Trip Reports

Annapurna Circuit - 7 to 29 Apr '07

Written by Leader Robert Anderson, July 2007

The Annapurna Circuit, renowned as one of the most spectacular and varied walks in the world, set amongst a trio of Himalayan Giants, easily lived up to its reputation.

Along with the mountain scenery, a starting point at less than 1,000 meters in the lush green valleys gave us a chance to explore the Himalayas from bottom to top. We passed through farms, villages and rural terraces, before heading higher into more traditional Tibetan style architecture, and then climbed up into the alpine heights and over the snow on the Thorong La pass at 5,416 meters.

On the way, we had a chance to experience multiple Nepali sub-cultures, from farmers in the low valleys, to descendents of Tibetan traders living in the higher regions.

The rivers
Following valleys and canyons up one side of the Annapurna and down the other, we often walked by day along rushing streams, pounding down over white granite rocks and through deep pools – great for soaking the feet at lunch stops and after a good days walking. At night we fell asleep to anything from a background splashing of small stream to the cacophony of water pouring from the high glaciers above and rushing out the deep gorges.

The camping
With our small cadre of porters and cooks, we were free to camp alongside villages, perched above the rivers or out in the pine forests set below the peaks. While sleeping in a tent may induce thoughts of some hardship, the grassy plots of most camps, tea served at the tent door as a morning wake-up and multi-course meals (with nary a dish to wash), kept any suffering to a minimum. And when the tent door opens out onto a dawn view of the sun rising across Dhaulagiri, shading it in pinks and oranges to start your day, it is something you will never forget.

The mountains
We all go to the Himalayas for the mountains – but what makes the Annapurna Circuit unique is the chance to experience them from so many different angles and perspectives, living amongst and passing through them day after day.

The scale never fails to astound – where clouds sweep up in the afternoons, high overhead, and yet showing through beyond all comprehension is a peak rising out of the mists above – the myth of Shangri-La reborn. Dawn from Poon Hill (the name alone conjures up far off romantic places) with the sun rising over Machhapuchhare and illuminating Dhaulagiri in a rush of daylight, while the mists start to well up from the dark valleys, isn’t a vision one ever forgets.

The walking
The rhythm of walking: of rising early, of setting out with just a light pack, of feet that know how to step over rocks and hop across streams intuitively, of knowing how to weave past a Yak train and balance across a swinging rope bridge set high over a gorge – it doesn’t happen on day one, or two. But after a few days, the connection to the earth is much more solid, the mind and feet connected, leaving the spirit much more room to soar.

The cultures
In the low valleys; small farms, water buffalo, orchards and meandering rivers cut through the villages, populated by people long tied to the land. Higher up, traders who had migrated over from Tibet now run lodges and continue their trade with artifacts and souvenirs from Tibet. Along the trail, an ongoing stream of Yaks from remote Mustang travel, with porters and burros taking over in the lower valleys. From small farmhouses, to the small mansions of the prosperous traders, the architecture changes with every turn of the trail.

Robert Mads Anderson
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