Annapurna Trek: Annapurna Circuit trek has long been considered the purest Himalayan traverse with a truly magnificent approach as we cut our way up through Annapurna and Dhaulagiri. This legendary Annapurna Circuit Trek has traditionally lasted nearly three weeks – a long time, even for the most enthusiastic trekker. It’s always been the Holy Grail of treks for those people with a week of holiday, but now, with road building going on at an unprecedented pace, it’s positively easy to have a thrilling (albeit very trailed) Annapurna Circuit trekking experience. This epic post will show you how to cut days off the classic Annapurna Circuit Trek Itinerary, even as you continue allowing for a healthy acclimatization schedule and retain the best of the journey (that is, of course, not least to say the highest point: Thorong La).
The New Annapurna Circuit Trek: A Simpler Trail variant is possible.
The classic Annapurna Circuit map has seen some recent big changes. Days of tramping through the jungle are now replaced in the foothills with crossing over the same ground in a jeep. That’s what makes a Short Annapurna Circuit trek. And by hiring off-road transportation to skip the first, lower elevation days (like from Besisahar and up to say Chame) or even just Manang, trekkers can cut the time needed in HALF and take it down out of a grueling 18-20 day marathon trek to a very doable week or up to 12 days.
Not that all we do is race, but whenever the time is wasted in those alpine wonderlands that Annapurna Circuit, Nepal’s high altitude zones are well known for, and integrate their rules of the proper way to acclimatize. The trek itself is still very long, and now ‘How many miles is Annapurna Circuit becomes less about the full traditional loop, irrelevant really, except for the high altitude part, which is around 100-145 km depending on where you start driving in.
Too bad. Directions: The Role of Proper Strategies in Battle
The quickest way to shorten the Trek Nepal Annapurna Circuit is with an aha vehicle sequence. The traditional trip starts or ends in Besisahar, or at Bhulbhule, but increasingly faceted routes are used over the rough dirt track that runs alongside the Marsyangdi river.
The majority of Annapurna Circuit Trek schedules are weighed down by extra acclimatization days at one or the other extreme, connected like a pair of opposites by the hallucinogenic roads out from Besisahar to either Pokhara in the west or eastwards. Most trekkers spend their first day going from Kathmandu to a trailhead of some sort, like Dharapani or Chame. Chame, 2,650 meters (8,694 feet) up, is a good place to start as you are immediately plunged into the serried ranks of pine forests and the old of the middle mountains. This one long drive shaves off 4 or 5 days of walking from the original schedule. Only a strong 4WD jeep can follow the bumpy road track that is down in the rocky trail here for the Short Annapurna Circuit trek, and it can be the best cost-effective opportunity using shared transportation when meeting at Chame to Back after reaching Tatopani, also known as veryry important decision for the short Annapurna Circuit Trek.
Optional: The Tilicho Lake Detour, and it’s also the optional detour- but a really good one.
If you would like to tack on a side mission, the siren call of diverting for the Tilicho Lake Trek is ever-present but will surely add days onto your calendar. Tilicho Lake is also a demanding side trip for most trekkers, and it adds two or three more days to the Manang Circuit – you will need one extra day to visit the lake (4,919m) and return to the main trail to Yak Kharka. On a brief “real hurry trek” such as this, this detour is usually dispensed with entirely, and the objective of crossing at Thorong La Sanche is merely indispensable. Nothing could be better for the ambitious hiker, so you’ll want a few extra days to buy yourself time for long side trips left and back there.
Conquering the Thorong La pass.
Not even the fastest schedules can rush the days leading up to: Manang–Yak Kharka–Thorong Phedi or high Camp. Those are days of sluggish, steady ascent.
The bypass day itself is a marathon, no longer a dash. Trekkers start inside the dark of night, mountaineering for hours until they achieve the top for a view draped with masses of prayer flags. The view of the Annapurna and Dhaulagiri peaks is the appeal of the strip. A steep, lengthy descent ends in the holy metropolis of Muktinath. This in itself is enough to do the mileage alone, for certain. I hope this is helpful to some of you out there and enough to put one off long-distance hiking.
Descent and the Way Back: Drive or Walk
Over the next few days of the trek (assuming you get over Thorong La Pass and down to Muktinath in one piece), there is another window for fast travel. Instead of walking back to Nayapul (the typical finish location), many of the shorter-term trekkers take a shared jeep from Muktinath up and down through the stunning Kali Gandaki gorge (where Saligrams are found), and the lovely Jomson village, back to Pokhara. Jomsom can be approached in a night by a restored bus, or else you have the option of a scenic flight from Jomsom to Pokhara.
Cost and planning for Annapurna Circuit Trek
The Annapurna Circuit Cost is, of course, dependent on the duration and services you choose. Fewer nights in teahouses also means less time on the trail, which can lower the cost overall. But the private or shared jeep transport that is often necessary, in a country where it’s pretty expensive to use it, can eat away at those savings. The total Annapurna Circuit Trek Cost or Annapurna Circuit Trekking Cost is usually quoted in a package which provides for everything by a reputed and experienced Annapurna Circuit trek Agent, such as go local guide, porters, permits (ACAP and TIMS), food, and accommodation, along with all round trip transportation. 3) All-In-Fee Price: Of which medium each day’s all-in-fee price does not include hotel accommodation, but is appropriate for relatively short treks ranging from 8 to 12 days!
Final Thoughts: Achieving the Annapurna Circuit Light Dream
If the idea of getting off the beaten path and trekking on a trail that gives you all the feels is appealing to you, then the Short Annapurna Circuit Trek has got you covered. The purists can still wait for the full long Annapurna Circuit, but the truth is that shorter circuits now involve getting the very best (Marsyangdi Valley, Manang culture, Thorong La Passes, and stomping descent to Mustang) of this route done far quicker. It’s an ultra-efficient itinerary for those who are time-poor when it comes to trekking, and in pulling it off (they’ve done all this plenty of times before), even the most constrained diaries will find five days spare to hit one of the best trekking routes on the planet: and that goes (as our dare I say safety-conscious two have proved) for time-thin adventurers, too. Choosing an experienced Trek Nepal Annapurna Circuit company is crucial to having a safe, high-quality quality and unforgettable adventure.
