Annapurna Base Camp Trekking - 13-22/10/22

Trekking to Annapurna Base Camp. Done in 10 stages (9 truth ones and 1/2 hour the first day from where the car from Pokhara left us to Birethanti from where we started. Clearly this could be add to our second stage up to Ulleri).

We have been helped for it by www.chooyutrekking.com and supported with a guide and a porter provided by them that have been simply incredible. Thanks to Pradeep and Mohan for these days together.

The level gain (up and down) shown by route, although you can feel you were doing all of it, is wrong and I think the level gain was on the light of 7.000 mts and down 6.3k

Amazing trekk on a incredible environment. Starting below 1.000 mamsl and with most of the stages lasting around 4/5 hours and a couple on the 7/8 hours, in any case these times include long stops evey hour or one an half hour for a cup of tea in great corners throughout the itinerary (I'll put below the effective moving time of each of the stages)

- Stage 1 (Nayapul - Birethanti). As said 1/2 hour with 0 difficulty to a lodge with invididual bathroom (the only one) where we stayed to really start the trekking. First close view of the Machapuchare

- Stage 2 (Birethanti - Ulleri) Total time 5:01h/Effective 2:44h. First contact with the stairs, incredible work done in most of the trek to ensure the path is not taken away by the water but that is a shock on first instance (we were making a lot of small stops to get used to the rhythm you have to use. Following days became a lot easier) First contact with Tibetan bridges and a clear view on the Annapurna South.

- Stage 3 (Ulleri - Ghorepani) Tottime 04:33h/Eff 3:05h more stairs and first contact with the forest/jungle that will accompany you to the day you head to the Machapuchare BC. Stayed in a lodge with a great balcony over the Annapurnas.

- Stage 4 In 2 blocks (Ghorepani - Poon Hill - Ghorepani) Eff 1:24h and a lot of time waiting for the sun to rise on front of the Annapurnas/Daulaghiri.
(Ghorepani - Tadapani)Tottime 04:56h/Eff 03:34h first time over 3.000 mamsl. From Ghorepani you go to the Deurali pass to get down to the river valley (from 3k to 2.5k mamsl) to end up in Tadapani over 2.6k mamsl.

- Stage 5 (Tadapani - Chomrong) Tottime 5:01h/Eff 3:19h Stairs, tibetan bridge, jungle, temples, ... a good stage with very good stops for tea. Once again you get down to 2k mamsl to get back up. From our lodge we were having a great view over the Annapurna South and the valley we were entering the day after just on front.

- Stage 6 (Chomrong - Himalaya) Tottime 07:22h/Eff 05:50h The first long stage with a roller coaster sensation, starting downhill with, probably, the longest stair piece of the whole trekking but not the only one as you have to get another good one to get down to Bamboo. In here you enter the valley of the Modi Khola that we will have to the end. Monkeys, Bamboo, Rhododendron and rainy forest. At this point you are used to the stairs and deal with them fairly easily (not that you get to like them ;-). Even though you are not back to 3k mamsl the humidity and the close valley makes you to start feeling cold on the lodge. We stop not only for the usual teas but also for lunch at Dovan.

- Stage 7 (Himalaya - Machapuchare BC) Tottime 3:43h/Eff 2:43h The easiest day and the first contact with alpine scenery. You get up to 3.7k mamsl and we were lucky to have a great sunny morning and a foggy and snowy evening what gave the right tone to the day and the point we were.

- Stage 8 (Machapuchare BC - Annapurna BC - Dovan) Tottime 8:45h/Eff 6:19h THE DAY! We were doubting if going to see the sunrise on the ABC but decided not and I guess it was a good take. We arrived to the ABC when last groups were coming down what meant we were in our own. We had our usual cup of tea on the lodges you find there and them were walking up to the chorten on the high part of the BC with a great view of the Annapurna and its glacier. From here down to Dovan with the usual tea-stops and lunch at Himalaya.

- Stage 9 (Dovan - Chomrong) Tottime 5:11h/Eff 3:59h A bit down because we were already going back home and the experience started to get to an end :-( Also important to remember that you need to go upstairs the block after Bamboo and the one leading to Chomrong. You do them already mastering them but on a completely different mood.

- Stage 10 (Chomrong - Landruk) Tottime 4:31h/Eff 3:17h Final one. We decided not to walk down on the say way, also not to walk down to the "civilization" but enjoy also the experience of being driven in a jeep through paths looking impossible to be driven. On the walking part we pass the new bridge (the biggest for us, 287 mts if remember well) and also a not so new bridge that brought some thrill to the day. Another type of jungle in this part. From here we were driven to Dhampus where a car was waiting for us to be back to Pokhara.

What can I say. Nepal and this trekking have hit our heart and probably wont be the last visit.