of views and the presence of the road were the main reasons. Everest region was definitely better but with clear weather I think Annapurna region could have some good hikes if you can do it at a time of year that avoids the crowds. I don’t know that I would do the circuit though, maybe Annapurna base camp would be better. After another miserably long and bumpy bus ride back to Kathmandu, I’m on my way to the Middle East!

Annapurna Range from Sarangkot 

Pokhara and the lake from the trail to Sarangkot 

 Pokhara