Annapurna. Siân Pritchard-Jones
Altitude sickness
Mountain safety
Hazards and security
What to take
Maps
Photography
Communications
Kathmandu – Gateway to the Himalayas
Pokhara – Gateway to the Annapurnas
Bandipur
How to use this guide
The last word
1 Annapurna Circuit and Annapurna Sanctuary
Trek 1 Annapurna Circuit
Stage 1 Bhulbhule to Manang
Stage 2 Manang to Muktinath
Stage 3 Muktinath to Tatopani
Stage 4 Tatopani to Naya Pul via Ghorepani
Alternative Stage 4 Tatopani to Dhampus Phedi via Ghorepani and Ghandruk
Trek 2 Annapurna Sanctuary
Stage 1 Dhampus Phedi to Chhomrong
Alternative Stage 1 Naya Pul to Chhomrong
Stage 2 Chhomrong to Annapurna Base Camp (ABC)
Stage 3 Annapurna Base Camp to Chhomrong
Stage 4 Chhomrong to Naya Pul via Ghandruk
Alternative Stage 4 Chhomrong to Naya Pul via Ghorepani
Trek 3 Ghorepani Circuit (Poon Hill Expedition)
Trek 4 Annapurna–Dhaulagiri Trek
2 Restricted areas – Mustang, Damodar and Nar-Phu
Trek 5 Mustang Trek
Stage 1 Jomsom to Lo Manthang
Stage 2 Lo Manthang to Muktinath via Tange
Trek 6 Nar-Phu Trek
Stage 1 Koto to Phu
Stage 2 Phu to Koto
Trek 7 Mardi Himal Trek
Trek 8 Machhapuchhre Korchon (Model) Trek
Trek 9 Parbat Myagdi Link
Trek 10 Parbat Myagdi Circular
Ridges north and east of Pokhara
Trek 11 Siklis Trek
Trek 12 Khatri Thanti–Besisahar Trek
Trek 13 Ramgha–Besisahar Trek
Trek 14 Gurung Heritage Trail
Appendix A Trek summaries and suggested schedules
Appendix B Religious and other terminology
Appendix C Useful words and phrases
Appendix D Books, films and music
Appendix E Useful contacts
PREFACE
It is impossible for any thinking man to look down from a hill on to a crowded plain and not ponder over the relative importance of things.
The Mountain Top, Frank S Smythe
Annapurna is the goddess of abundance, a divine deity watching over her devotees with a benevolent smile. Rising from Pokhara or Mustang, the towering massif almost touches the heavens. Only the wildest dreams of nature could have sculpted such grandeur.
The Annapurna giants are sublime in all their moods – whether cast as beckoning temptresses, fiery demons at sunset, shimmering in the starry moonlight, or bathed in the soft light of dawn. They float like benign ghosts above fluffy clouds or appear as a vision of serenity reflected in the cool blue waters of a lake. Sometimes they are darkened by thunderous storms. Superlatives struggle to do justice to the sensational vistas and contrasting landscapes. It’s no wonder that trekkers and mountaineers are drawn, as if hypnotised, to these majestic peaks and their icy bastions.
For centuries Nepal was an isolated and forbidden land. What the early explorers found was paradise on earth, a lush and plentiful kingdom where the rhythms of life unfolded in daily rituals, tinged with strong religious beliefs. Today people are drawn to Nepal for many reasons: to seek the solitude of the wild, to scale the Himalayan giants, to seek out the elusive wildlife, or to look for a spiritual renaissance. For many the main attraction