What the Annapurna Sanctuary is really like
A week from our office to a glacial amphitheatre ringed by six thousand metres of ice, with notes on the stairs, the weather window and why we start you at Jhinu.
By the Lakeshore team · 9 min read · Updated 5 October 2026
The Annapurna Sanctuary is the only place in Nepal where you can stand in a flat meadow at 4,130 m and turn a full circle with mountains the whole way round. Annapurna I is right above you, close enough that you hear the ice move at night. Machhapuchhre, the peak you've been looking at from Lakeside all trip, is suddenly behind you and the wrong shape entirely.
It's also the trek most people underestimate. The altitude is modest by Nepali standards and the teahouses are comfortable, so it looks easy on paper. What the paper doesn't tell you is that the trail between Chhomrong and Bamboo drops and climbs about 600 m of stone staircase, and you walk it twice, once in each direction.
We run this trek most weeks from March to May and again from late September to early December. This is what we tell people who walk into the office and ask whether they can handle it.
The shape of the walk
You leave Pokhara early and drive to Jhinu Danda or Kimche, depending on the road. The first two days are village walking, past Ghandruk's slate roofs and buffalo on the path, with kids who will beat you uphill without trying. Chhomrong at 2,170 m is the last real village and the last place with a decent bakery. Above it, every building is a lodge put there to serve the trail and nothing else.
From Chhomrong the valley narrows and the walk changes completely. Bamboo, Dovan, Himalaya and Deurali are just places to sleep, strung along a gorge that gets steeper and colder as you climb. You're walking inside the mountain now, with rock walls on both sides and a river you can hear but rarely see.
Then comes Machhapuchhre Base Camp at 3,700 m, and the next morning a short hour and a half to ABC in thin air. Most people arrive by nine and spend the rest of the day sitting outside in a down jacket, not saying much.
The Chhomrong stairs, and other things the brochures leave out
Roughly 2,500 stone steps drop out of Chhomrong to the Chhomrong Khola, and the same again climb to Sinuwa. On the way up you're fresh and it's merely long. On the way down, with tired quads and eight days of walking behind you, it's the hardest hour of the trek. Poles aren't optional here. They take about a third of the load off your knees, and if you don't own a pair you can rent them from us.
The second thing is that the Sanctuary makes its own weather. Cloud comes up the gorge most days between ten and eleven in the morning, and by two you're walking in a grey box. That's why we start early every day and leave the lie-ins for Pokhara.
The third thing is water. Above Chhomrong, bottled water gets expensive and someone has to carry the empty plastic back down. Bring a filter bottle or purification tablets and fill up at the safe drinking water stations. Over the trek you'll save around 3,000 rupees and about twenty bottles.
The altitude is modest, but not zero
At 4,130 m the altitude matters. The usual pattern is a headache on the evening at MBC that clears with water and a decent night's sleep. Serious altitude sickness on this route is uncommon but not unheard of, and the cause is almost always speed, usually someone walking from Jhinu to ABC in four days because they have a flight to catch.
Our itinerary sleeps at Deurali or MBC before the push to ABC, which gives your body an extra night in the 3,000s. Guides carry a pulse oximeter and check everyone each evening. It takes thirty seconds and turns a vague worry into a number.
If your saturation is dropping and you feel bad, the fix is to go down, and from MBC you can lose 900 m in three hours. Being able to drop that fast is one of the big safety advantages this trek has over the Everest routes, where losing height quickly is much harder.
When to go
October and November bring stable weather, clean air and Annapurna I on show almost every morning. They're also the busiest months. In peak October the lodges above Chhomrong are full by mid-afternoon and people double up. We book ahead, but on the busiest nights there are no private rooms at MBC, booked or not.
March to early May is our own favourite. The rhododendron forest between Ghandruk and Chhomrong turns red and pink for about three weeks, the trail is quieter, and a bit of afternoon haze is a fair trade for having the ridge to yourself. Late April brings some afternoon cloud, but the mornings stay clear.
December and January are cold, beautiful and mostly empty. The Sanctuary can hold snow, some upper lodges close, and you need a warm sleeping bag. June to August is monsoon, with leeches, cloud and no mountain views. We'll happily take you, but we'll tell you first that you probably won't see Annapurna.
What it costs, and what to budget on top
Our seven-day Annapurna Base Camp package covers the guide, permits, transport from Lakeside, teahouse rooms and three meals a day on the trail. What it leaves out is the part that varies most from person to person: hot showers, wifi, charging, beer, chocolate and tips. If you like a hot shower and a beer in the evening, budget roughly 1,500 to 2,500 rupees a day on top of the package, less if you don't. Prices rise the higher you go, because everything up there came in on a porter's back or a mule. Tipping is customary. A common figure is about ten percent of the trip cost, split between guide and porter and handed over on the last evening. Nobody will ask you for it, and nobody sulks if you don't.
When you're ready to plan, send us a message. Nothing to pay online. We confirm your dates first.
Walk it with us
Private departures on your dates, guided by the people who wrote this page.
Questions we get asked
How fit do I need to be?
If you can walk five to six hours a day, several days in a row, without dreading the next one, you're fit enough. It's a stamina trek rather than a technical one. There are no ropes, no exposed drops and nothing you need to have learned first. The best preparation is walking down stairs, because that's what hurts.
Can I do it in fewer days?
Yes, and people do. The short version skips Ghandruk and starts higher up. We're wary of anything under six days on the trail, because the day you save comes out of your acclimatisation, not out of the walking.
Do I need a guide by law?
Permit rules for the Annapurna Conservation Area have changed over the last few seasons, so check them close to your dates, not on an old blog. Message us and we'll tell you the current rule for the week you arrive, whether or not you book with us.
Is there phone signal and wifi?
Ncell and NTC cover most of the route as far as Chhomrong, and it gets patchy above that. Lodges sell wifi vouchers up to Deurali. At MBC and ABC, assume you're offline and enjoy it.
What about hot showers?
Up to Deurali a shower costs 300 to 600 rupees, gas-heated and properly hot. At MBC and ABC it's a bucket of warm water, if anything. Most people skip it and stop caring by day four.
I'm travelling alone. Will I be put in a group?
Only if you want to be. Every trip we run is a private departure on your dates, so a solo trekker walks with their own guide instead of being fitted into someone else's schedule. If you'd like company, we can look for another party on similar dates, but that's up to you.
Is it safe for a woman trekking alone?
Yes. This is one of the busiest trails in Nepal, the teahouses are family-run, and you're with your guide all day. We guide solo women on this route most weeks, and we'll do our best to arrange a female guide if you ask in advance.
What if I have to turn back partway?
Then we turn back, and we help you get settled in Pokhara so you're not sorting it out alone. It happens, usually because of a stomach bug, a knee, or altitude that doesn't agree with someone. We've never made anyone feel it was a failure.
Still deciding?
Tell us your dates and how much walking you've done, and we'll tell you whether Annapurna Base Camp is right for you. If it isn't, we'll say so.
Nothing to pay online. We confirm your dates first.
Or call the office +977 61-457830