Annapurna Base Camp with Ghorepani Poonhill Trek

Welcome to Nepal. You land at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu (1,400 m), where our representative meets you in the arrivals hall and drives you to your hotel in Thamel — the old trekkers' quarter of narrow lanes, gear shops, bakeries and courtyard gardens.

After you have settled in, your guide joins you for the trip briefing. We go through the full twelve-day plan: the drive to Ghorepani, the Poon Hill sunrise, the ridge walk to Tadapani, and the climb up the Modi Khola into the Annapurna Sanctuary. Your guide checks your gear against the kit list and talks through altitude, teahouse routine, meals and daily distances. Anything you are missing can be bought or hired within a few minutes' walk.

The rest of the day is free. If you have energy, Thamel rewards an aimless wander; if you do not, the hotel garden and an early night are the better plan. Overnight in Kathmandu.

After breakfast we leave the Kathmandu Valley and join the Prithvi Highway heading west. The road follows the Trishuli River through a steep-sided gorge for much of the way, with terraced hillsides above and whitewater below — this is Nepal's main rafting stretch, and you will see groups putting in near Charaudi.

The journey to Pokhara (822 m) covers roughly 200 km and takes most of the day with a lunch stop at a riverside restaurant. It is an unhurried, scenic drive through middle-hill country: roadside bazaars, suspension footbridges, buffalo in the paddy fields, and the occasional glimpse of snow peaks when the ridgelines drop away.

Pokhara arrives in the late afternoon — warm, green, and sitting on the shore of Phewa Lake with the Annapurna massif rising straight out of the skyline behind it. Machhapuchhre, the fishtail peak, is unmistakable. Overnight in Pokhara.

An early jeep departure heads west out of Pokhara through Nayapul and Birethanti, then turns up the Bhurungdi Khola valley onto rough mountain road. The track climbs hard, switchbacking past Tikhedhunga and the settlement of Ulleri, whose 3,000-odd stone steps are a famous test for trekkers walking the classic route.

Above Ulleri the road runs into magnificent rhododendron forest. In March and April these hillsides turn crimson, pink and white as the trees flower — Nepal's national flower en masse, and one of the best reasons to walk this region in spring.

We reach Ghorepani (2,860 m) in the afternoon. The village sits in a ridge saddle at the head of the valley, a tight cluster of blue-roofed lodges with Dhaulagiri visible to the west. You have gained more than 2,000 m from Pokhara today, so keep the evening quiet, drink plenty of water and eat a full dinner. Overnight in Ghorepani.

The alarm goes at about 4:30 am for the head-torch climb to Poon Hill (3,210 m), roughly 45 minutes of steady stone steps above the village. The summit is a broad viewing platform, and the sunrise from it is the most celebrated in Nepal: two eight-thousanders — Dhaulagiri (8,167 m) and Annapurna I (8,091 m) — plus Nilgiri, Tukuche, Annapurna South, Hiunchuli and Machhapuchhre, lit in sequence as the sun comes up over the ridge.

We come back down to Ghorepani for a proper breakfast, then take the ridge trail east toward Tadapani. The path climbs first to Deurali at around 3,000 m, then undulates and descends through ancient rhododendron forest — twisted trunks, deep moss, and the Annapurnas appearing in gaps between the branches.

The trail drops through Banthanti and reaches Tadapani (2,630 m), a small forested spur with a superb straight-on view of Annapurna South and Machhapuchhre. Overnight in Tadapani.

Worth being up for first light: Machhapuchhre turns gold directly ahead of the lodges, and at this hour you will usually be sharing it with nobody.

The morning's walking drops steeply through thick forest toward the Chhomrong Khola. The path is stone steps and tree roots, losing height quickly under a dense canopy. This is excellent birding terrain — Himalayan monal, Nepal's national bird, is regularly flushed from the undergrowth here, and its plumage is startling in sunlight. Lower down the forest opens into terraced farmland around the Gurung village of Ghurjung.

A final climb lifts you onto the shelf at Chhomrong (2,170 m), the gateway to the Annapurna Sanctuary. Its stone lanes look straight up the Modi Khola toward Annapurna South and Hiunchuli, and it is the last village with bakeries, gear shops and reliable hot showers. From here the trek changes character completely. Overnight in Chhomrong.

Short on paper, tiring in practice. The day opens with a long descent on stone steps to the Chhomrong Khola, a suspension bridge crossing, and then an immediate steep climb up the far bank to Upper Sinuwa (2,360 m). The net gain is barely 140 m, but you will have gone down and up several hundred to get it.

From Sinuwa the trail commits to the forest, contouring along the valley flank with the Modi Khola somewhere far below and out of sight. Bamboo groves thicken, oak and rhododendron hang with moss, and the valley walls draw steadily closer on both sides. The feeling of walking into somewhere enclosed and remote builds with every kilometre.

A gentle descent brings you into Bamboo (2,310 m), a handful of lodges in a green hollow. It is warm, humid and low enough for a comfortable night before the serious climbing starts tomorrow. Overnight at Bamboo.

From here the trail goes up and does not really stop. Leaving Bamboo, the route climbs the west bank of the Modi Khola through Dovan (2,600 m), a shaded cluster of teahouses beside the river.

Above Dovan the gorge narrows dramatically. The path passes a small shrine set beneath a rock overhang at Himalaya, dedicated to the goddess said to guard the Sanctuary, and climbs on through wet forest where waterfalls spill directly across the trail. Footing on the polished stone needs care, especially after rain, and the river fills the whole valley with noise.

The final stretch breaks above the treeline into a corridor of bare rock and reaches Deurali (3,230 m). That is more than 900 m of ascent — the biggest climbing day of the trek — and the altitude is now genuinely noticeable. Drink more than you want to, eat a full dinner and get to bed early. Overnight at Deurali.

Today you walk into the Sanctuary itself. The trail climbs out of Deurali through the head of the gorge, crossing open slopes that hold avalanche risk in late winter and spring; your guide will read the conditions and choose the line before setting off.

The valley opens suddenly at Machhapuchhre Base Camp (3,700 m), a few lodges on a grassy shelf directly beneath the ice flutings of the sacred fishtail peak — a mountain that remains officially unclimbed. We stop for tea and to let the altitude settle.

The last 430 m is a gradual climb across glacial moraine and alpine meadow into the Annapurna Sanctuary, ending at Annapurna Base Camp (4,130 m). You stand inside a closed amphitheatre of Annapurna I (8,091 m), Annapurna South (7,219 m), Hiunchuli, Gangapurna, Tent Peak and Machhapuchhre, with the glacier below. Four days ago you watched this massif from Poon Hill; tonight you sleep inside it. Overnight at base camp.

Be outside before the sun. Annapurna I catches light first while the Sanctuary floor is still deep in blue shadow, and over about twenty minutes the glow travels around the entire rim. It is bitterly cold and it is the best twenty minutes of the trip.

After breakfast the descent starts in earnest. We retrace the meadow to Machhapuchhre Base Camp, drop back into the gorge, and follow the Modi Khola down past Deurali and Himalaya. Altitude sheds quickly and the effect on your breathing is obvious within the first hour.

Continuing down through Dovan, rock gives way to forest and the air turns warm and heavy again. The day ends at Bamboo (2,310 m) after more than 1,800 m of descent, nearly all of it on uneven stone steps. Trekking poles make a real difference today. Overnight at Bamboo.

The final walking morning follows the forest trail down through Upper and Lower Sinuwa, drops to the Chhomrong Khola, and climbs the stone staircase one last time to Chhomrong (2,170 m). It is the last real climb of the trek and mercifully brief.

From Chhomrong the path descends through terraced fields to Jhinu Danda (1,780 m). Twenty minutes below the village, on the bank of the Modi Khola, are the Jhinu hot springs — stone pools fed by natural thermal water beside a cold, loud river. After ten days of walking this is a hard offer to refuse, and there is normally time for a soak before the jeep.

The drive back down the valley reaches Pokhara (822 m) in the late afternoon. Tonight is the celebration dinner by the lake. Overnight in Pokhara.

A relaxed start. If you wake early, the sunrise over the Annapurnas from the lakeside is worth it — the same skyline you watched from Poon Hill on day four, and stood beneath on day eight. A short boat trip on Phewa Lake or a walk to the World Peace Pagoda are both easy options before breakfast.

We then drive east along the Prithvi Highway to Kathmandu (1,400 m), following the Marsyangdi and Trishuli rivers back through the gorge country. It is a full day on the road with a lunch stop en route.

Arriving in the late afternoon, you transfer to your hotel and the evening is free. Thamel is the place for last-minute shopping — pashmina, singing bowls, Himalayan tea, prayer flags and trekking gear are all a short walk from most hotels. Overnight in Kathmandu.

Your last day in Nepal. If your flight is later in the day, there is time to see a little more of the Kathmandu Valley — Boudhanath Stupa, one of the largest stupas in the world and the centre of Kathmandu's Tibetan community, is the most rewarding half-day option, with Pashupatinath and Swayambhunath close behind.

Our representative collects you from your hotel and transfers you to Tribhuvan International Airport around three hours before departure, leaving comfortable margin for check-in and security.

Over twelve days this itinerary has covered both of the Annapurna region's signature walks — the sunrise panorama from Poon Hill and the enclosed amphitheatre of the Annapurna Sanctuary — along with rhododendron forest, Gurung villages and the hot springs at Jhinu. If Nepal has got hold of you, our team is happy to talk through Everest Base Camp, Manaslu or Upper Mustang for next time. Safe travels.