After 5 long years since i accomplished Everest Base Camp EBC in 2019, i decided to return to Nepal to participate in the Annapurna Base Camp ABC Trek engaging Amigo trekking company again as i was very happy with their service in 2019.
Day 01/11th Apr: Arrival in Kathmandu
Day 02/12th Apr: Free day in Kathmandu
Day 03/13th Apr: Drive to Pokhara
Day 04/14th Apr: Drive to Hile (1430m/4691ft) 3.5h and trek to Ulleri (1960m/6430ft) 4h 3km
Day 05/15th Apr: Trek to Ghorepani (2860m/9383ft) 6h 7km
Day 06/16th Apr: Hike to Poon Hill (3193m/10,475ft) and trek to Tadapani (2630/8628ft) 6h 9km
Day 07/17th Apr: Trek to Sinuwa (2360m/7742ft) 8h 11km
Day 08/18th Apr: Trek to Deurali (3200m/10,498ft) 7h 10km
Day 09/19th Apr: Trek to Annapurna Base Camp (4130m/13,549ft) 7h 6km
Day 10/20th Apr: Trek to Bamboo (2310m/7578ft) 8h 13km
Day 11/21st Apr: Trek to Jhinu (1780m/5839ft) 6h 8km
Day 12/22nd Apr: Trek to Siwai (4h) 7km and drive to Pokhara (4h)
Day 13/23rd Apr: Explore day in Pokhara
The journey to Kathmandu seemed like circumnavigating the globe twice with a 20 hour travel time, leaving home by car on the Gold Coast at 330am and arriving at Kathmandu 20 hours later (Brisbane-Denpasar-Kuala Lumpur-Kathmandu).
As usual i chose the cheapest airline which happened to be Batik Air which came in just under $600 including 20kg check in luggage and extra legroom seats. The stopover in Bali was a transit stop where ongoing passangers did not leave the aircraft, only new passangers got onboard and we were on our way an hour later.
Kathmandu airport has undergone huge renovations in the last 5 years with the implementation of a QR code system for on the spot visa applications instead of using the handful of outdated ATM looking machines, everyone has a phone these days. After generating the Visa On Arrival with my phone i was able to pay the visa fee at the immigration counter and obtain the passport sticker. The Visa fee was still $50USD for 30 days and i was able to pay this by card as i had zero US currency.
At the time of writing the exchange rate was 85Nr to $1AUD
While i was walking out of the airport i spotted a Nepal Telecom Mobile kiosk so i purchased the 1.5Gb/day for 30 days package including local calls, this cost 1200Nr ($15AUD). The whole process took 5 minutes and was activated within that time, i still could never remember the number to give hotels lol. There are basically 2 mobile carriers in Nepal, Ncell and NTC, both offer similar value for money and coverage. I did read on other websites NTC seemed to work better in the Annapurna region but mine didnt work for the final two days enroute to ABC.
After being picked up from the airport i was driven to the tourist district of Thamel once again staying at the Aspara Boutique Hotel, this took about 30 minutes. The rooms are large and comfortable with included breakfasts, walking distance to all the action thamel offers, bars, restaurants and supermarkets.
The nightlife is off the chain with many upmarket clubs and bars, a beer costs about $8AUD for a 500ml can or 600ml bottle. The stores and mini marts sell them for half of that $4AUD for me the Tight Arsed Traveller, Beer of choice was either Tuborg or Ghorka at around 5% alcohol.
Because I did the Kathmandu city tour previously in 2019 i opted to do my own activities so on the next day i was picked up from my hotel and driven out to the Chandragiri Hills Cable car theme park. This was about an hours drive and cost me $100AUD including park entrance and the car and driver waiting 4 hours for me to finish my experience.
I also walked the 1.6km to the Nepal Skywalk Glass Foored tower and paid the 1000Nr to go up to the viewing platform, its well worth going at opening time 10am to avoid any crowds. I had the whole experience to myself and took the opportunity to create an insta 360 video, and on my way out opted to buy a coffee and cheesecake in the restaurant 1 floor lower. Check the cafe prices, 2 coffees and a cheesecake were about 8 bucks with that amazing view all to myself.
I managed to fly my drone from a few blocks away to avoid all the curious Karens to capture some amazing footage, i basically had to hide in the rear of a gravel carpark.
Last but not least i took a self guided tour of Durbar Square and paid 1000Nr for this also, its worth noting that you can walk down a different street to avoid the ticket booths, but i decided that im not that much of a tightarse to not pay a struggling city for its tourism offerings. As usual plenty of touts trying to basically sell you their firstborn or an internal organ, a pair of sunglasses avoids all eye contact and just keep walking. Millions of pidgeons and some amazing golden hour photograpy is on offer here, with the unique nepalese architecture and vibe.
Kathamandu is a foodie paradise with sensational tasty and nutritious snacks and meals cooked to perfection, my favourite was the falaffel schwarma kebab type of roll for 300Nr closely followed by the woodfired pizza place. Both of these food outlets are immediately across the alley way from Pumpernikel Bakery.
After being the typical beer swilling tourist roaming the streets, it was time to catch the bus for the challenging 10 hour bus ride the 200km west towards Pokhara. The reason it takes so long is the road is being upgraded the entire length including a vehicular tunnel to cut this time down to about 4 hours.
After arriving in Pokhara bus terminal and being driven to the Pokhara Batika Classic Hotel it was time for a cold beer and a few laughs, and to get some blood circulation through my arse cheeks again.
Pokhara is the city of lakes, and the second-largest city of Nepal with its population of 500000 after Kathmandu. All the restaurants are along the Phewa lake area that has a concrete pathway along the watefront, capturing the amazing sunsets, as well as strategically well placed bars.
After breakfast the next day we drove 52km in 2.5 hours out to Hile to start the 7 day journey to ABC. This road is basically one giant pothole and really uncomfortable.
All tea houses along the way that we went offered paid hot showers and wifi along with 240V charging facilities EXCEPT the final destination ABC. Prices were roughly WIFI 300Nr, Hot Shower 250Nr and Phone charging 100Nr, however most of our rooms had mains power outlets to charge devices etc free, maybe they were a recent addition to the rooms. I got excited to EASE into the trek as its only 3 km however as i quickly discovered its 3500 steps in 4 hours, my legs were like jelly by the afternoon.
Day 1 Hile to Ulleri 4 hours 3km
From here on in this blog is just a collage of GoPro videos of each day, showcasing the beauty of the area and the incredible resilliance of the Nepalese people who live and work in the area. These locals deliver everything either by human or horse trasport, from gas bottles to household appliances. My room at Ulleri had an ensuite, the first time i experienced this trekking in Nepal.
Day 2 Ulleri to Ghorepani 6 hours 7km
Day 3 Ghorepani to Tadapani 6 hours 9km
Day 4 Tadapani to Sinuwa 6 hours 9km
Day 5 Sinuwa to Himilaya 8 hours 11km
Day 6 Himilaya to Machhapuchre Base Camp 8 hours 7 km
Day 7 Machhapuchre Base Camp to Annapurna base Camp 3 hours 2.5km
We arrived at ABC around 11am after walking only a few hours from Machhapuchhre Base Camp, through a few more glaciers. Its worth mentioning i carried my drone all that way and i had to obtain permission from the hotel manager to fly it around ABC for a unique souvenir.
Annapurna Base Camp as can be seen by the above drone video is a group of 5 hotels and not just a bunch of flags and rocks like Everest base Camp is, so once you arrive you dont need to trek anywhere else that day. This final destination does not have any heating in the common areas nor hot showers, but wifi is available, so baby wipe shower is the best you can hope for.
Once i arrived here i made arrangements to fly back to Pokhara with a helicopter and paid $415USD for the 15 minute flight back as i had enough of the millions of stairs and afternoon rains. if you decide to also fly back you need to ask your tour operator or the hotel manager can facilitate this with the other hotels and customers to fill the 5 spots available on each chopper. One next to the pilot and 4 in the rear seat, the views are through dull plastic and not very clear so i put my selfie stick and gopro out the window.
Once i got back to Pokhara i threw out all my damaged waterlogged clothing and had my first beer in over a week, along with wood fired pizzas. I opted to stay in Pokhara another 3 days while i waited for the rest of the trekking crew to also arrive in Pokhara, so i wandered around the lakefront scouting coffee in the morning and beer plus pizza in the evenings.
After all the relaxing we had to return on the horrible 10 hour bus trip back.. did i mention to not bother with the bus at the start of this page ? lol Just spen an extra $100 and fly back and forth and save basically 2 days to do more fun stuff at either end.
If you decide to choose a trekking company who organise everything then allow about 1000 Rupees a day minimum extra for incidentals, as there are no ATM facilities on the trek. If you do your own tour without a trekking company then i can suggest you allow a minimum of 5000 Rupees a day for meals and acommodation and incidentals . Plus you will need to pay your guide around $50USD/Day, Porter $25USD/day and a tip at the end of another $50USD for each of them at the end.
That concludes my Annapurna esperience, it is possible to do this yourself without a trekking company, just hire a guide or two and they may be able to organise your permits too.
