Part-1
One of the primary reasons which make the Annapurna trek one
of the most preferred treks amongst the Indian as well as foreign tourists is
because this has to be one of the smallest duration treks in Nepal. While some
other treks in Nepal take atleast 13 to 16 days, the Annapurna trek takes only
9 to 10 days to complete.
Difficulty level: The Annapurna trek is considered to be a
moderate to difficult level trek, and you need to prepare yourself before you
are willing to do this trek. Start practicing daily and work on your
cardiovascular endurance because the trek has some steep inclines and also a
significant portion of walk on stairs and boulders. However, when you reach
your destination, this trek will take you closer to one of the most dangerous
and unforgiving peaks of the world which is also known for its natural beauty.
With that being said I was able to complete the Annapurna trek
recently and I have to agree that this trek is definitely one of the
most exciting journey that I have done and there are more than one reason to
prove my point. So before we get into any other details let me inform that the
Annapurna peak is the World's tenth highest peak and also is one of the
toughest amongst the climbers.
The trek to Annapurna starts from Pokhara. Once you reach
Pokhara in Nepal, you will be able to view some of the mountain ranges from the
place itself.
Main attraction in Pokhara
Pokhra is the city in Nepal. The main
attraction of the City is the Phewa lake which is located at an altitude
of 2,434 ft and covers an area of 4.43
km. Once you reach Pokhara, you will be able to see the reflection of
Machhapuchhre, Annapurna, and Dhaulagiri on the lake itself.
Points that you should keep in mind after you cross the Nepal border
- Nepal is 15 minutes ahead of Indian standard time. So don't
forget to adjust your clock accordingly.
- You cannot exchange 500 and 2000 rupee notes everywhere in
Nepal while some places do accept some other Indian currencies.
- There is a Nepal National bank just beside the Kakarbhitta
bus stand from where you can exchange your Indian currency notes with that of
Nepal
- The first bus from Kakarbhitta to Pokhara leaves around 3: 30 PM in the afternoon followed by the next bus at around 4: 30 PM.
Day 1
After a lot of big decisions, four of my friends finally
decided to accompany me on this trek. As planned we reached Jalpaiguri station
from Kolkata on 5th March 2017 and then took a car and reached Kakarbhitta. You
have to cross the border from the place which is a small bridge connecting both
the countries. From there you will find plenty of buses which will take you to
Pokhara, the bus takes about 12 hours to reach Pokhara. Before getting it any
other details let me just inform you here that there are some different ways to
reach Pokhara as well but this has to be the easiest and also perhaps the
cheapest way to reach the place.
Day 2
We reached Pokhara early morning the next day and decided to
take the day off because we were all exhausted due to the long and tiresome bus
journey. We decided to utilize the day by taking a tour around the City. For
your information, the City of Pokhara divided into four parts which include the airport area, the Bus stand
area, the Mahendrapul market area and the Phewa lake area. There are plenty of
hotels available in Pokhara; you will find the expensive hotels mostly towards
Airport area while the budget ones are available near the Bus stand.
The links to the Pokhara hotels are provided here on Yatra.
The links to the Pokhara hotels are provided here on Yatra.
Day 3
After spending a day in Pokhara, we decided to reach lower
Gandhruk which is 2 to 3 hours drive from the City. We started around 7 o clock
in the morning and reached Gandhruk by 10:45 AM. From Gandhruk we took a tea
break and began our trek towards Komrong which is located at the height of
7,380 ft. It takes around 3 hours to complete the trek. We stayed in komrong
for the night in a tourist lodge and went to bed early. Initially, when you
start the trek from Gandrukh, the road descends all the way to Kyunri Khola
which is a stream while the road ascends all the way to Komrong from the creek.
The climb takes about an hour, and you have to be physically fit and mentally
prepared to cover the distance with your rucksack on your back.
P.s:- The trek route from Ghandruk to Chomrung is
breathtaking. You will be passing through the deep forests covered with plenty
of natural vegetation including the beautiful and colorful rhododendron, fern
and bamboo trees.
Day 4
The next day we started our trek from Komrong towards our
destination for the day in Chamrung situated at the height of 7, 120 ft and is
about 5 to 6-hour trek from the place.
Chamrung located on the other side of the Komrong village,
and you actually can see Chamrung from Komrong itself. We headed down towards
the Kimrong Khola which is another stream. From that point, there is a steep ascent. As
soon as you rise, you can watch Komrong on the other side now. It is from here where you also get glimpses
of the mountain peaks such as the Machapuchare, Annapurna South, Hiunchuli
which were out of your sight because of the thick forest. In Chamrung you will find quite some shops
where you can buy some essential accessories. Apart from that, there are few
small restaurants and tea shops as well.
Before you leave for your next destination, you will have to
register with your details and documents.
Day 5
From Chamrung we started our trek towards Dovan which is
about 10-11 Kms from that place and takes about 6 to 7 hours.
As soon as you leave the place, you will have to cross the
hanging bridge and make your way towards Tilche. After you pass Tilche you will
reach lower Sinuwa. From the Chamrung village till this place was descent but
you will have to conserve your energy because the hard road starts from this
point onward. The landscape now changes from muddy trails to stone steps. After
you walk for an hour or so you will be reaching the upper sinuwa from where you
will once again be able to view the mountain peaks. However, as soon leave
upper sinuwa and move ahead you will once again enter the thick forest area.
From there the road has lots of ascends and descends until you finally reach
your destination Dovan which is situated at the height of 8, 460 ft. You will
find few tourist lodges in Dovan where you can stay for the night.
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