Volunteer Society Nepal : The best experience for volunteers, the best value for Nepal.
Overview
Arrival City:Kathmandu
Price:1125 Euro
Meals:All meals included during trekking
Attractions:Pokhara, Thorong la Pass, Muktinath, Jomsom
Accomodation:Tea House
Departure City:Kathmandu
Difficulty:Moderate
Duration:15 Days
Transportation:Tourist Bus/ Jeep
Country:Nepal
Maximum Altitude:5416 Meters
Styles:Trekking
Group Size:1 - 10 Persons
About Annapurna Circuit Trek
Annapurna Circuit Trek is an exceptionally gratifying and well-known expedition in the Annapurna Region. Annapurna Circuit Trek offers a variety of scenery of both the northern and southern Himalayas and valley sights along the trails. These days roads have been connected in mountains. In many of the sections of the circuit, the trek follows the roadway but we will try not to follow the road tracks so we will be using trekking old trails if possible.
Annapurna Circuit Trek will take you to the places where you can view the spectacular mountain ranges such as Mt. Annapurna, Annapurna II, along with Manaslu and Dhawalagiri which is above the height of 8000 meters. The places such as Manang, Mustang, and Jomsom are along the way, you can see a wide diversity of people with different ethnic groups. The fantastic Annapurna Circuit Trek takes us around the entire Annapurna massif reaching the zenith at Thorong La Pass (5,416m/17,769ft). We will walk on the Annapurna trail through the world’s deepest Kali Gandaki gorge with Mt. Annapurna I rising to 8,091m (26,545ft) to the east and Mt. Dhaulagiri hovering at 8,167m (26,795ft) to the west! We savour the fabulous mountain views from Poon Hill and discover the diverse Annapurna region. Furthermore, Annapurna Circuit Trek also takes us to Manang, Jomsom and the Muktinath regions which allow us to get acquainted with the diverse Nepalese landscape and culture.
Highlights of Annapurna Circuit Trek:
Connects Manang and Muktinath and explores Tibetan Buddhist culture
Reach the zenith of the trail at Thorong La Pass
Traverse through the world’s deepest Kali Gandaki Gorge
The pilgrimage site- Muktinath and Kaligandaki Valley
Enjoy the various Nepalese landscapes and culture
You will be picked up at the airport by one of the VSN staff and driven to your Kathmandu host family or a hotel. Here you will be welcomed into the family, be given your own room and be provided with all your meals while in Kathmandu. This will be your home during your orientation and volunteering in Nepal. With easy bus routes into town and the surrounding countryside this quiet and safe suburb is the perfect base for your time in Nepal.
Thamel is located in Kathmandu. It is a haven for tourists visiting the city. It contains numerous hotels, restaurants, and shops that cater specifically to western tourists. It is located in the northern region of Kathmandu past the government district on Tridevi marg. Although some consider it to be overcrowded it has been used by westerners since the 1970’s when hippies in the region discovered it. It has become a quite commercial place. Thamel is an easy walk from anywhere in central Kathmandu. Though the roads can be quite busy during the day, and traffic can be quite heavy.
After an early breakfast, you are driven along the main Prithvi Highway to Besishahar (185km) which takes about 6 hours. Along the journey, you see some spectacular scenery of river valley and high mountains. Meals: Lunch & Dinner.
The path heads north of the village on an exposed trail past pastures to a ridge, before descending into a green valley and a suspension bridge over the Kimrong Khola. After lunch, the trail climbs out of the valley through stands of rhododendrons and oak forest, winding around the hillsides to Chhomrong with closer views of the giant peaks above. Overnight at Lodge in Chhomrong. Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner.
After breakfast, we trek to Pisang. we pass through Chame you trek up to Telekhu (2840m) to then continue with a pleasant and mostly level walk through a forest to Brathang (2950m). After the trail turns a corner here, you see your first dramatic view of the Paungda Danda rock face. This is an enormous curved slab of rock that rises over 1500m from the river. You cross back again to the south bank of the Marsyangdi on a suspension bridge at 3080 meters and then start up the long gentle climb over a ridge through blue pine forests. The trek from here is fairly level as it heads to the upper part of Manang valley to Pisang. Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner.
Trekking up to the Tibetan-style village of Bryaga (3500m), you follow the valley floor. Here you see houses stacked one on top of the other, each with an open veranda that is formed the neighbour’s rooftop. The gompa, perched on a high crag overlooking the village, is the largest in the district and has an outstanding display of statues. You continue through a very arid landscape that is dominated by curious cliffs of yellow rock that have been eroded into dramatic pillars alongside the trail. In the afternoon you have increasingly imposing views of Annapurna II, III and IV. Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner.
Today is the day for familiarize. There are plenty of things to do in this attractive village. In the centre of the village, don’t miss the little cultural museum. There are lots of walks that you can do, exploring the glacial lake, walking down to visit a monastery, or exploring the old part of the village. You might like to hike slightly higher to Khangsar, a 200 meter ascend. However, it is important to have a relatively restful day to allow your body to acclimatize to the higher altitudes and thinning air. Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner.
As we know more we go higher, our days become shorter. We start our day by walking through fields of barley and apple orchards, you follow the river through a steep, narrow gorge to enter the upper Manang district. In this cold, arid climate, wheat, barley, buckwheat and potato crops are limited to one crop per year and villagers depend on their herds of yaks, goats, cows and horses. Trekking slowly upwards to Thorung La, we will leave the large trees behind and see vegetation consisting mainly of scrub juniper and alpine grass. You pass some high meadows where horses and yaks graze. After we reach Yak Kharka (kharka means meadow or pasture), we might see herds of blue sheep, a kind of deer) grazing on the steep slopes. After passing Yak Kharka it takes about an hour to reach Letdar. Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner.
It is another short and relatively easy day to get used to the high altitude before we have to cross the highest point in the trek, and possibly the highest point you have been on in your life. From Letdar you continue climbing along the east bank of the Jarang Khola to Thorung Phedi. This is a rock-strewn meadow that is surrounded by vertical cliffs. Blue sheep and even snow leopards can be sometimes seen in this valley. Hovering high in the skies you may see lammergeyers and Himalayan griffons circling around above you. As you cross the high yak pastures, you see snow-capped mountains all around you. The scenery is completely different up here. You leave behind the rivers as you climb up into the quiet alpine areas. Again the mountain views are stunning. Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner.
As you make the long descend of about 1600m, you are accompanied by outstanding views of Dhaulagiri in the distance across the valley. Eventually, the trail becomes less steep and you enter pastures and cross meadows to Muktinath a sacred pilgrimage site for both Hindus and Buddhists. The Temple is dedicated to Lord Vishnu and from here spring water flows from a rock face from 108 spouts (108 is a sacred number to Buddhists). Below Vishnu’s statue runs a trickle of water with pale flames caused by natural gas. There are shrines to Shiva and his consort and Padmasambhava as well as numerous chortens and the surrounding poplar grove that supposedly sprang from the staffs of the 84 Siddhas. Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner.
The walk to Jomsom is mostly downhill with dramatic landscapes along the way. You walk down in the morning, to avoid the strong winds that blow up through the river gorge in the afternoons. The Kali Gandaki is home to Thakalis, Gurungs and Magars.
The descent to Tatopani follows the increasingly narrow valley, though one of the world’s deepest river gorges, past the beautiful Rupse Chaharo waterfall, with fantastic views along the way and the lure of hot springs at the end. Meals: Breakfast, Lunch.
After breakfast, we say goodbye to the beautiful northern skyline of Pokhara and drive towards Kathmandu. This will be a journey along river banks with wonderful views of hills and the rural Nepalese lifestyle. Upon arrival in Kathmandu, you will be transferred to your hotel. There is nothing to do but trade emails with travel companions and organize the photos. You can spend the evening leisurely, perhaps catch up on some last-minute shopping and celebrate dinner together with the Volunteer Society Nepal staff. Overnight at Kathmandu. Meals: Dinner.
Our journey in Nepal comes to an end today! A Volunteer Society Nepal representative will drop us off at the airport approximately 3 hours before our scheduled flight. On our way to home, we have plenty of time to plan our next adventure in the wonderful country of Nepal.
Note: The above-mentioned program itinerary is a sample. The period and cost of volunteering, internship, tour and trekking can be changed or extended as per volunteers' availability of duration.
