Trek to Annapurna Basecamp - Stairway to Heaven

At Annapurna Basecamp

 1: Sauli Bazaar to Ghandruk

We took an early flight to Pokhara from Kathmandu. It’s quite a rush since I woke up pretty late. But I dash into the airport and find the flight is taking its own morning prep time too!

Nepal domestic airlines seems pretty laid back, so even though the flight is about 10-15mins delayed and I am making frequent enquiries, there is no panic, but only surprise at the counter at my unreasonable restlessness!

The flight decks up in time and we land in Pokhara. We get our passes (ACAP only, TIMS is not required at the moment) sorted, leave our extra luggage at the hotel we would stay once back from the trek and get in a ‘shared’ cab, headed towards Ghandruk. Now, I write ‘shared’ in quote because, even though it is essentially a cab that can be shared amongst 7-8 people, there is no one around but only 3 of us. So, we end up paying for the entire cab.

Turns out, there has been a landslide and the road is blocked just after Sauli Bazaar. We can cross the broken area on foot and get in another cab, but we feel springy, so we march on to Ghandruk from Sauli Bazaar.

On the way to Ghandruk from Sauli Bazaar

This part of the route is full of green lush paddies and millets in the classic terrace cultivation décor. Through the middle of such vast farmlands and intermittent cottages, we start climbing the first of the innumerable stairs to come – stairway to heaven.

Step up to Ghandruk

After about 3 hours of walk, we reach Ghandruk and gorge on a generous pour of – Daal, Bhaat, Sabji, Papad – and the meal remains the same for the next 8 days! Easy, simple food – can’t go hard on my tummy on the mountains!

Nighty night, serious walk starts from tomorrow!

Day 2: Ghandruk to Chomrong

Do I hear rain?! Ah crap! October comes with clear Autumn sky but what’s this! Fog and cloud have covered the mountains, giving out a mystic vibe; the rain seems untiring, unbothered. With a long face, I start to get ready, letting out a lot of grunts and grumbles.

Doh! It rained on me

We walk in the rain today. After crossing the village, we get into a forest path. One good thing about rain is – green gets greener and waterfalls get perkier! One bad thing about rain is – Okay, there are quite a few bad things, not one! Rain makes it uncomfortable as it is – you are wearing a raincoat, your specs are getting foggy, you are probably struggling to get the grip on your shoes right on the slippery forest terrain, you are not able to view the distant snow clad peaks. But the worst thing is – leeches!

Before climbing up to Chomrong

I haven’t seen those slimy blood sucking pesky creatures before, so when I got the first leech on my hand, I thought, ‘God, such a stubborn insect!’ Next I know, my friend telling me, ‘You have got a blood stain on your t-shirt.’ Weird, I thought. A few minutes later, my feet start itching. So does others’. Our guide, Mani tells us, ‘Careful, there are lots of leeches!’ I take a pause to itch and have a look at my shoe. 3 leeches stuck on my feet, just beneath the socks, sucking blood. As I try to get rid of them (man, they are stubborn, I tell you!), 3 more start climbing on my shoes! Other’s had the exact same story going. I suddenly get an itch on my neck and found one big fat leech up there too! Panic starts.

We walk fast to cross this leechy land. We get in the next hilly hut we find and get ourselves cleaned up. Thanks to the hearty local people, they tolerated the bloodshed we did to mess up their floors and even made us some salt patches for the road ahead.

Post leech attack!

From Ghandruk to Kumrong Danda (the leechy land as I would always remember it!), it’s a steep up and then a steep down to a valley. A gurgling river streams through the valley – this place is called Kumrong Khola (Khola means river). Once you climb down to this valley, you cross a bridge here. And this my friend, is the bridge of a kind! In our guide’s words, ‘It’s some sort of a Hollywood horror scene!’ It’s a hanging bridge, supported by ropes on the sides and you walk on a narrow wooden strip to get to the other end of the valley. We cross this bridge one by one. It must be some 100-200meters long but man, it feels like a thousand meters stretch. I am the last one to cross. As I stand there, watching the rest tiptoe to the other end, my tummy roars. It always does when it knows it probably wouldn’t see another meal in this life. My turn comes, I start crossing the bridge; the rain has made the wooden slab even more slippery than it probably is, my specs are anyway getting fogged up due to the rain and the sweat – I don’t feel my legs anymore; I only hear the roaring stream beneath and the pounding heartbeat inside. To top up the quota of my adventure, the long wooden strip ends abruptly about halfway, and a horizontal strip starts – which means, I need to lunge a bit more now. I don’t think I have ever focused harder and lived in the moment more than I did now.

Dicey Bridge to Chomrong

Well, anyway, I am alive. So yes, I make it to the other end, and I swear never to cross that bridge again.

From Kumrong Khola, we climb up again through the forest path full of boulders and stairs, holding our salt patches, ready for any further leech attack. The rain has stopped now, the walk is becoming more pleasant and we feel much stronger having procured our salty ammunitions. We climb up to the village of Chomrong to a beautiful bright evening, sunshine just about breaking in through the mist and freshly showered greens around.

At Chomrong

Day 3: Chomrong to Himalaya

I wake up to a bright sunny morning and I feel an instant energy flowing through my otherwise sore body! Last night was terrible - achy body, bloody feet (Betadine and alcohol-based sanitisers came in quite handy, thankfully!), wet clothes. But this morning, everything seems so much better!

Step up to Sinuwa

We spring into action!

Today is again a forest trail but everything looks so different (and better) when the sun is up and smiling. We catch our first glimpse of Machhapuchhare/Fishtail peak. Such an amazing, unique peak that is! The distant snow-clad peaks, the thick green slopes, the tireless stony stairs – we find rhythm in our feet.

Machhapuchaare/Fishtail peak

One of the funny, sadist way of this trail is, you constantly climb up and then you climb down, only to climb up again. Quite a trivia when we realized - Chomrong was at 2170m and after hours of climbing up and down, we gained only about 200m of elevation when we reached the next village of Sinuwa at 2340m.

Crossing over to Sinuwa

We climb down steeply from Chomrong (2170m) and then climb up again to Sinuwa (2340m) and then climb down again to Bamboo (2335m) and climb up again to Dovan (2505m). Uptil Bamboo, the Sun kept its mercy on us. We pause for a quick lunch at Bamboo and out of nowhere, tremendous gush of rain starts pouring down! ‘What the heck!’ Our face droops. We put our raincoat back on and start walking in the rain again. 

Gushing falls on the way

For the next 2 hours till the village of Dovan (2505m), followed by another 2 hours of climb to the village of Himalaya (2920m), a silent, focused walk continues amidst the forest, combating the leeches, crossing many gushing waterfalls, slippery makeshift bridges and powering through the trail, counting our blessings.

Slippery sloppy Bridges

All is well that ends well. After a long, drenched walk, the tea house at Himalaya greets us with a hot shower and a warm dine-in. You can’t ask more!

Day 4: Himalaya to MBC

I wake up cautiously. ‘Is it still raining?’ Ah! Thank goodness, I see a corner of the blue sky.

The last bit of the forest trail - Near Deurali

The trail changes magically today. No more climbing down and up in a never-ending loop. We steadily climb up to an elevation of 3230m to the next village stop at Deurali. Fishtail peak is our constant friend now, overlooking us all the time. As we sit and admire the surrounding in Deurali with a cup of hot black tea, a surprising idol (presumably of Buddha) appears at the far top end on the slope of the mountain in front! ‘It must be an illusion’ – I go with my critical thinking. But it can’t be, the big statue perched at the side slope is glaring obvious! I keep thinking how it is possible to have that built in such a precarious position; the locals tell me – ‘It’s naturally built’ which only fills me with more awe!

Uncanny Buddha statue perched at the top!

From Deurali, we climb down into a valley, the Buddha statue stays with us in this bit of the way. The valley we are in now is marked as the ‘avalanche prone area’! Dangerous as it sounds, you can’t deny the beauty of this valley.

Avalanche Prone valley

The wide green valley surrounded by big mountain walls, a rapid stream cutting through the middle and the distant snow jewels gleaming at you – I bet you can’t rub off that broad grin from your face once you reach here, how much ever you try!

Forest has opened up to a beautiful Valley now!

Once you cross this valley, you start climbing up again through a steep path with a magical panoramic view. As we start approaching the destination for the day, the weather takes a turn again. Cloud seems to appear from some hidden corner and engulfs the surrounding. 

Approaching MBC

As I am about to cross a stream flowing down with tremendous speed and sound, I see the stairs at the other end – the stairs climbing up to the Machhapuchhare Basecamp and the Annapurna Basecamp - the stairway to heaven. We cross the river, holding hands and climb up the misty stairs to Machhapuchare Basecamp (MBC, 3700m).

Steps up to MBC

Day 5: MBC to ABC

I wake up at around 5 in the morning with a slight headache. I haven’t been sleeping well for the last few days – it could be that or it could be the sniffy cold I caught in the rain or it could be the much-dreaded mountain sickness.

Machhapuchaare

I hear a knock at the door and a call out from our guide at about 6am. He sounds excited. I rush outside and I immediately see why. Yesterday’s misty MBC has now unfolded a treasure of golden glowing peaks! Machhapuchare looks immense from here! With this unique peak to the right, glows Gangapurna, Glacier Dome and Hiunchuli in a half circular chain – a fantastic sight!

Gangapurna & Glacier Dome

The Sun is perky today and hence the Peaks! My headache vanishes magically, we troop on.

Just as we start walking, a herd of sheep surround us. I can’t describe this setting in words – bright sunny sky, white snowy peaks, lush green valley, fat fluffy sheep – you paint your imagination! As we climb higher and higher through this valley, Machhapuchare seems to grow with us into this immense mountain at the back and the Hiunchuli seems to shine brighter and bigger at the front.

Sheepy valley

We bathe in the glory of the Sun till half the way and then the mist wrapped us. With a short 2 hours walk from MBC, we finally reach Annapurna basecamp (4130m) – our final destination!

But joy of reaching the basecamp eludes us today. The thick cloud has hidden it all. We sit in the tea house and mourn our luck. ‘Will we not get to see the magic after all?’ 😟

Annapurna Basecamp - fogged up

Day 6: Highlight- ABC!

My head is splitting with a throbbing headache and my ears seem to have a weirdly stony pressure on it. I haven’t slept at all. I go outside at about 5am in the morning to peek on my luck and come back to bed with a heavy heart – The mountain walls still seem to be covered in fog.

I drag myself up from the bed at 6am – head feels heavy, heart feels heavier. ‘I won’t see Annapurna after all.’ I get myself a cup of black tea and stand in the cold, dark fog in the basecamp with a blank mind.

And the sun shines in ABC

‘Ooh look over there, the cloud is moving slowly!’ We get a slight nudge as we first make out the outline of the mountain. We stand patiently with a fixed gaze in that direction.

Ah there it goes!

And then it slowly unfolds! Just like a magic in action! The cloud moves away as if taking the shutter away from the mesmerizing view I have ever seen in my life! 

Magnificent Annapurna

The Annapurna presents itself in its full glory! The Sun from the back of Machhapuchare cast the spotlight on Annapurna, bathing the majestic massif in a golden glow! The South Annapurna on its left, Gangapurna on its right, Hiunchuli on its far left and Machhapuchare on the opposite – the whole 360-degree view of this huge wonderous snow jewels, is maddening; it takes the breath away! 

The whole range opens up to a spectacular view

‘It’s like a dream!’ – says our guide. I feel it’s more than I could ever dream! The view is so overwhelming, so enthralling, it feels surreal, it feels emotional. I don’t know if I believe in God but if there is God, this must be it!

South Annapurna, Annapurna I and the glacier in front

Fun fact – it turns out Annapurna showered its glory on us on the day of ‘Mahalaya’! It’s a sweet coincidence and you would surely know if you are a Bong at heart, religious or not!

Day 6: ABC to Bamboo

What a morning it is! The few hours of soaking in the mountain view pass in a jiffy. My headache was forgotten in the crazy hours too but now it’s back again. ‘Maybe it is indeed AMS’ – I start drinking a lot of water as we start our descent.

Namaste ABC!

For the rest of our trip, Sun keeps its promise, so does the mountains and the valleys. We walk down the valley with a chirpy heart and perky feet. Annapurna has pumped in newfound enthusiasm in those jelly legs.

Valley between ABC and MBC

We climb down the same route and make it till Bamboo that day. Weird enough, my head still hurts (when I am not thinking about that magnificent sight of the mountains from the morning!). I go to bed, slightly worried.

Day 7: Bamboo to Jhinu

Headache is gone today! Maybe all I needed was a good night’s sleep! Maybe all I needed to sleep was the blessing of Annapurna. Ah, I still can’t get over. I wake up in a dream with a big smile on my face. ‘We really made it to ABC!’

You know how you leave some places, but those places never leave you 😊 Annapurna is surely one such place! I feel blessed.

Checked out Alive from ABC!

We walk back the same route as we had taken while climbing up until Chomrong. From Chomrong, instead of going back to Ghandruk, we took the different route to Jhinu.

Stairs has not still left us! We climb down hundreds and thousands of steps and finally reach Jhinu. We stretch our legs at the Jhinu tea house – ‘Almost done with the walk now!’ We plan to stroll down to a hot spring in Jhinu after our lunch – all that’s left now is a good relaxation at the hot spring.

‘Make sure you carry some salt patches, there are leeches down that way!’ – the last thing we want to hear comes as a warning to us by the local tea house owner. ‘Should we skip it then! Can’t take anymore leeches!’ But how can we skip it and not regret! So, there we go - we fold our trousers to knee length, get some fresh salt patches and start the walk down to the hot spring. People at the tea house says it’s a 15minutes' walk down and 30minutes' walk up, our guide says it’s a 30minutes' walk down, 45 minutes’ walk up, I say it feels like a 1 hour walk down and a 1 hour walk up when you have leeches on your mind and feet! On clock, it takes around 30-40minutes probably but that’s not how it feels like, to be sure!

Descent back through forest trail

Anyway, we make it down to the hot spring finally and soak into the warmth. All is well that ends well but this is not the end yet. We still must climb up the slippery leech way.

The hot spring is just beside the gushing stream, the built is, however, okayish. Our guide tells us, this bit of the area gets flooded every year by the river and it is only in making for this year now. Whatever it is, a little bit of warmth at the end of the day goes a long way.

Day 8 : Jhinu to Siwai

Our last day of the trek! We lazily start our day. The walk starts with a very long bridge (New bridge) taking us from one hill to the other across a deep valley. The bridge is some 300-400m long probably, but it is sturdy and not as fearsome as the one we crossed on our 2^nd Day from to Chomrong.

Stepping Down now...

The path is however a steep up again. ‘Ascent even on the last day?!’ – Yeah! But it ends quickly. After about an hour of walk, there is a jeep station which can take you back to the city of Pokhara. But we continue walking this time. We follow a flattish way round the mountains and the valleys, heading towards Siwai. Only one but very grand waterfall meets us on the way today. 

The last waterfall on the trail

We are almost near our last stop now. Whilst we are strolling down the way, chitchatting about know-not-what, suddenly, we stop at a quick motion of events in front. A mad bull has started chasing our guide! The bull seems angry and mad and out of control. Our guide however seems to know his ways. He starts frightening the bull with a lot of ‘hoo-haa-s’. We quickly run behind him to safeguard ourselves. The bull seems to have diverted his attention away from us now and starts hitting the mountain slope! 'Crazy, mad bull!' We panic, not knowing what to do next! At this point, a jeep arrives like a blessing from heaven and we jump in and drive off, all the way back to Pokhara now!

Thus our trek comes to an end. We can’t have finished the trek more in style than a mad bull chasing us away!

Back from the Heaven 

From lush green farms, to thick forest trails, big boulders, gushing falls, pouring rains, slimy leeches, vast valleys, snow mountains, mad bulls and mighty Annapurna – this was an experience of a lifetime! 

Namaste!

Signing off for now, a bit richer and a lot humbler, Blessed.