Despite planning to take it easy and head off volunteering after my second Nepal trek in the Langtang Valley, I couldn't resist the urge to get out there again! Initially planning to just head to Poon Hill and back in three days, I ended out making my way on to Annapurna Base Camp as well, and it was yet another fantastic and successful trek in Nepal!
Just like I did for my Everest Base Camp and Langtang Valley treks, here is an overview of all things Poon Hill / Annapurna Base Camp trekking. Count this post as your one-stop shop for completing this scenic trek!
Travel insurance
Once again, I went with True Traveller - they have specific coverage for trekking in Nepal and trekking up to 6000m.
Trekking companies
Unlike with my other two treks, I went solo this time around - so no trekking company and no guide! After completing two separate treks organised through a company and with a guide, I felt really well-equipped to complete this trek by myself.
Trekking gear
My packing list was more or less the same as it was for my other treks, except this time I opted to go without a sleeping bag! While it got pretty cold at night time, I managed fine just using the teahouse blankets provided and rugging up in thermals (or sometimes all my clothes). Not taking a sleeping bag certainly made my backpack lighter and far easier to pack!
If you want a better explanation of the things I took / why I took what I did, have a look at my Everest Base Camp blog post.
Big things:
1x 40L trekking backpack
1x sleeping bag liner (I still used this despite not having a sleeping bag).
1x set of hiking poles (I hired these in Pokhara Kathmandu for 100 rupees a day).
Clothes:
1x trekking pants
1x waterproof pants
1x waterproof rain coat
1x set of 100% merino wool thermals
1x quick-wicking t-shirt (
1x quick-wicking long-sleeved top
1x polar fleece
1x down jacket
1x buff
1x beanie
1x set of woollen gloves
3x pairs of socks
4x pairs of underwear
2x bras
1x hiking boots
1x sandals
Other things:
Crampons
Toiletries: toothbrush, toothpaste, hairbrush, bar of shampoo (which also doubled up as basic soap and washing detergent), wet wipes, moisturiser, lip balm (spf - burnt lips are not nice), sunscreen.
Technology: camera (+ charger and spare battery), kindle (+ charger), portable charger (+ charger), phone (+ charger).
First aid: bandaids, paracetamol and ibuprofen, cold and flu medicine, diamox (or some other kind of altitude sickness medication, just in case. I didn't take it though), hayfever medication, tweezers, nail clippers, wet wipes and hydralyte.
Snacks: snickers snickers snickers snickers (they became an obsession by trek no. 3)
Essentials: passport, trekking permit, money, water bottles (I took a 700ml LifeStraw filter bottle, and a 1L bottle. I usually carried 1L on me at a time - there are lots of places where you can fill up)
Additional: journal and pen, period products if you're unlucky with your timing!
Route
As I undertook this trek solo, I ended out doing it far zoomier than any recommendations I'd read online. So take your own abilities into consideration when you look at this route - you can certainly stretch out the days and make the trek last a little longer.
13 - 19 November, 2022:
Day 1
Taxi from Pokhara to Nayapul
Trek from Nayapul (1070m) to Ulleri (1540m), 11km
The trek:
After a pretty flat and windy stroll through a valley, day one of the Poon Hill trek hits you square in the face with approximately 3200 steps that feel never ending under the warm sun (and at low elevation!). As it's such a busy and popular trail I wasn't expecting the uphill trudge - I was under the impression the trek was pretty cruisey! However, I personally enjoyed the challenge!
Though lots of steps, the day itself is pretty short one, and you arrive at the quaint and quiet town of Ulleri before you know it.
Day 2
Trek from Ulleri (1540m) to Ghorepani (2860m), 7.9km
The trek:
I'd probably describe day two as shorter and easier than day one, however the steps still stick around to haunt you. We didn't have particularly clear skies, so only got small glimpses of the surrounding Himalayas, but I imagine on a clear day this section of the trek would be quite scenic!
There is one section during day two where you can either walk along the road, or go down through the jungle. We opted for the jungle aspect (I was walking with a Swedish guy I'd met in Pokhara), and I'm so glad we did! Getting out of the sun and walking through the shady jungle alongside a flowing stream was a nice treat, and change of scenery from the usual day-to-day trekking in Nepal!
Day 3
Hike from Ghorepani (2860m) to Poon Hill (3210m), 2.8km return
Trek from Ghorepani (2860m) to Chhomrong (2165m), 18km
The trek:
Day three was a big one for me! I rose early to get up to Poon Hill for sunrise. The colours began to appear in the sky on the way up, so I ended out jogging a little bit so to not miss the show! I'd recommend getting up there before 6am so you can get a good seat and take it all in.
You really do get brilliant 360 degree views up there - so I think Poon Hill is certainly worth the hype! There's a small entry fee to go up there, and you can buy tea at the top, so I recommend taking money with you. I ended out sitting up there for over an hour, so make sure you rug up!
After heading back down to Ghorepani for breakfast, I began the trek to Tadapani, which is where most routes have you stay on day three. It's a really scenic walk, first through beautiful forests then up and across Deurali Pass before then going through a shady valley. I got to Tadapani by lunch time, so had a quick feed then decided I would walk further on to Chhomrong (which is the usual day four destination).
The second half of the day was tough - I was stopping to drink / snack a lot more than I usually would, and the 3 hours it took me between Tadapani to Chhomrong felt like an eternity! While you need to be careful with doing big days of trekking in the Himalayas because of the risk of altitude sickness, you actually end out sleeping at a lower altitude in Chhomrong than Tadopani, so it is a safe section to speed through!
Day 4
Trek from Chhomrong (2165m) to Himalaya (2890m), 12km
The trek:
For the fourth day of the trek, I was joined by a Dutch guy named Kaj who I had met and exchanged contact details with at the top of Poon Hill. It was really enjoyable having his company for the walk, and we found we had very similar walking pace so made a good trekking pair.
The day starts with a steep downhill out of Chhomrong, followed by a pretty painful uphill trudge. After that, however, the route could best be described as 'Nepali-flat' (70% flat, 30% undulating). We stopped for lunch in Bamboo, which is where many routes recommend you stay (it is a sweet little town), then continued on to Himalaya, where we ended out staying. Himalaya was very quiet - we seemed to be the only ones in the teahouse - and the rain came not 5 minutes after we arrived.
Day 5
Trek from Himalaya (2890m) to Annapurna Base Camp (4130m), 8.8km
The trek:
Day five is the winner of this trek when it comes to scenery and a sense of achievement! While some routes have you sleep at Macchapurche Base Camp (MBC) and just do a day trip to Annapurna Base Camp (ABC), other trekkers on the path told us that it is really worth sleeping at ABC so you can wake early and watch the sunrise there, so that's exactly what we did!
The route from Himalaya to MBC was actually quite snowy and icy in sections, and MBC itself was covered in snow. We arrived there quite early for a masala chai break before ticking off the final few kilometres to ABC.
I found the short route between MBC and ABC quite easy - it is mostly flat and incredibly scenic. While snowy and icy, I didn't wear crampons on the way up to ABC and managed fine. You get a view of ABC well before you reach it and it looks incredible surrounded by all the 7000m plus (and even 8000m) mountains around it.
The weather was usually clear for us in the mornings but the clouds would roll in around 1-2pm. We thankfully got to ABC around midday, so got to soak up the views before everything disappeared within clouds.
Day 6
Trek from Annapurna Base Camp (4130m) to Chhomrong (2165m), 20km
The trek:
Sleeping at ABC was definitely cold - especially as neither of us brought a sleeping bag - but it is manageable if you rug up in all your clothes! As recommended to us, we woke super early to catch the sunrise at ABC, and wowee was it worth it! The mountains had an incredible golden glow to them, which was so special to see.
We opted to skip breakfast at ABC and instead eat down at MBC. For the walk down to MBC, we wore crampons to combat the icy ground, and this certainly helped a lot. We then got back to Bamboo for lunch and managed to trek on and make it all the way back to Chhomrong by the end of the day (which was tough, as the day ends with a massive uphill as Chhomrong sits on a hill). The feet certainly felt it at the end of this day!
Day 7
Trek from Chhomrong (2165m) to Jhinu (1780m), 2.7km
Taxi from Jhinu to Pokhara
The trek:
There are a few different locations where you can end this trek, but we weren't aware that Jhinu was one of them! The day before the elections in Nepal, we were weary that we needed to wrap up the trek on day seven, otherwise we were going to struggle to find any bus or taxi to get us back to Pokhara, as the whole country falls silent on election day! Thankfully, we chatted to a guide in Chhomrong who told us we could get a bus or jeep from Jhinu, so we went with that.
There are hot springs in Jhinu that people visit, but we chose to give them a miss as we heard they didn't really live up to the hype. Therefore, we just had a quick little downhill walk to Jhinu, where we immediately met a couple of other trekkers hoping to fill seats in a Jeep back to Pokhara, and we were on the road before we knew it!
Money
This is the first trek I did in Nepal without a guide, and doing it solo certainly made it considerably cheaper! All in all, this trek cost me $250 AUD.
Conclusion
You can do Annapurna Base Camp and Poon Hill in a week if you put your fast walking shoes on! I was under the impression that any route to ABC was going to take at least 10 days, so didn't really consider it for some time as I was only after a shorter trek, but here you have it!
The Annapurna region is truly stunning, however I was jealous of all the travellers I met who had completed the entire Annapurna Circuit and were linking in Base Camp to the end of their trek. Next time I am back in Nepal, I will do the whole circuit and link in with Annapurna and / or Mardi Himal Base Camp, for sure!
However, like I said, if you are after a shorter trek in Nepal, and have some trekking experience under your belt, Poon Hill and Annapurna Base Camp is a scenic, speedy and cheap trek to embark on solo!
Xxo,
N.
I will have 8 days for ABC + Poon Hill on March and I was scared I won’t be able to make it, but your post encouraged me and gave me some confidence…
only one question, how easy is to find a tea house to stay for the night?