Grade
‘Moderate
- Challenging’. This tour covers a range of walking conditions. A
reasonable level of walking fitness is required to cope with the
steep ascents and descents e.g the Chommrong
stair case!! There are some muddy sections through forests
and over tree roots. At a height of 4050m, altitude might pose a
problem for some people, although our well graded program normally
manages to avoid this!
Climate
Weather
in the world’s highest mountain range is never totally predictable
but we would expect clear and settled conditions. In the early
stages the days will be warm, around 70 F/20 C. As altitude is
gained, though the days will still be pleasantly warm, it will be
chilly early morning and night time temperatures down to freezing
point can be expected. In the Sanctuary you can expect snow at any
time of year and certainly overnight it will normally be below
freezing.
Included
All
ground transport as specified in the itinerary, bed and breakfast
accommodation in Kathmandu, 1 evening meal in Kathmandu, half day excursion of Kathmandu and
valley, all food and accommodation on trek, services of Nepali leader,
English-speaking Sherpa guide, trek crew and porters, tents, cooking
equipment, and trek permits. Kathmandu airport transfers, free use
of trek pack which includes duvet jacket, sleeping mat, sleeping bag,
thermal bag liner, air pillow, long rain poncho, duffel bag and
t-shirt.
Not Included
Air
travel to Kathmandu. Passport, visa, insurance, immunization fees,
meals other than breakfast in Kathmandu (budget £20 per meal
without drinks). Airport taxes
Flights
We
will on request source International flights from London Heathrow
to Kathmandu via Doha with Qatar Airlines. Note that these fly out
of London on the day before
the first advertised day of the tour (Day 1 of itinerary).
Flight routing example:
Outbound
Depart LHR 22.30 - arrive Doha 07.25
Depart
DOH 09.00 – arr KTM 16.25
Inbound
Depart KTM
08.15 –arr DOH 10.30
Depart DOH
12.30 – arrLHR 17.55 (same day)
The Trekking Day
A
typical day begins just after 6 a.m. with an early morning mug of
tea served through the tent flap. After a hot breakfast, during
which the camp will be struck and the porters loaded, we begin our
walking in the pleasant cool of the morning. Lunch is around 11 a.m.
or so. This midday break usually lasts about an hour or so. After
walking for three hours or so in the afternoon, we will aim to pitch
camp around 4 p.m. You will have an hour or so to relax and reflect
before the day is rounded off with a hot three-course meal. However,
there may be the opportunity of visiting a nearby village to have
contact with the local people.
Health Matters
Vaccinations for Typhoid, Hepatitis A. Diptheria and Meningitis
are also suggested. Some Drs. might recommend the Rabies Vaccine as this
may be carried by monkeys and dogs. If you are visiting The Chitwan
National Park or the ‘Terai’
you should take anti malarials but you won’t need these if you
are just going
to the Annapurnas.
A
medical kit will accompany the trek. We do, however, recommend that
each person carry a small personal first aid kit. A suggested list
of contents will be sent to all members, as well as more general
information on health matters.
Documents
A
visa is required for Nepal and you must have a valid passport. Visas
for Nepal when applying directly with the Nepal Embassy will cost
£20 for a single entry. You can purchase visas on arrival into
Kathmandu but we would not recommend this option as the queues are
long and the situation on this can change at any time.
Books & Maps
For
information on the sights of the Kathmandu valley, its history and
culture, we suggest ‘Rough Guides’
& ’ Lonely Planet travel guides’.
A good general guidebook (although without so many hints) is
the Insight Guides series Nepal.
There are many books on Trekking
in Nepal. Perhaps the most well known are those by Stephen
Bezruchka, or Stan Armitage. A
usefully realistic account of what happens on trek is found in Mike
Harding's Footloose in the Himalayas.
There
are accounts of the most important great expeditions such as John
Hunt The Ascent of Everest. Reinhold Messner The Crystal Horizon.
Note
: That a good company for
sourcing outdoor / trekking books is ‘Cordee’: www.cordee.co.uk
Another
company: ‘Cicerone Press,’ www.cicerone.co.uk
publish their own trekking guides to areas of the
Himalaya, recommended is:
Annapurna: A Trekker's Guide by Kev Reynolds
Published: 1 Jan 2004
Originally Published: 1 Jan 2003 Pages: 272
No. Maps: 28 No. Photos: 78
Dimensions: 17.2 x 11.6 x 1.5cm Weight: 380g
EAN: 9781852843977 ISBN 1852843977 Price: £14.00
A
trekking map is issued to you at your trek briefing in Kathmandu.
|
Outline Itinerary
The
following itinerary is intended as a working guide only and is subject to
variation as a result of local conditions, weather, government
restrictions or other reasons beyond the control of Sherpa Expeditions.
We
reserve the right to alter (lengthen or shorten) any trek at any time if
this is necessary.
1000m
= 3281ft. 1km = .62 miles.
Day
1: Arrive Kathmandu and
transfer to the 5* hotel. Evening Pre-Trek Briefing.
Day
2: Half-day excursion visiting Kathmandu with its many temples and
pagodas, afternoon free.
Day
3: By road to Pokhara
915m, 8 hours.
Day
4: Transfer to Phedi and
trek to Pothana, 2010m
5 hours.
Days
5 & 6: We cross over a forested ridge and descend into the Modi
Khola valley. We camp at Nayasangu 1314m (6 hours) and then next day make a steep ascent through
Kyumrung village passing terraces and scattered small settlements before
descending to our campsite at Chommrong 1951m (5 hours), the last permanent
settlement up the valley.
Day
7: From Chomrong we descend to cross the Chomro Khola and then ascend
to rejoin the Modi Khola valley. We continue to climb more gradually to
reach our lunch stop at Kuldi Ghar (7,798ft). In the afternoon we ascend
through bamboo forest to our campsite in a clearing
(8,550ft) near Doban. 4 hours. 2286m.
Day
8: We ascend through
forest to a clearing where a teahouse, the Himalaya Lodge (9,425ft) is
sited. Continue upwards, sometimes quite steeply and eventually reach a
rock overhang known as Hinko Cave (10,300ft) from where we reach Deurali,
(10,600ft) our overnight camp stop.
Day
9: We are now above the tree line and follow the rock-strewn trail
along the west wall of the valley, which has now widened considerably. A
large lateral moraine lying roughly east west divides the valley with the
river in a deep ravine to the right and the trail to the Sanctuary on the
left. The trail continues to ascend to reach the site of the 1957 British
Machapuchare BaseCcamp (11,673ft). We have our lunch here and also make
camp. 7 hours,
3720m.
Day
10: We ascend along the moraine ridge with good views of the Sanctuary
to make camp at Annapurna Base Camp. The route of Bonnington’s famous
ascent is clearly visible on the enormous wall of rock and ice. There will
be plenty of time to explore. 5 hours, 4050m.
Day
11: Optional walks in the Sanctuary, or use as a rest day.
Days
12/13 We retreat down the great gorge of the Modhi Khola to Ghandrung,
with stops on the way at 'Bamboo Lodge' 2377m (4 hour trek) and 'Hot
Spring' 1820m (4 hour trek).
Day
14: Trek to Ghandrung. 6 hours. 1951m.
Day
15: After an optional
visit to the Annapurna Area Conservation Project we walk down the Modi
Khola valley past Shauli Bazaar and the lively bazaar of Birenthanti to
Nayapul (1030m, 6 hours) for our bus back to Pokhara and a comfortable 3 *
hotel by Phewa Lake, 915m.
Day
16: By road to Kathmandu. Overnight at the 5 * hotel. 8 hours,
1330m.
Day
17: At leisure in Kathmandu either sightseeing or shopping.
Day
18: You will be
transferred to the International airport for your flight home.
Each
day may vary from this schedule as walking times differ with every group,
some taking longer and others takes less, plus trail conditions
need to be taken into account. The guide in charge of your trek will alter
the schedule if necessary.
Escorted
Tours 2008
Arrival
dates for trips starting in Kathmandu are as follows.
10
March, 7 April, 5 May, 22 October, 19 November and
17 December .
2009
11
March, 8 April and 6 May.
|
