annapurna circuit trek

Annapurna Circuit Trek and Volunteering – 4 Weeks

Annapurna Circuit Trek is a very gratifying and well-known trek in Annapurna Region. It offers a variety of scenery of both the northern and southern Himalaya and valley sights along the trails. These days road has been connected in mountains. In many of the sections of the circuit, the trek follows the roadway but we will try not to follow the road tracks so that we will be using trekking old trails if possible.
Annapurna Circuit Trek will take you to places where you can view the spectacular mountain ranges such as Mt. Annapurna, Annapurna II, along with Manaslu and Dhawalagiri which is above the height of 8000 meters. The places such as Manang, Mustang, and Jomsom are along the way, you can see a wide diversity of people with different ethnic groups.
The fantastic Annapurna Circuit Trek takes us around the entire Annapurna massif reaching the zenith at Thorong La Pass (5,416m/17,769ft). We will walk on the Annapurna trail through the world’s deepest Kali Gandaki gorge with Mt. Annapurna I rising to 8,091m (26,545ft) to the east and Mt. Dhaulagiri hovering at 8,167m (26,795ft) to the west! We savour the fabulous mountain views from Poon Hill and discover the diverse Annapurna region. Furthermore, Annapurna Circuit Trek also takes us to Manang, Jomsom and the Muktinath regions that allowing us to get acquainted with the diverse Nepalese landscape and culture.

Annapurna Circuit Trek Highlights:

  • Connects Manang and Muktinath and explorethe Tibetan Buddhist culture
  • Reach the zenith of the trail at Thorong La Pass
  • Traverse through the world’s deepest Kali Gandaki Gorge
  • The pilgrimage site- Muktinath and Kaligandaki valley
  • Enjoy the various Nepalese landscape and culture

Key Information

Price:
1320 Euro
Country:
Nepal
Arrival City:
Kathmandu
Duration:
28 Days
Accommodation:
Tea House
Meals:
All meals included during trekking
Departure:
Kathmandu
Transportation:
Tourist Bus
Style:
Trekking
Maximum Altitude:
5416 Meters
Difficulty:
Moderate
Group Size:
1 - 10 Persons
Attractions
Pokhara, Thorong la Pass, Muktinath, Jomsom

Read reviews of our optimistic volunteers.

"We are final year medical students from the UK and we organised our medical elective with Volunteer World Nepal this summer. Right from the beginning, Umesh was so helpful in organizing our placement in Nepal. When we arrived in Nepal we were given Nepali language lessons by Shakti who helped us with basic phrases that we could use during our trip. He also took us..."

Larissa Jones, UK

Medical elective in Nepali hospital

You will be picked up at the airport by one of the VSN staff and driven to your Kathmandu host family or a hotel. Here you will be welcomed into the family, be given your own room and be provided with all your meals while in Kathmandu. This will be your home during your orientation and volunteering in Nepal. With easy bus routes into town and the surrounding countryside this quiet and safe suburb is the perfect base for your time in Nepal.

We start a guided tour to four of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Kathmandu. Kathmandu Durbar Square holds the palaces of the medieval Kings who ruled over the then Kathmandu Kingdom. Pashupatinath houses a sacred lingum, or the phallic symbol of Lord Shiva. The Aryaghat alongside Pashupati and on the banks of the Bagmati River is a famous funeral site for the Hindus. The Buddhists shrine of Boudhanath is one of the largest stupas in the world, and one of the holiest Buddhist pilgrimage and tourist destinations in Kathmandu. The area of Boudhnath is also famous for over 50 Tibetan Gompas or monasteries. We would like you to experience the real life of Nepal so that we would like to show you how schools are run and students are taught.This school is totally funded by our company.

Patan, the oldest of all the three cities of Kathmandu valley. It is the best known for its artistic heritage. It is probably the oldest Buddhist City in the world. The city is situated on a plateau across Bagmati River. Another name of Patan is Lalitpur. The city is surrounded by 4Stupas as 4 corners of Patan, one at each corner of its cardinal points. These stupas are said to have been built by the famous Emperor Ashoka. This is one of the most elegant architectural treasures of which Patan is very proud. About the beauty of Patan, a western lady writer has to say this – “Patan means eternity itself and Patan Durbar Square is the spectacular sight of Asia indeed”. Really it is full of Hindu temples and Buddhist monuments with bronze gateways, guardian deities, and wonderful carvings and many visitors come here to see the monuments. Patan Durbar square is the famous visiting place. The square is full of ancient places, temples, and shrines noted for their exquisite carvings.

The Swayambhunath Stupa is situated 4km outside the Capital on a hilltop and is believed to date back to around 500BC. Legend has it that a sage named Manjushree, who is credited with the creation of Kathmandu saw a celestial lotus in bloom on the hilltop and blessed it. Swayambhu is an important pilgrimage site as well as a center of art, architecture, religion, and culture of Mahayana Buddhism. Durbar Square is Kathmandu’s focal point. Durbar Square holds the places of the Malla and Shah Kings who once ruled the city. Along with these palaces, the square also contains a series of temples, the oldest dating back to the 16th century. The square is also known as Hanuman Dhoka, a name derived from the statue of Hanuman, the monkey god, near the entrance of the palace.

Thamel is located in Kathmandu. It is a haven for tourists visiting the city. It contains numerous hotels, restaurants, and shops that cater specifically to western tourists. It is located in the northern region of Kathmandu past the government district on Tridevi marg. Although some consider it to be overcrowded it has been used by westerners since the 1970’s when hippies in the region discovered it. It has become a quite commercial place. Thamel is an easy walk from anywhere in central Kathmandu. Though the roads can be quite busy during the day, and traffic can be quite heavy.

After an early breakfast, you are driven along the main Prithvi Highway to Besishahar (185km) which takes about 6 hours. Along the journey, you see some spectacular scenery of river valley and high mountains. Meals: Lunch & Dinner.

The path heads north of the village on an exposed trail past pastures to a ridge, before descending into a green valley and a suspension bridge over the Kimrong Khola. After lunch, the trail climbs out of the valley through stands of rhododendron and oak forest, winding around the hillsides to Chhomrong with closer views of the giant peaks above. Overnight at Lodge in Chhomrong. Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner.

After breakfast, we trek to Pisang. we pass through Chame you trek up to Telekhu (2840m) to then continue with a pleasant and mostly level walk through a forest to Brathang (2950m). After the trail turns a corner here, you see your first dramatic view of the Paungda Danda rock face. This is an enormous curved slab of rock that rises over 1500m from the river. You cross back again to the south bank of the Marsyangdi on a suspension bridge at 3080 meters and then start up the long gentle climb over a ridge through blue pine forests. The trek from here is fairly level as it heads to the upper part of Manang valley to Pisang. Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner.

Trekking up to the Tibetan-style village of Bryaga (3500m), you follow the valley floor. Here you see houses stacked one on top of the other, each with an open veranda that is formed the neighbour’s rooftop. The gompa, perched on a high crag overlooking the village, is the largest in the district and has an outstanding display of statues. You continue through a very arid landscape that is dominated by curious cliffs of yellow rock that have been eroded into dramatic pillars alongside the trail. In the afternoon you have increasingly imposing views of Annapurna II, III and IV. Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner.

Today is the day for familiarize. There are plenty of things to do in this attractive village. In the centre of the village, don’t miss the little cultural museum. There are lots of walks that you can do, exploring the glacial lake, walking down to visit a monastery, or exploring the old part of the village. You might like to hike slightly higher to Khangsar, a 200 meter ascend. However, it is important to have a relatively restful day to allow your body to acclimatize to the higher altitudes and  thinning air. Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner.

As we know more we go higher, our days become shorter. We start our day by walking through fields of barley and apple orchards, you follow the river through a steep, narrow gorge to enter the upper Manang district. In this cold, arid climate, wheat, barley, buckwheat and potato crops are limited to one crop per year and villagers depend on their herds of yaks, goats, cows and horses. Trekking slowly upwards to Thorung La, we will leave the large trees behind and see vegetation consisting mainly of scrub juniper and alpine grass. You pass some high meadows where horses and yaks graze. After we reach Yak Kharka (kharka means meadow or pasture), we might see herds of blue sheep, a kind of deer) grazing on the steep slopes. After passing Yak Kharka it takes about an hour to reach Letdar. Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner.

It is another short and relatively easy day to get used to the high altitude before we have to cross the highest point in the trek, and possibly the highest point you have been on in your life. From Letdar you continue climbing along the east bank of the Jarang Khola to Thorung Phedi. This is a rock-strewn meadow that is surrounded by vertical cliffs. Blue sheep and even snow leopards can be sometimes seen in this valley. Hovering high in the skies you may see lammergeyers and Himalayan griffons circling around above you. As you cross the high yak pastures, you see snow-capped mountains all around you. The scenery is completely different up here. You leave behind the rivers as you climb up into the quiet alpine areas. Again the mountain views are stunning. Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner.

As you make the long descend of about 1600m, you are accompanied by outstanding views of Dhaulagiri in the distance across the valley. Eventually, the trail becomes less steep and you enter pastures and cross meadows to Muktinath a sacred pilgrimage site for both Hindus and Buddhists. The Temple is dedicated to Lord Vishnu and from here spring water flows from a rock face from 108 spouts (108 is a sacred number to Buddhists). Below Vishnu’s statue runs a trickle of water with pale flames caused by natural gas. There are shrines to Shiva and his consort and Padmasambhava as well as numerous chortens and the surrounding poplar grove that supposedly sprang from the staffs of the 84 Siddhas. Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner.

The walk to Jomsom is mostly downhill with dramatic landscapes along the way. You walk down in the morning, to avoid the strong winds that blow up through the river gorge in the afternoons. The Kali Gandaki is home to Thakalis, Gurungs and Magars.

The descent to Tatopani follows the increasingly narrow valley, though one of the world’s deepest river gorges, past the beautiful Rupse Chaharo waterfall, with fantastic views along the way and the lure of hot springs at the end. Meals: Breakfast, Lunch.

After breakfast, we say goodbye to the beautiful northern skyline of Pokhara and drive towards Kathmandu. This will be a journey along river banks with wonderful views of hills and the rural Nepalese lifestyle. Upon arrival in Kathmandu, you will be transferred to your hotel. There is nothing to do but trade emails with travel companions and organize the photos. You can spend the evening leisurely, perhaps catch up on some last-minute shopping and celebrate dinner together with the Volunteer Society Nepal staff. Overnight at Kathmandu. Meals: Dinner.

  • Women Empowerment
  • Teaching in Schools
  • Center for Disabilities/Special Education
  • Construction and Manual Work Volunteer
  • Sports/ Physical Education Internship
  • Teaching English to Buddhist Monks
  • Teacher Training
  • Child Care / Orphanage

Our journey in Nepal comes to an end today! A Volunteer Society Nepal representative will drop us off at the airport approximately 3 hours before our scheduled flight. On our way to home, we have plenty of time to plan our next adventure in the wonderful country of Nepal.
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What's included:

  • All airport transfer by private Car/Van/Bus
  • All transportation till to End
  • Accommodation in Kathmandu & Pokhara 2-3 star
  • Farewell Dinner.
  • Basic Tea-house accommodation
  • Licensed English-speaking guide, Experience knows about First Aid
  • Necessary Porters
  • Meals during the trek basic
  • Special permits for Trekking.
  • Down jacket, sleeping bag and all necessary trekking gears are available on a hire
  • Staff insurance, medication and equipment
  • All Govt. and Local Taxes
  • First Aid Kit
  • Trekking Map

What's Excluded:

  • International airfares/ airport taxes
  • Travel/trekking insurance
  • Nepal entry visa fees
  • Mountain rescue charges or insurance
  • Drinks hot and cold.
  • Bottled drinks on trek (cold and alcoholic)
  • Lunches and dinners when not trekking
  • Additional food or drink on trek in addition to three standard meals
  • Personal expenses, Emergency Expenses, road blocked, snakes, desert etc.
  • Special region permits and liaison officer fees (where applicable)
  • Tips (Tipping are expected)