Mt Annapurna Base Camp - Poon Hill (Nepal) -

12D/11N - Rating: (Very) Hard

Mon 26-Mar-2018

Group size: No Maximum

The second Nepalese mountain, besides Mount Everest, that seems

to have a magic spell on most hikers is Annapurna. Although its base

camp is more than thousand meters below that of Everest, the

panoramic view is still astonishingly spectacular.

This Annapurna base camp trek will never surpass 4,200m asl so all in

all it drastically reduces the chances of getting plagued with AMS and

almost guarantees success provided you are physically fit. It is as

close as we hikers can get to Annapurna without having to resort to

mountain or alpine climbing equipment.

This will be an event during which we will be amidst the pinnacles of

the Himalayas for about ten days.

We will spend the first night in Kathmandu in order to take a morning

ride to Pokhara which is about 200km from Kathmandu.

If the weather is on our side you will be treated with a spectacular

view on the Himalayas.

Whatever time's left in Pokhara can be used at will as we will only start our trek the next morning. An hour

drive will bring us to Nyapul and from there on we have to rely on our legs. Is it necessary to tell that for

this event a serious fitness level and a decent hiking experience is required...?

First we head in the direction of Ghorepani, the base for the famous Poon Hill climb at dawn. A lot of

stairs, and a lot of uphill to be digested...

In order to watch the spectacular sunrise at Poon Hill, we have to get up early and hike our way up in the

dark. Although it will be cold, the splendid view high up the hill will make up for everything you had to

endure.

Poon Hill offers a grandiose view on Dhaulagiri (8167m), Annapurna I to IV (8091m to 7525m), Annapurna

South (7219m), Varaha Shikhar (7847m), Machhapuchhare (6993m), Nilgiri (6940m), Lamjung Himal

(6931m) and Tukuche (6920m).

We will descend back to Ghorepani and continue our journey eastward towards Annapurna base camp.

If all goes according to plan we should start day 8 with an ascent towards Machhapuchhare base camp

(3900m). Machhapuchhare (6993m) itself is easy recognisable.

By afternoon we should reach Annapurna base camp, which will also be our return point.

Let us hope that the weather will be clear and that we will be able to watch the summit bathing in the

golden sunlight.

The next morning we will start our descent and we will follow the same way back for a certain stretch, but

will turn southward instead of heading for Poon Hill again.

Don't forget to turn your head occasionally for some unforgettable memory imprints.

We head for Jhinu where a natural hot spring will pamper the sore muscles. After all there's only one day

of hiking to go...

Once we reach Nyapul again, we will be transferred to Pokhara. After a good meal and hopefully a good

night sleep, it's time to head back for Kathmandu and the airport.

For most hikers this will be a very challenging trek. This hike is absolutely not suited for beginners and less

experienced hikers who haven't participated for any of our high B-rated or C-rated hikes.

We realise that this trek can be done in a shorter time, but we don't want to take any chances. We don't

want to put too much pressure on participants by forcing them to hike long days. Hopefully in this way we

can also avoid that any of us will be plagued with fatigue and/or mountain sickness.

The total hiking time per day varies and depends greatly on the individual participant, but someone with a

decent fitness level will need to hike between three and seven hours a day.