Embark on an Annapurna base camp trek via Poon Hill in Just 8 days
The Annapurna Base Camp Trek offers a view of the magnificent, Mt Annapurna, which stands at 8,091 m (26,545 ft), along with numerous other peaks perfectly aligned in a panoramic display. Embark on an unforgettable 8-day trek to the Annapurna Base Camp trekking via Poon Hill, reaching an elevation of 4,130 m. From this breathtaking vantage point, be mesmerised by panoramic views of majestic Himalayan peaks, including Annapurna South, Gangapurna, Annapurna III and many others.
Trip Overview
Annapurna Base Camp (ABC) Overview:
The Annapurna Base Camp trek is one of the most popular and scenic trekking routes in Nepal. It takes you through lush rhododendron forests, terraced farmlands, and traditional Gurung villages, all the way to the base of the majestic Annapurna I (8,091m). Located at an altitude of 4,130 meters, the base camp offers a stunning 360° view of the Annapurna massif, including Machapuchare (Fishtail), Hiunchuli, and Annapurna South. The trek usually takes 8–12 days, starting from Pokhara, and is suitable for both beginners and experienced trekkers. It’s a perfect blend of natural beauty, cultural experience, and moderate adventure.
🏔 Panoramic Views of Annapurna I, Machapuchare (Fishtail), Annapurna South, Hiunchuli, and other peaks
Itinerary
- Annapurna base camp trek 8 days (8-day trek):Our standard Annapurna base camp trek 8 days starts from Hile then goes to poon hill and ultimately reaches the base camp. The trek is a combination of both Annapurna and Ghorepani so it is 8 days. The trek is possible for trekkers who are in good shape and can cope the trek endurance for 6-8 hours in a day. Our itinerary on this page is 8 day trek itinerary and you can customize it by adding days which makes it much comfortable for all kinds of Hikers.
Welcome to you in Nepal. We will bring you to the hotel upon your arrival at Kathmandu airport. The hotel you can book by yourself, or we can book on behalf of you for your business. We will also conduct a small briefing regarding the Annapurna base camp trek. Your guide will be also here to introduce you and we also check your things if you want us to do that.
We recommend you buy or rent the insufficient gear here in Thamel. You can get various types of gear and also different brands but if you want the cheap one then it is also possible. You can hire sleeping bags. We can recommend you some shops to look at but the choice is completely on you and you are free to find anywhere you like in Thamel.
There are 2 options, to travel to Pokhara. Pokhara is the trekking starting city where we generally spend 1 night before the trek but it depends on your time and the transportation methods you use. We can use two transportation to Pokhara. The first one is by Flight and the second one is to drive by the Deluxe tourist Bus.
If you consider travelling on the bus a waste of your time and want to enjoy travelling time in Pokhara or start the trek the same day because of the time limit you can fly to Pokhara. The flight to Pokhara is quite expensive but it saves your time nearly by 1 day because if you take the first flight to Pokhara, you can start the trek on the same day and skip the Pokhara so it saves time this is expensive too and there is also a chance that sometimes the flight might get delay or even get cancelled too.
If you love travelling on the bus and have more time to spend in Nepal and enjoy countryside riding then you can choose the Tourist bus option which is cheap but time-consuming. The tourist bus leaves early in the morning around 7 am and takes about 8-9 hours to reach the Pokhara because of the road expansion work going on the whole section of the road. The tourist bus often stops for breakfast, lunch and some small breaks too. You can enjoy the landscapes and Trisuli as well as the Marsyandri river view during your drive to Pokhara. Once you reach Pokhara you will be taken to your hotel at Lakeside and again the hotel can be booked by yourself or we can book on behalf of you.
- Early morning we will come to pick up you at your hotel. We generally start our drive from Pokhara around 8 AM so you could finish your breakfast earlier than 8 am. We generally drive on the Jeep to Hile, which is a trekking starting point. We could even start from Birethanti but due to the road, we drive up to Hile. What happens is they have built the road and we have to walk through the roads and the jeeps often run and throw the dust which is not fun to walk.
We start the private jeep ride from Pokhara to reach the trekking starting point, Hile which takes about 2.5 Hour to 3 Hours. The road up to Birethanti is black-topped. From Birethant to Hile it is off-road. On your drive to Hile, you may see the beautiful Annapurna range, Fishtail and Annapurna II, and Lamjung Himal from villages like Nag Danda and Kande.
We will check in our permits at Birethanti and continue our drive to Hile through the off-roads. The off-road drive is about 40 minutes to 1 hour and then we will start our trek from Here. Depending on your time you may do lunch here or even in Tikhedhunga. The first part of the trails is easy but has some stairs and crosses the local villages along the trails like Hile and Tikhedhunga.
From Tikhedhunga the real stone staircases begin. There are about 4000 stone staircases in a zig-zag pattern to reach the Ulleri village. It takes 2-3 hours to reach the Ulleri village and we will stay overnight here in Ulleri village. If you do not want to climb the stairs of Ulleri then there is also the option of the Jeep ride which takes you up to Ulleri or even further.
- You will have a beautiful morning with a view of Mt Annapurna south 7219m/23,684ft and Himchuli 6400m/20,997ft. You can see the surrounding areas and beautiful villages along the trails. After breakfast, you will start the journey by climbing the stone staircases which go from Ulleri to Banthanti and beyond.
The first part of climbing takes you to the Banthanti village from here the trails become much easier but still have a stone staircase. The trails completely go inside the dense forest of the rhododendron, oaks and pine and it often goes accent and descends till the Bhalu Odar.
From here the trails take the gradual accent to the Nangethanti. The trails will be completely inside the forest and you will see the dense forest everywhere and some river streams and rivers on the other side of the valley. The Ghorepani river that comes from Ghorepani goes with us till the Ghorepani but here Near the Nangethanti we will cross another small river stream and have lunch here.
You can spend some quality time here because the village is in a complete forest and has some fields where they grow the potatoes and some vegetables they need. Around the village, you can see some buffaloes grazing around the trails too. Heaving the breakfast we continue our trek to Ghorepani.
Trails to Ghorepani now become much easier and wider too, you can meet other tourists on the way who are going or coming down from Ghorepani. It takes about an hour to reach the Ghorepai from the Nangethanti. You will check your permits in Lower Ghorepani and continue walks for a further 10 minutes to stay in Upper Ghorepani.
- Early in the morning 1 hour before sunrise, we woke up and set up the journey to Poon Hill 3210m/10,531ft. On the trails to Poon Hill, there are a lot of stone staircases. Most of the trails go through the rhododendron forest and you can see the Annapurna Range and Dhulagiri RangePerfectly.
Once you reach the Poon Hilltop you will see the 360degree view of the Annapurna range including Mt Annapurna 8,091m/26,545ft, Mt. Dhaulagiri 8,167m/26,794ft, Annapurna south 7219m/23,684ft, Himchuli 6400m/20,997ft, Holy Mt.Fishtail 6,993m/22,942ft, Dhaulagiri II, Dhaulagiri III, Gurja Peak, Tukuche Peak. The sunrise over these mountains is glorious and fascinating to trekkers.
Returning to Ghorepani we do breakfast and start trekking towards the Tadapani. The trails start with the stone staircases near the Ghorepani and go through the Rhododendron forests to the hilltop from where you can see both sides and you will be able to see the the Dhaulgiri and Annapurna range. Now you will walk again through the ridge and it is still through the forest. Walking further 1-hour accent you will reach the Viewpoint called Thaple Danda 3180 Meters.
Thaple Danda also offers great views from here the trails become much easier and do frequent ascents and descents through the ridge. Here you will see the rhododendrons and bamboo mostly and continuous walking further 40 minutes takes you to the village called Deurali. You can do the small tea break here.
You will start descending from here and the trails are mostly stone staircases we go down through the small river stream towards the Banthanti (a different one from the first Banthanti). You will see the huge stone mountains and big pine trees along the way. Once you reach to banthanti you will do Lunch Here.
From Banthanti the trails for around 30 minutes are flat once we reach the Hilltop from here again the trail’s descent down through the Hydro Pipe in a zig-zag pattern till the Tadapani river. Crossing the cement bridge the last climbing begins. The last climb to Tadapani is pretty tough as the climbing consists of stone staircases till the Tadapani. Usually, it takes about an hour to reach the Tadapani. We stay overnight here in Tadapani.
- Early in the morning, you will see great views of the Annapurna ranges, including peaks like Annapurna South, Himchuli, Mt Fishtail, Annapurna III, and many others. After breakfast, you will start your journey to descend.
The descend trails lead you to the village of Chuile and the valley looks even much wider and open. It takes about an hour to reach the Chuile from here again you will continue descents down with the stone staircases that go from the middle of the village through the potato field and local tea houses. Once we reach the river Gurjung we cross the river. Now, the trails become much harder because the trails climb straight at 60-degree angles to the Gurjung school. It takes about 30 minutes till we reach the Village Gurjung.
From Gurjung the trails pass through the village of Gurjung and potatoes, vegetable and cash crops fields. Here the temperatures are also high and if the day is sunny then, it might be very hot for you. Depending on your time and speed we may do the Lunch Here or continue to the village of Chomrong.
Way to Chomrong from here goes through the jungle with the frequent accents and in many places, there are stone staircases in the Jungle. You will climb through the jungle and reach the Village called the Durbin Danda. From Durbin Danda, the trails again climb slowly to the village near here on the other side of the rivers and crossing that village there are 2 ways to go to Chomrong. The higher one is longer and the lower one is shorter but leads you to Chomrong too.
Chomrong is the biggest settlementof the Gurung people and there are so many hotels and lodges as well as bakery and coffee shop for the tourist. If the weather is clear you may able to see the Annapurna south, Mt Fishtail and Himchuli peaks partially from here. Now the trails become much dirtier because of the frequent donkey movements as they make the dunk on the trails and that goes up to Lower Sinuwa or sometimes, even higher. From Chomrong the trails descend to the Chomrong River. Here we cross the Suspension bridge then again the.
After crossing the suspension bridge another uphill accent comes. We will climb it to reach the Village called Lowe Sinuwa. We stay overnight here in Lower Sinuwa.
We will have another beautiful and long day today starting with breakfast at Lower Sinuwa. We then ascend gradually through the stone staircases towards Upper Sinuwa, rewarded with breathtaking views of Mt. Fishtail (6,993m/22,942ft) along the way. Upper Sinuwa offers a great view of Mt Fishtails and the valley we will trek through today too. Here you can have some great shots before you enter into the Jungle.
We now trek through the Jungle and the trail continues through lush forests teeming with rhododendrons, oaks, and bamboo. After a 3-hour hike, we arrive at Bamboo, a small settlement with 7-8 houses. The place is named bamboo because there are a lot of bamboo bushes around the villages. Near Bamboo, there is also a Holy temple from where you are not allowed to kill animals or transfer meat above there.
From Bamboo, we follow the Modi River upstream, the trail becoming increasingly damp due to the dense forest and numerous water sources that fall from the bottom of the Himchuli Peaks. We can choose to have lunch at Dovan or Upper Dovan before continuing our ascent towards Deurali.
Once we leave the Upper Dovan we continue our journey through the accent trails that go along with the Modi river stream to upwrds. There in the middle of Baraha temple with the big waterfalls on the other side of the river. We will have now climb uphill to reach the Himalayas. You can enjoy the coffee they make with the machine here.
Now the trails move ahead with the rugged trails filled with uneven stones and big boulders. The trails are filled with stone staircases and accents to the Hincu Cave. There is a small cave bore the trails descend down to the Deurali river and cross the rivers before climbing accents there is another river to cross and when you are about to reach there is another river stream to cross and once we cross it we will reach the Deurali. Stay Overnight here.
The final day of our ascent begins at Deurali (3200m/10,498ft). After Having breakfast here in Deurali, we start trekking from here through the bank of the Modi River. There are 2 trails here, the first one is the spring trail and the one is the autumn and monsoon trail.
Both trails lead you to the Bagar (a flat land above the deurali). Once we reach Bagar you can see the Mt Fishtails from different perspectives. From here the trails climb gently towards the Machhapurche Base Camp. We can see many waterfalls and river streams while climbing to Machhapurche Base camp and you will trek through the bamboo bushes mostly along the hiking trails.
Once you arrive at the Machhapurche base camp you will be thrilled to see the spectacular view of the peaks Like Mt Fishtail, Annapurna South and Himchuli from here. We will have lunch here in Machhapurche base camp. We will start our hike again towards the Annapurna base camp and the trails are quite hard because of the altitude gain and frequent stairs. The trails continuously climb the river upstream and the higher you go the better view you will see. The trails are filled with dry grey grasses along the trails and in some parts the trails. Continuous through the trails inside the valley we will reach the Annapurna base camp 4130m/13,549ft.
Our most awaited day is today, and we will have one of the best views of the entire trek. From your hotel room, you can see some peaks, but for sunrise, you need to go to the ridge from where you can see the perfect sunrise above the Annapurna range.
From the Ridge, you can see the panoramic ranges. Mountains like Annapurna 8091 m (26,545ft) Annapurna South 7219 m (23,684ft), Himchuli 6400 m (20,997ft), Annapurna Fang 7,647 m (25,089 ft), Annapurna III 7,555 metres (24,787 ft), Annapurna IV 7,455 metres (24,459 ft), Mt Fishtail 6,993 m (22,943 ft) Tent Peak and many peaks we can see from the Annapurna base camp.
We can also discover the glaciers that stretch from the Annapurna south and Annapurna base to the Machhapurche base camp. This is a moving glaciers as you can hear some noises from the Glaciers. The sunrise over the Mt Annapurna range is something that trekkers may not have seen before. After spending quality time on the Annapurna base camp you will descend to the Bamboo through the same route by following the stream of the Modi River. It takes about a whole day to arrive at Bamboo.
The trek starts today with the accent stairs from Bamboo to the uphills near the bamboo. There are many stone staircases to climb and the stairs are up to the small resting house. From here we will walk through the dense forests. The trails go up and down to Upper Sinuwa and from Upper Sinuwa the trails go decent down to the Chomrong River.
From the Chomrong River, the trails accent the Chomrong village, with stone staircases to the top. From here, we descend to the Jhinu Danda. The trails to Jhinu Danda are all decent downhills and we do lunch here at Jhinu Danda. We can also go to Hot Spring if you want which is 15 Minutes downhill from here and 30 minutes to comeback then walking 30 minutes from Jhinu we get Samrung from where we take the private Jeep to Pokhara which takes 3 Hours
Includes
Cost Includes
- Kathmandu international airport transfer by private vehicles.
- Meals on full board: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner each day during the trekking days
- Guest house basis trekking accommodation while on trekking days
- Tourist Bus transfer from Pokhara to Kathmandu for guest and guide.
- Fully escorted trek with fluent English speaking license holder local guide
- Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACCAP) permits
- Seasonal Fruits if possible
- Duffle bags for trekking or store the lugguage
- First Aid Box
- TIMS Permit
- Insurance for the Guide
- private Jeep transfer from Pokhara to hile
- private Jeep transfer from Samrung to Pokhara
- Food and accommodation and salary of Nepali trekking staffs
Cost Excludes
- Nepal entry visa fee cost US$ 40.
- Porter to carry the Luuguage
- Lunch and Dinner during the staying in Kathmandu and Pokhara city.
- Any kinds of battery charges, laundry service, phone calls and hot shower during the trekking.
- Personal trekking equipment and Clothing.
- Personal nature expenses, any drinks and bar bills.
- Your travel insurance (it is mandatory in case of emergency).
- Any donation and monuments entrance fees.
- Tips for the crew (Note : TIPS is not compulsory but highly expected)
- Any other things which are not mentioned above
FAQs
Annapurna base camp trek is located in the north of Pokhara behind the Mt Fishtail on the bank of the Modi River. It is the trek that leads trekkers to the South base of Mt Annapurna 8091 Meters located in the Kaski District. The trek starts from different places such as Birethnti, Ghandruk/Samrung or the Australian camp.
Annapurna base camp trek is absolutely beautiful and a moderate type of trek. Trekkers can see the dense forest, rapid rivers, high waterfalls, sky touching snowcapped peaks and glaciers too. The Annapurna base camp trek you can do via poon hill and it is one of the best viewpoints to see the sunrise over the Annapurna Himalayan Ranges. The trek is also an opportunity to see the Gurung cultures and traditions so it is a very good trek for people who are looking for a trek for under 10 days.
The Prithivi Highway is 210 km from Kathmandu. The second part of the road from Mugling to Pokhara is being widened. There is construction work going on everywhere so it takes longer than usual. In the past it used to be 6 hour’s journey now it takes about 9-10 hours. Even in the first part of the road is also under construction so sometimes you may get heavy traffic too due to the road expansion. If you have a certain period and you don’t want to be stuck on the tourist bus then you can select the flight options to go to Pokhara from Kathmandu which saves you time.
