Day 01: Arrive in Kathmandu

Your adventure begins the moment you land at Tribhuvan International Airport. Our representative will be waiting to welcome you and transfer you to your hotel in Kathmandu — the vibrant, chaotic, and incredible gateway to the Himalayas.

Take some time to rest after your flight. In the evening, your guide will sit down with you for a trek briefing. This covers everything you need to know — the route, permits, gear, weather, altitude safety, and daily walking plan. The mountains are waiting. Tomorrow, the journey to Annapurna begins.

Altitude: Kathmandu – 1,300m / 4,260ft
Transfer Time: Approx. 30–45 minutes

Day 02: Drive or Fly* from Kathmandu to Pokhara

After breakfast, you will travel from Kathmandu to Pokhara — either by scenic mountain flight* or by road through the hills and river valleys of central Nepal. The road journey follows the Prithvi Highway, winding past terraced fields, local market towns, and the rushing Trishuli and Seti rivers. By air, the flight takes just 25 minutes and delivers you straight into one of the most beautiful cities in Asia.

Pokhara sits on the edge of Phewa Lake with the entire Annapurna range reflected on the water on a clear day. It is Nepal’s adventure capital and the main gateway to the Annapurna trekking region. After arriving, check into your hotel, take a walk along Lakeside, check your trekking gear, and get an early night. Tomorrow the trail begins.

Altitude: Pokhara – 820m / 2,690ft
Travel Time: Drive approx. 6–7 hours or flight approx. 25–30 minutes

Day 03: Drive to Nayapul / Siwai and Trek to Ghandruk

After breakfast in Pokhara, a short drive takes you to the trailhead — at Nayapul, Birethanti, or Siwai depending on current road conditions. The moment you step off the vehicle and onto the trail, the Annapurna trek has begun.

The path winds through terraced fields, small farming settlements, and river valleys as it climbs steadily toward Ghandruk. This is one of the largest and most beautiful Gurung villages in the Annapurna region — a hillside settlement of traditional stone houses, marigold gardens, prayer flags, and sweeping mountain views. On a clear afternoon, Machhapuchhre / Fishtail rises dramatically above the village, giving you your first real taste of what lies ahead.

Ghandruk is a wonderful introduction to the people and culture of the Annapurna region. The Gurung people are known for their warmth and hospitality — and their history as legendary Gurkha soldiers. Settle into your tea house, explore the village lanes, and soak in the atmosphere. The real climbing starts tomorrow.

• Altitude: Ghandruk – approx. 1,940m / 6,365ft
• Drive / Trek Time: Drive approx. 2–3 hours; trek approx. 3–5 hours

Day 04: Trek from Ghandruk to Chhomrong

After breakfast, you leave Ghandruk and the trail drops into the valley before climbing steeply back up toward Chhomrong. This section is known for its stone staircase sections — long, relentless, and completely worth it. Along the way, the views of Annapurna South, Hiunchuli, and Machhapuchhre open up with every turn, rewarding the effort with some of the finest mountain scenery on the entire route.

Chhomrong is one of the most important villages on the Annapurna Base Camp trail — the last major Gurung settlement before the trail descends into the deep valley corridor that leads to the Sanctuary. It sits on a dramatic ridge with panoramic views in every direction and a warm, well-established collection of tea houses. From here, the character of the trek changes. The valley narrows, the forest deepens, and the mountains close in around you. Enjoy the view from Chhomrong tonight — it is one of the best on the entire trek.

Altitude: Chhomrong – approx. 2,170m / 7,119ft
Trek Time: Approx. 5–6 hours

Day 05: Trek from Chhomrong to Bamboo

Today the trail descends sharply from Chhomrong on long stone staircases to the Chhomrong Khola river below. Cross the bridge and the climb back up to Sinuwa begins immediately — steep, forested, and atmospheric. This is the rhythm of the Annapurna trail: down to the river, up the other side, deeper into the valley each time.

Beyond Sinuwa the forest takes over completely. Rhododendron, bamboo, and oak close in around the trail as you walk further into the corridor that leads to the Annapurna Sanctuary. The noise of the outside world falls away. The air is cooler and damper, the light filters green through the canopy, and the sense of walking somewhere genuinely remote begins to take hold.

Bamboo is a small, simple collection of tea houses nestled in the forest — exactly the kind of place that makes tea house trekking special. There is nothing here but the river, the trees, the mountains above, and the trail ahead. After the village noise of Ghandruk and Chhomrong, it feels like a different world entirely.

Altitude: Bamboo – approx. 2,310m / 7,579ft
Trek Time: Approx. 5–6 hours

Day 06: Trek from Bamboo to Deurali

After breakfast, the trail continues deeper into the valley, following the Modi Khola river through some of the most dramatic scenery of the entire trek. The route passes through Dovan and Himalaya — small tea house stops dwarfed by towering rock walls, cascading waterfalls, and forest clinging to near-vertical slopes. The river roars beside you, the cliffs rise above you, and the trail feels increasingly remote with every hour of walking.

As you gain altitude the vegetation begins to thin and change. The dense bamboo and rhododendron forest of the lower valley gives way to more open alpine terrain. The air is noticeably cooler and thinner. Deurali sits at the top of this transition zone — a small cluster of tea houses perched at the point where the valley opens toward the Sanctuary above.

This is an important stop. Tomorrow you enter the Annapurna Sanctuary itself, with Machhapuchhre Base Camp and Annapurna Base Camp both within reach. Rest well, eat well, and drink plenty of water. The best is very close now.

Altitude: Deurali – approx. 3,200m / 10,499ft
Trek Time: Approx. 5–6 hours

Day 07: Trek from Deurali to Annapurna Base Camp via Machhapuchhre Base Camp

Today is the day the entire trek has been building toward. After breakfast, you leave Deurali and the trail climbs into open alpine terrain — the forest is behind you now, the valley widens, and the mountains begin to reveal themselves in full.

The walk to Machhapuchhre Base Camp at 3,700m is stunning. Glacial streams cross the trail, the ground is rocky and open, and Machhapuchhre / Fishtail dominates the sky ahead — so close it feels almost within reach. This sacred peak has never been summited and never will be — Nepal has permanently closed it to climbers out of respect for its spiritual significance. Standing beneath it at its own base camp is a privilege that stops trekkers in their tracks every single time.

From Machhapuchhre Base Camp, the final push to Annapurna Base Camp is an unforgettable walk. The Sanctuary opens up around you like a natural amphitheater — Annapurna I, Annapurna South, Hiunchuli, Gangapurna, and a wall of Himalayan giants encircling you on every side. At 4,130m, you are standing in one of the most dramatic mountain settings on earth.

Take your time here. Breathe it in. Look in every direction. Many trekkers describe this moment as one of the most powerful experiences of their lives — and they are not wrong. Tomorrow brings the sunrise. Tonight, the mountains are all yours.

Altitude: Machhapuchhre Base Camp – approx. 3,700m / 12,139ft; Annapurna Base Camp – 4,130m / 13,550ft
Trek Time: Approx. 5–6 hours

Day 08: Sunrise at Annapurna Base Camp and Trek Down to Bamboo

Wake early. This is a morning you will remember for the rest of your life.

As the first light of dawn touches the peaks of the Annapurna Sanctuary, the snow-covered summits turn from pale grey to deep gold — Annapurna I, Annapurna South, Hiunchuli, Machhapuchhre, Gangapurna — one by one catching the sunrise above you in every direction. At 4,130 meters, surrounded by the highest walls of rock and ice you have ever seen, it is impossible not to feel the full weight of where you are standing.

After breakfast and a final look around, the descent begins. The trail retraces yesterday’s route back through Machhapuchhre Base Camp, Deurali, and into the forested valley below. What took effort to climb feels different on the way down — faster, looser, and with the satisfaction of Annapurna Base Camp already behind you. The changing scenery rewards a second look: the waterfalls, the cliffs, the river, the forest closing back in around you as you drop in altitude.

By the time you reach Bamboo, your legs will know they have worked. Rest well — you have earned it.

Altitude: Bamboo – approx. 2,310m / 7,579ft
Trek Time: Approx. 6–7 hours

Day 09: Trek from Bamboo to Jhinu Danda

After breakfast, the trail climbs back through the forest from Bamboo toward Sinuwa and Chhomrong — retracing familiar ground that feels completely different now that Annapurna Base Camp is behind you. The stone staircases that felt so demanding on the way up are now a satisfying descent, and the views of Annapurna South and Hiunchuli across the valley are as good on the return as they were going in.

From Chhomrong, the trail drops away from the ridge and descends toward the river at Jhinu Danda. And here, after days of altitude, cold nights, and long walking hours, the trail delivers one of its finest rewards.

The natural hot springs at Jhinu Danda sit beside the Modi Khola river, tucked into the hillside with the sound of rushing water all around. Slide in, let the heat work into your legs and back, and look up at the mountains above you. It is one of those rare trekking moments that feels almost too good to be real — and it is completely real.

Altitude: Jhinu Danda – approx. 1,780m / 5,840ft
Trek Time: Approx. 5–6 hours

Day 10: Trek to Road Point and Drive to Pokhara

After breakfast, the final walking section of the Annapurna Base Camp Trek begins. The trail drops from Jhinu Danda toward the valley floor and the nearest road point — at Jhinu, Matkyu, Siwai, or wherever the vehicle can meet you depending on current road conditions. It is a relatively short walk, but there is something bittersweet about it. The mountains are still visible behind you, the river is still rushing below, and the trail that has been your world for the past week is about to end.

Your vehicle will be waiting. The drive back to Pokhara follows the river valley out of the hills and into the lowlands — a gradual return to warmth, noise, traffic, and civilization.

Pokhara receives returning trekkers well. Check back into your hotel, take the longest hot shower of your life, and walk down to Lakeside for dinner. The reflection of the Annapurna range on Phewa Lake — the same peaks you were standing beneath just days ago — is a sight that brings the whole journey full circle. Raise a glass. You trekked to Annapurna Base Camp. Not everyone can say that.

Altitude: Pokhara – 820m / 2,690ft
Trek/Drive Time: Trek approx. 1–3 hours; drive approx. 3–4 hours

Day 11: Drive or Fly* from Pokhara to Kathmandu

After breakfast, the journey back to Kathmandu begins — by scenic mountain flight* or by road through the river valleys and terraced hillsides of central Nepal. Whichever way you travel, there is time to reflect on everything the past eleven days have delivered.

Back in Kathmandu, your transfer to the hotel is waiting. The city that felt so overwhelming on Day 1 feels different now — familiar, almost comfortable, and full of places worth one last look. Thamel’s crowded lanes, the temples, the rooftop cafes — all of it hits differently when you have just come down from the Himalayas.

In the evening, a farewell dinner brings the team together one final time. Your guide, who has walked every step of this trek beside you, will be there. It is a good moment to say thank you properly — these are the people who made the experience what it was. Share the stories, look at the photos, and take in the fact that you just completed one of the finest trekking routes in the world.

Altitude: Kathmandu – 1,300m / 4,260ft
Travel Time: Drive approx. 6–7 hours or flight approx. 25–30 minutes

Day 12: Final Departure

Your 12-day Annapurna Base Camp Trek comes to an end today — but the memories will last a lifetime. Our team will transfer you to Tribhuvan International Airport (KTM) for your final departure.

If you are not ready to leave Nepal just yet, we do not blame you. Popular extensions include the Mardi Himal Trek, Ghorepani Poon Hill Trek, Annapurna Circuit Trek, Chitwan jungle safari, rafting on the Trishuli River, Bhutan tour, or Tibet tour. Nepal has a way of pulling you back — most people who come once find themselves planning their return before they even get home.

Altitude: Kathmandu – 1,300m / 4,260ft
Transfer Time: Approx. 30–45 minutes