Overview
The Annapurna Base Camp Trek (ABC Trek) is a tremendous mix of spectacular mountain vistas, traditional mountain village life and thick rhododendron and bamboo forest ecosystems.
We begin in the pretty lakeside town of Pokhara and head to Tikkhedunga, Ghorepani and beyond through lush forests and farmland to narrow gorges overlooked by the mighty Hiunchuli and Machhapuchru. (Fishtail Mountain.)
This route will introduce you to the Gurung and Magar cultures and their warm and welcoming personalities. You will see local people living a simple life where Buddhism influences each and every action.
En route to Annapurna base camp Trek, many species of birds and wildlife can be seen, happily living in this lush environment, whilst you enjoy breathtaking views of the snow capped mountains of the Annapurna Range. Our destination is Annapurna Base Camp where we will be encapsulated by a mountainous wonderland, being surrounded by the icy peaks of some of the word’s highest and most beautiful mountains. You cannot help to fall in love with this region and be blown away by its crisp serenity.
Annapurna Base Camp Trek route visits another popular route, Poon Hill Trek, giving unparalleled mountain vistas and some perfect photo opportunities. There are certainly some challenging days to reach the altitude of 4130 meters, including rocky trails and an ascent of 3000 stone steps to Ulleri, but your efforts will be rewarded by the majestic mountains, all the way to Annapurna Base Camp over an array of different and exciting landscapes. To finish off the trek nicely, on the way back down to Pokhara, we stop at Jhinu where you can replenish your tired muscles in the natural hot baths.
Annapurna Base Camp Trek is an amazing journey into an infamous region of Nepal, what more could you ask for?
Don’t have 9 days? Go for this challenging 5 Days Annapurna Base Camp Trek.
Itinerary
The Cost Include(s)
- Pokhara (Lakeside area) to Nayapul transfers.
- An English speaking professional/licensed guide.
- Teahouse accommodation (twin/double and dorm rooms at higher elevation)
- All your standard Meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner) during the trek.
- A Porter (one porter between 2 participants / maximum 20 kilos carried by a porter / 10 kilos from each participants).
- Required trek entry permits.
- Siwai – Nayapul – Pokhara (Lakeside area) transfers.
- Government imposed taxes.
The Cost Exclude(s)
- Personal expenses such as laundry, wi-fi, battery charging, sweets, snacks etc..
- All kind of beverages (tea/coffee, bottled/filter water, coke, etc).
- Travel Insurance (Recommended as you are trekking in remote area / not mandatory to join trek).
- Personal trekking gears and clothing.
- Tipping (expected by guide and porters but not mandatory).
- Any loss arising due to unforeseen circumstances that is beyond Mosaic Adventure control.
On Day 1, start day of the trek we will arrange a pickup service free of charge from your hotel in Pokhara, Lakeside area. We will request your hotel details once you book this trek.
The Annapurna Base Camp trek is considered to be a moderate trekking route in Nepal. It has some long days and steep inclines. You do not require any previous trekking or mountaineering experience. It is not required that you have any technical experience, only that you be in good physical condition and are able to walk for four to six hours per day over hilly terrain with a light bag pack. If you are not an experienced trekker or do not exercise regularly, we recommend that you embark on a training program well in advance of commencing this trip. You will be given plenty of time to rest throughout the trek and the pace will be slow to help you acclimatize safely to the increasing elevation.
On your trek, you will be staying in “Teahouses.” Accommodation is limited, especially the higher you get, so your room may vary from a twin/double room to a bed in a dormitory. Bed mattresses are usually firm, not sprung mattresses that you may be used to at home. The accommodation is very basic and there will usually be shared shower and toilet facilities. There is a communal dining hall in all teahouses offering limited meal choices. Although basic, the teahouses are clean and are a welcome, friendly and warm resting place after a day trekking.
We ask that all our customers bring water purification tablets and a water bottle with them. (They can be bought in Kathmandu/Pokhara if forgotten.) Mosaic supports responsible tourism so we do not encourage trekkers to buy bottled water when in the Himalayan region, although it is be available, there is no proper disposal system for plastic bottles and we would like to keep our mountains clean and trash free. There will be plenty of water available along the way to fill your bottles and most brands of purification tablets take just 30 minutes before you can drink your water. We recommend that you drink a minimum of 3 to 4 liters of water per day whilst on your trek.
Any luggage that you will not require during your trek can be kept securely in your hotel in Pokhara.
Walking poles are not essential but can be useful especially on the way down. Poles help you balance on the way down and take the strain off of your legs (quad muscles) on some of the steep climbs. You can buy poles in Pokhara and they easily collapse so you can attach them to your back pack when they are not needed.
There are plenty of trekking shops in Kathmandu and Pokhara selling equipment inexpensively compared to the prices you would normally pay at home, although, the quality of these products cannot always be guaranteed. If you do not want to take the risk, we recommend you buy major items such as trekking shoes, before you arrive in Nepal. It is also recommended you buy your shoes well in advance of your trek so you can “break them in” and avoid blisters during your trip.
Yes, you can, in the teahouses. Please remember that plugs might be different than at home so don’t forget to bring adapters with you or buy them in Kathmandu before the trip. You may need to pay for the use of the electricity to recharge your electrical items in some teahouses, usually at a cost of $2-3 US per hour.
Showers are available at the teahouses. They will usually be shared bathrooms in most teahouses, especially the higher up you go. You will have to pay for a hot water shower per person. The higher you are, the colder it gets and you may find that you do not want to shower as often so you can wait just a few days until your descent.
Local currency in Nepal is rupees. We recommend you bring US dollars with you to Nepal and exchange them here as this is easily done and is a widely accepted currency. The amount of money you will need on a daily basis depends on your spending habits. A guide would be $10 per day for extra drinks (tea/coffee etc).
You will need to carry a reasonable sized daypack, big enough to carry personal items, water, camera, snacks, sunscreen, hat, a fleece jacket and gloves for higher altitudes. The porters will carry the bigger packs with your clothes etc…. They will carry packs up to 20kg. (10kg per person)
It depends on the nature of the sickness. Usually, if you become sick, you will descend to a lower altitude with the help and support of porter. If you are seriously ill, we will arrange an emergency helicopter evacuation service. Our guide will take immediate action according to the situation. Please ensure you arrange travel insurance that covers you for an evacuation service and trekking at high altitudes.
*Altitude sickness can affect everyone whilst trekking including young and healthy people and is a genuine concern in higher altitudes. If you feel dizzy, suffer palpitations or severe headaches, return immediately to a lower altitude. Do not take altitude sickness lightly. It can be fatal! Please familiarize yourself with the symptoms of altitude sickness before your trek. Do not ignore even the mildest of symptoms, inform your guide immediately. Our guides carry basic medicine and first aid equipment including simple painkillers, altitude sickness tablets, bandages, balm for muscle ache and medication to treat diarrhea and vomiting.
These are the questions we are often asked and we hope that you will find the answers useful. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any further queries.
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Breathtaking views of the HimalayasTeresa RobertsonFebruary 13, 2022
Few months ago, we booked the Annapurna Base Camp Trek through Mosaic Adventure for our family. We were looking for an experience that was not as intense as the Everest Trek because of the children in our family but provided the same amount of fun. The complete trek to Annapurna Base Camp was magical. We especially enjoyed the stop at Chhomrong Village where we indulged in some amazing chocolate cake and interacted with the friendliest locals. During this trek we also had the opportunity to truly indulge in the unique Magar traditions. Not to forget to mention the breathtaking views of the Himalayas that definitely stole the show. Overall, it was a perfect trip for the entire family thanks to Mosaic Adventure including our wonderful guide Rudra. - Top of the worldChris O'DonnellJune 5, 2019 My girlfriend and I booked a trek to Annapurna Base Camp, including a Kathmandu city day tour, with Mosaic Adventure at the end of May. We weren't sure about the best destination due to the oncoming of monsoon season. Raj (owner of Mosaic Adventure) sat down with us, helped to plan our itinerary, suggested the best route for the weather and time of year. We really felt he had our best interest in mind. The price was not the cheapest but we got the best value for our money. Included in the price was down sleeping bags and jackets. Most of all, we had the best possible guide. Krishna is a very experienced guide, and a wealth of knowledge. He was attentive to our needs, and we were very comfortable spending time together; he made our trip extremely memorable. We even got private Nepalese lessons. Thank you Mosaic for making our trek to ABC, an experience we will never forget.
- Annapurna area and KathmanduAndrea SilbermanMay 16, 2019 My partner and I highly recommend Mosaic Adventure to anyone looking to organise treks and city tours in Nepal. We emailed them ahead of our holiday and were extremely pleased by how helpful Madhav was in suggesting different options for our tour. You should just email Mosaic to find out about all the amazing services they offer! We trekked to Annapurna base camp, which featured some incredible scenery - the sunrise at Poon Hill, blooming rhododendron, huge bambsoo forests, lovely Gurung villages, the Annapurna sanctuary, hot springs in Jhinu and much, much more. Our group consisted of 4 tourists, 1 guide and 2 porters and we all got on really well, playing cards together after trekking and talking about our different home countries. Our guide and porters were very flexible which allowed us to each walk at our own pace and to adapt the itinerary when needed. We think it is much better to have a guide and porters in Nepal as we learned so much about Nepali culture from them. They always arranged for us to get the best rooms in the lodges and made sure we would get good food after trekking. It is also much safer as they know all the routes and know where there is danger of avalanches coming down. It was really not much more expensive than doing it all yourself, but so much more enjoyable. Back in Kathmandu we enjoyed a day city-tour organised by Mosaic which was also excellent. The guide was very knowledgeable about all the sites we visited and we were able to visit many more sites in one day than we would have been able to on our own. We visited Pashupatinath, Bhakthapur as well as Bodnath stupa, which are all must-sees if you are in the area. Thanks, Madhav, for helping us in having such a great holiday in Nepal!
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Superb travel agencyXavier ObachNovember 11, 2017 Mosaic Adventure is a superb travel agency. We recommend it without a doubt and it's human team deserves your confidence. It's manager, Madhav, and the two guides we worked with, Probin and Pralhad are 100% professionals able to deal with costumer needs and the with "tricky" task of moving around in the Nepal trekking universe. Probably you don't know really a person (or a company) till you have to deal with difficulties and challenges. Our trek to the Annapurna Base Camp on October 2017 had both. We were unable to reach our goal due to an exceptional amount of trekkers that literally fulfilled all available beds in the final stages of the route (even on out of room spaces). We have lots of complains about the Nepal park organisation and the booking system itself but We can only recognize the superb job the guides and Mosaic did to solve the problem. We have to say that, fortunately, we had spare days enough in Nepal to open a new window opportunity but that opportunity was possible only with the determination of Mosaic to solve the problem and take responsibility of us. We had the chance of talk with other trekkers and analyse the work of other guides and our conclusion is that Probin and Pralhad are in the top of the list, with plenty of experience on these routes and leadership skills to deal with group behaviour (not an easy thing). The Mosaic policy about porters (10kg max per person / 2 bags per porter) can restrain a bit the costumer comfort but is far more human and reasonable than others we saw on our route and it's something all trekkers should ask before decide. About the routes: Any person going to ABC trek must know that there is serious problem up there and that the Nepal park organisation is not assuming its responsibility (on hi-season at least). We recommend the panoramic Annapurna trek (till Poon Hill) and We also recommend the Everest panoramic trek (till Tengboche). Both are astonishing walks on incredible landscapes admiring the top of the world in front of you. I should repeat both and we are considering new trips to Nepal as soon as we can. -
An unforgettable experience!!Adam ParkerApril 4, 2015 My partner and I highly recommend Mosaic Adventure to anyone looking to trek in Nepal. We emailed them ahead of our trip and were extremely pleased by how helpful Madhav was in planning our itinerary. You should just email Mosaic to find out about the amazing services they offer! Our trek to Annapurna base camp was truly awe-inspiring and we hugely enjoyed all aspects of it - the sunrise at Poon Hill, the blooming rhododendron, huge bamboo forests, lovely Gurung villages, the Annapurna sanctuary, the hot springs in Jhinu and so much more! Our group consisted of 4 tourists, 1 guide and 2 porters and we all got on really well, playing cards together after trekking and talking about our different home countries. Our guide and porters were very flexible which allowed us to each walk at our own pace and to adapt the itinerary when needed. We think it is much bettet to have a guide and porters in Nepal as we learned so much about Nepali culture from them. They always arranged for us to get the best rooms in the lodges and made sure we would get good food after trekking. It is also much safer as they know all the routes and know where there is danger of avalanches coming down. Finally, it was not much more expensive than doing it all yourself, but so much more enjoyable. Thanks again to Madhav, Rudra, Sushil and Purna for an unforgettable experience!! - Interesting and unforgettable.Pavel VizilterOctober 10, 2014 It was our first visit to Nepal. We didn't have detailed plan of our journey and the only thing we new - we want to see Everest. After reading of several reports we decided to buy fly tickets and to book the hotel for two days in Kathmandu. Trough the book service i booked Great Wall. My choice was accidantal. I just wanted to secure our staying in Kathmandu for the short time and in case we wouldn't like the hotel we were ready to change it. The first pleasant surprise was when i received the e-mail from Madhav offering the pick up service from the airport. Later i understood how important was it. The hotel locates in Tamel - district in Kathmandu, actually it's old part, close to Freek Street and to many of historical objects. There are no exact addresses and we had the problems with taxi drivers in finding the right way to the hotel. Anyway Madhav send the car to the airport and we were successfully driven to the hotel. As we understood the hotel is under management of Mosaic Adventure. This circumstance was very helpful for us. So Mosaic arranged our trekking to Everest inside of an hour: all permissions, fly tickets to Lukla, guide, porters, equipment, accommodation, transfers and so on. Unfortunately we had bad luck and on the day when we had to fly Lukla was closed due to bad wetter. We were short of time and decided to rearrange our rout and instead of Everest to go to Annapurna. Many thanks to Madhav - he re-booked and rearranged everything very fast and next day we landed in Pockara and started our trekking to Pon Hill. Now after the trekking I'm sure it was the right decision and only the highest professionalism of Mosaic and especially of Madhav helped us to spend the great time in Nepal. Every country is introduced by the people and such guys like those who are working with Mosaic adventures make Nepal very attractive for visiting and traveling. Herewith i would like to express my personal gratitude to Madhav and very friendly stuff from the hotel Great Wall. They did everything to make our staying in Nepal comfortable, interesting and unforgettable.
- Really enjoyed our trekking in NepalDanidaOctober 10, 2014 We really enjoyed our trekking in Nepal to the Annapurna Base Camp. Everything was well organized and we felt comfortable every single day. Our guide was very friendly and experienced..Simply the best!!! We would like to thank Mosaic Adventures for the great time...and hopefully we will have the chance to trek to EBC next time. Greetings from the 2 Swiss girls.
- Everything was as promisedEsther LojoAugust 8, 2009 I did the Annapurna Base Camp Trek. Everything was as promised and well taken care off. I truly recommend Mosaic Adventure if you’d like to get family treatment and a fair price. Our guide Raj was a great instructor to Nepali life, what else could you ask for. Please don’t miss the opportunity to enjoy Nepal with the services offered by Mosaic! If you have further questions please don’t hesitate to contact me @ lojo_lon@hotmail.com.
