Annapurna Circuit Part 1 - From Besishahar to Manang

---

I did the Annapruna circuit in just over 3 weeks. I took my time and did a few side treks as well. So it wouldn't be too long and tedious I broke it up in 3 posts:

1.- Besishahar - Manang.

2.- Manang - Thorong La (including Tilicho Lake).

3.- Muktinath - Pokhara.



I wrote about the trek on a daily basis, including some general information, but also personal experiences.

At the end of the third post I wrote general information that I thought would be useful; questions I myself had at the beginning of the trek and the same questions I was asked after completing the circuit by other people. If you don't want to read the 3 posts, but are in the same situation I was before doing this, then I suggest you skip to the end of the third post.



Day 1

Woke up early in the morning at 5am in the hostel in Kathmandu, had a quick breakfast and got picked up by a taxi from the guesthouse.

I left the hostel with with Sylvie and Dean, an American girl and an English guy I met in the hostel. It cost us 700 RS to get to the "bus terminal". The terminal was just a street with markets and stands and people holding signs by the side of the street, indicating different destinations.

Fortunately, the taxi driver that took us there worked for the hostel we stayed at. He helped us to find the right bus (which are vans filled mostly with locals). It's impressive the amount of people they can fit into them, even using wicker made seats to fill gaps and accommodate a few more people in.

After several stops (toilet breaks, local restaurants, etc.), we made it to the gateway of the Annapurna Circuit: Besishahar. We got off the bus, not really knowing what to do next, so we decided to get something to eat. I had a Nepalese soup ("Thukpa") which was pretty good.



People in the town kept asking us whether we wanted to take a bus to Sanje or even Chame (places along the circuit that can be reached by bus or jeep). But we opted to just start walking from Besishahar and have the 2 extra days of trekking. The first checkpoint of the circuit is also in that town (they ask for either the TIMS or Annapurna Circuit pass along the way in these checkpoints).

I bought a map which was quite good (it had mistakes printed, but it worked fine). Map NA503 by Himalayan Map House. It included a pre-planned itinerary that was good to have as base and gave the approximate times of walking times between villages.



We followed the dirt road that goes beside a big river ("Marsyangdi") that can be followed all the way up to Tilicho Lake. Dean and Sylvie were going much slower than I so I just went further ahead. At one point I stopped to wait for them, but after about a 1/2 hour I just kept on going.

When I got to a place called Khudi, I saw a lot of children going home from school and a lot of them greeted me. A while later I had an entourage of about 10 kids following and trying to mimic my walking style.

At the end of the town I ran into a guy that we had met at the checkpoint in Besishahar and we trekked together until the next village. He was a Belgian named Filip and it was his 4th time in Nepal. He had done the Annapurna Circuit 12 years before and this time he was combining it with a few days of solo camping in the Chulu base camp and doing the route from Tilicho Lake to Jomsom.

The next village was Bhule Bhule, with another checkpoint office. By then it was already about 5pm, so we stayed there and called it a day. I left a note in that office for Dean and Sylvie, telling them where I was staying.

We stayed at the "Heaven Guesthouse" ran by a very friendly and cheerful Nepalese woman. There was a good hot shower and basic, but decent rooms.

While Filip and I were having dinner, Sylvie and Dean arrived - they had gotten my message. We all stayed conversing until about 11pm and then off to sleep.

Along the trek, you gradually get accustomed to Nepalese schedules: if you sleep past 8am it seems you definitely overslept and past 9pm is definitely past your bedtime.



Day 2

The next morning, we left "late" at 9:30, after a good breakfast and the sun was already us hitting pretty hard.

I stayed with Dean and Sylvie for the first 1 1/2 hour, but then pressed on and left them behind. From time to time I turned back in long stretches of road and saw them, but they were too far behind.

The next village was Bahundanda. It's a good long uphill winding trail to get up there, so a rest was welcome. There's also a checkpoint there, so I had to stop anyway. In Bahundanda I ran into Filip again and from there we continued the trek together until Manang.

From Bahundanda we walked until Ghermu - a village that stretches on top of a hill for what seemed to me, at least a few kilometers. The trail to get to Ghermu goes up through rice fields and different types of plantations. Often the trail goes through small villages with people living their lives and going about their own business. There are waterfalls and hanging bridges and a part of the trail that I really liked that day was made of stone and went by the side of a mountain, with a steep drop over the river.

In Ghermu we stayed in a guesthouse that was ran by a Nepalese guy. We found out that the best places to stay were usually ran by women, no doubt. In this guesthouse we met a German guy, Thomas, who later I ran into during different parts of the trail.



Day 3

From Ghermu we made our way to Tal. The landscape started changing and we were seeing less rice paddies and it became rockier. We stopped to have something to eat in Chamje, where we ran into Thomas again.

The last bit before arriving in Tal is a steep stone staircase. In this area, marijuana plants are endemic and there are supposed to be plantations by the side of the trail, which I didn't really see (I did see the plants in another part of the trail though).

The town, which is fairly big, is located in a flat piece of land beside the river, in a deep valley. There, we stayed in the "Potala Guesthouse".



Day 4

From Tal to Temang. We usually tried to avoid the main road. There's a walking trail (the original trail) that goes on the other side of the river. The rock wall we had on our right along the trail was very imposing. usually the trail is a lot more tiring than walking the road, but it's a lot more enjoyable and definitely nicer. We had lunch in Begarchhap.

We passed Danaque (or Danakyu), which was a fairly big village with a nice temple. The bigger or nicer the temple, means the more prosperous the village is.

The last part of the trail was a steep uphill walk to Temang, along mostly forest. The other option would've been following the road with a lower gradient. By the end of the day in Temang we were exhausted. We stayed in the "Manaslu Guesthouse". It was ran by a mother and her 2 daughters. As it was cold, we had dinner and breakfast in the kitchen, where they had a wood-fire oven. From the guesthouse there was an excellent view of the Manaslu Mountain, especially early in the morning.



Day 5

The landscape from Temang to Dhikur Pokhari was mostly rocks and pine trees. The first part of the trail was going uphill and then it flattened out somewhat. There were impressive views of rock walls and of the Annapurna mountain range (Annapurna II).

It was a long day, starting at 8am and ending at around 4pm. We had lunch in a small village (Bhratang).

At the end of the day we saw a travelling salesman with different products transported in plastic bins which he carried on his back. We had seen him along the trak. Then I saw him surrounded by 8 women, all trying to bargain with him at once - felt sorry for the guy.



Day 6

From Dhikur Pokhari, there are 2 ways to get to Manang: by the road going past Lower Pisang and Humde or following the walking trail (that goes up to Upper Pisang).

We took the upper trail to Upper Pisang and it goes through very nice mountain villages (Ghyaru and Nawal) with stone and rubble built houses and with prayer flags everywhere. The views from the trail are excellent, including stunning views of Manaslu and Annapurna II and IV.

After crossing a suspended bridge, it got "interesting": the walking trail rises about 400 meters uphill and and at this stage I started feeling the lack of oxygen. We opted to spend the night in Nawal, instead of going straight to Manang.

It is a very nice traditional village and a good place to rest. In the guesthouse we met a few other trekkers (we hadn't seen along the trail the previous days): Becks, a British doctor who was volunteering in the health post in Manang for 3 months and was there with her Kiwi boyfriend, Luke. Teo, a French guy and Cam from Canada.



Days 7, 8 & 9

From Nawal it was an easy walk to Manang (where I stayed for 3 nights), with a clear sky and good views of the Annapurna range. We walked down and followed the trail that runs parallel to the road from Humde to Manang, taking us about 3 or 4 hours. We had a short break in Brahka, a town just 20 or 30 minutes walking distance from Manang, which is smaller and much more quiet.

In Manang, it's possible to get resupplied with almost anything and if there's something that one forgot to buy before starting the trek, it'll be possible to find it there. There's also internet available in the village and a few movie projectors (local versions of a cinema that mostly show movies having to do with mountain and travel related topics).

At the health post, there's an "Altitude Sickness prevention" talk every day, that lasts for about 30 minutes and it's actually very good: basic, yet informative.

That evening we ran into Dean and later we had dinner with him and Sylvie.



From Manang there are several day walks that can be done and I wanted to do the Ice Lake trek (4600 meters, almost a 1000 meter climb from Manang). I didn't wake early enough to do it the next day, so I just took that day to rest, read and not do too much. It's recommendable to take at least a day off in Manang, for acclimatization. I did buy a small backpack and trekking poles (500 RS each).

That evening I had dinner with Sylvie, Dean and Filip again. We went to a place that was a museum, but it also had a restaurant. We stayed in the kitchen while the couple that ran the place did the cooking and we also ate there. They were very friendly and we stayed there until late. The next day I would stay in Manang, Dean and Sylvie would continue to the Thorong La Pass and Filip was to go camping in the Chulu base camp, so we all parted ways the next day.



The Ice Lake - without a doubt one of the places I liked the most during the 3 weeks of trekking. I wanted to see how I was going to cope with going 1000 meters uphill in one go at that altitude. From Manang I walked to Brakha and from there, uphill. It took me about 3 hours to get to the top. The scenery up there is wonderful. The lake is a deep blue color and it reflects the snow capped mountains that surround it. There's again, an excellent view of the Annapurna range.

After I got back down, I had lunch in Brakha. The first guesthouse in Brakha is very good and they have a lot better food than most places. It's easily recognizable by an ample terrace on the second floor, that overlooks the village and the 500 year old Gompa (Buddhist temple). After lunch I walked back to the Hotel in which I was the only guest that evening. I got ready to head to Tilicho Lake the next day.

---

Photos

Restaurant in Manang
Nepalese couple, Sylvie, Filip, Daniel