Annapurna Circuit Trek – A Brief Overview

The Annapurna circuit is known to be one of the finest treks in the planet though road structure is jeopardizing its repute as a classic trek. Nevertheless, the scenery you found here is awe-inspiring: 17-21 days long, this hike takes trekkers through unique regional panorama of rivers, flora & fauna and above all mountains.

There’re 4 provinces that you will pass through during your Annapurna circuit trek: Manang, Lamjung, Myagdi, and Mustang. Myagdi and Lamjung of the lower altitude are both mainly Hindu and with lush-green subtropical gorges with villages & terraced farming.

Mustang and Manang are of the higher altitudes and are mainly Tibetan Buddhist. The Manang folks are Gurung and are extremely proud regarding their distinctive cultural legacy and amalgamation of low land Gurung & Tibetan cultural influences. Residents of Mustang recognize themselves a lot closer with Tibet. During an Upper Mustang trek you will came to see the age-old Bonpo religion in action.

The Annapurna circuit trek happens counter-clockwise from Besisahar-Nepal and reaches its peak in Thorung La at the elevation of 5416 meters. The trail goes through mountains like Langtang, Himal, Manaslu, Annapurna II, Annapurna III, Annapurna IV and obviously Annapurna I & Dhaulagiri – passing via the globe’s deepest valley in between those two 8,000-plus meter peaks.

The trek also takes you through Buddhist villages & Hindu sacred sites, most importantly the village of Muktinath, a sacred site for both Hindus and Buddhists, and Braga – the oldest monastery in this province.

The eastern part of the hike pursues the Marsyangdi River upstream, to its source close to the Manang village. To get there many days of uphill trekking are needed. Then the route goes over the pass, a grueling day of hiking, and back down the other side, where it meets up with the Kali Gandaki River. At the end of the trek, many options are accessible: following the river further to the road proper to Beni and catching a bus to Pokhara, or adding on a trek to the Annapurna Base Camp (ABC Trek), aka the Annapurna Sanctuary Trek.

Annapurna circuit is known as a “teahouse trek”, meaning there’re villages alongside lodges & restaurants to eat and stay throughout the trail. You’re expected to take breakfast & dinner in the same teahouse where you spent the night.

Trekking in Nepal is always fun and you always have the liberty to add different trekking route to your itinerary. The Annapurna Circuit trek is without any doubt deserves a mention whenever you planning a trekking adventure in Nepal.

Get Into A Whole Different World During Your Trek To Upper Mustang

The Upper Mustang trek brings tourists into the concealed sphere of the ancient Buddhist monarch of Mustang, also known as Lo. Lo happen to be a part of the Tibetan kingdom and is thus closely united to Tibet in language, geography and culture.

The provinces remoteness from the outer globe has contributed significantly to an exceedingly sustained Tibetan custom and undamaged nature. Mustang lies in the rain shadows of the Dhaulagiri rock developing a ruggedly dry land enclosed by rocks in all sorts of colors and striking formations. This desert land is speckled with settlements of barley fields, white-washed homes and chortens decorated with prayer flags that incorporate a dash of colors to the scenery. When it comes to trekking in Nepal you certainly can’t resist the lure of trekking the Upper Mustang. Let’s find out why?

The path pursues the old salt caravan trail via which the folks of Mustang traded Tibetan salt for grain from the valleys. The objective of the Upper Mustang trek is to see Lo Manthang – the capital of the Upper Mustang. From the pass Lo La (3950 m) you can see the walled medieval capital in the distance, the white-washed 6-meter tall wall sticking out in sharp contrast to the infertile landscape.

Getting into Lo Manthang via the town gate is like entering into a completely different world. A sphere of slender alley routes, concealed chortens, long walls of lovely prayer wheels & stocks of farming animals ambling in from the grazing area in the afternoon to delay to their sheds in the city.

The most suitable way to arrive at Upper Mustang is to take a flight from Pokhra to Jomsom and begin the hike from there. The flight will be adventurous while flying through the deepest valley in the globe, the Kali Gandaki, which runs amid the Dhaulagiri & the Nilgiri mountains.

Upper Mustang is a restricted area and up till 1992 it was forbidden for foreign visitors to enter the kingdom. Nowadays foreigners are welcome to Upper Mustang for a permit fee of US$ 500 (to be arranged through a trekking agency and valid for 10 days, each additional day costs US$ 50).

Nowadays lodging in the guesthouses is feasible along the entire trek. Trekking in Mustang is an excellent choice throughout the Monsoon season (June to August) as the province is in the rain shadow. Nevertheless, it’s best to incorporate a day or two on each side of your travel schedule for tour disturbances because of poor weather in the plains. You can also ask your tour operator to add Manaslu trek with Upper Mustang trek for more adventure.

Trekking in Nepal Allows to Experience Everest and Kanchenjunga Treks

Trekking to the Mount Everest region gives plenty of opportunities to travelers to gain enjoyment via unique trekking experience in Himalayan region that remains protected with the help of Sagarmatha National park in the eastern region of Nepal.

Everest Base Camp trek starts from the altitude of about 2845 meters and goes up to highest point of the earth and highest mountain peak of the world i.e. Mount Everest at 8848 meters. Being the rooftop of the world, Mount Everest or Sagarmatha has remained goddess mother worldwide and prime attraction for true nature lovers.

Everest trek heartland serves as a popular form of Trekking in Nepal and at the same time, an important part of the entire Himalayan mystique and provides few of the popular destinations for worldwide adventures.

Complete geography of the region covers alpine forests, rugged and rocky valleys, neat Sherpa areas, meadows, icefalls and glaciers. In addition, the trekking to the Sagarmatha region lets individuals to view famous monasteries and wild animals found in the region.

Main objective behind Everest Base Camp trek is to reach its base camp that situated at about 5346 meters. However, getting the excellent views of Mount Everest is difficult from its base camp. Hence, majority of trekkers choose to climb to reach Kalapattar at about 5545 meters on Pumori’s southern flank. At this point, travelers will be able to get close view of the rooftop and countless spectacular views of Himalayan Mountains.

After this, Kanchenjunga Base Camp trek lets travelers to experience big adventure in the dominating peak of Kanchenjunga that lets individuals to kick the respective adrenaline rush. Trekking trail to this mountain peak is somewhat different from every other trek whenever we go for comparing it with other ones present in the belt of Indian Himalayan region. Moreover, the Massifs of Kanchenjunga Mountains involve big crosses, which span the boundaries of three countries named Tibet, Nepal and Sikkim of India.

Lastly, trailers and trekkers may go for Upper Mustang trek, which would allow them to identify the hidden world comprise of old kingdom of Buddhism named Mustang or Lo. Upper Mustang is close to Tibet and easily accessible from Tibet, because of which it contained close relations with language, culture and geography of Tibet.

Main objective to accomplish this trek is to reach the capital of Upper Mustand and Lo Manthang. Therefore, by moving from the pass, you will be able to view medieval capital in walled pattern and other similar views of the Mustang region.