Our trekking itinerary felt perfect; we had a nice pace and yet we felt challenged. We trekked for 10 days overall, with 7 of those days trekking up to the Annapurna Base Camp (ABC) and spending the remaining 3 days descending down the mountain.
Many people trek ABC in 4 days, some 5, 6, etc., and your pace depends on your trekking itinerary. We penciled in time to hike 4-5 hours a day, with a pit-stop over at Ghorepani to stargaze in the early morning and witness the sunrise over the snowy mountains at Poon Hill. The Poon Hill trek is a popular, shorter trek, and lots of people turn around here instead of continuing on toward ABC.
However, hiking to Annapurna Base Camp with a 10-day trekking itinerary provides the best moderate pace, giving you time to relax in the late afternoons or evenings to reflect, journal, or play games over a cup of hot milk tea, while still seeing the best the ABC trek has to offer!
To write this article, I’ve literally compiled my notes and thoughts from my worn-out, cork-bound journal (I include some snippets of my journal here!!). I distinctly remember spending my nights along our trek in our cozy tea houses chronicling our trekking days, knowing that one day I’d love to look back and remember it all in vivid detail.
Without further adieu, here’s my recommended 10-day trek itinerary for an unforgettable trekking experience to the Annapurna Base Camp in Nepal.
Taking the bus from Pokhara and heading to the mountains!
Skip forward a 6-hour bus ride from Kathmandu to Pokhara and a night over in a hostel…
Table of Contents
Day 1 of Trekking: Naya Pul to Ulleri
- Time: ~5-7 hrs
- Climbed: 1000 meters, 3280 feet
- Landscape: Dirt road, riverside, fields
- Tea house cost: 300 NPR
The start of the trek to ABC begins at Naya Pul. But first, you must take the bus to get here from Pokhara. Start your day early while the air is crisp and the skies are clear.
Warning: If you haven’t trained much, today might be hard as you will ascend around 3,500 stone steps to reach Ulleri.
Our first welcome sign of the trek. A group of locals already catering to the trekkers with snacks and drinks.
The trek from Naya Pul starts out on a gravely, winding road. You’ll skirt a clear river on your left and wind up the mountain. Today isn’t going to be the most scenic as you’ll likely be staring at your feet as you climb each step.
The stone steps seem to never end. By the time you reach Ulleri, you will have ascended about 1,000 meters or 3,280 feet. To compare, the Annapurna Base Camp sits at 4,200 meters high – 13,780 feet! For the record, that’s higher than the height at which I jumped out of a plane when I skydived. Weird, huh?
Ulleri is most trekker’s first stop-over, although some go the extra bit uphill to the next stop. However, you’ll likely want to stop here in Ulleri.
The tea house in Ulleri is fairly cheap; a room cost us only $3 USD or 300 NPR. But this is off-set with the slightly higher-priced food, which increases in price the higher you climb.
Ulleri is a scenic place to get a first, nice glimpse of the valley and the snowy mountains ahead. The lodging has a cozy fire, comfy beds, and shower (although quite cold). You can also rinse out some of your sweaty laundry outside.
Journal Entry Snippet: Saturday, 17 October 2015 | Location: Ulleri
“We made it! All 3,500 some steps, or maybe there are more to come? Wow. What a day! We left Naya Pul around 11:00 pm, ate at our first stop @ 12:25 and then walked/hiked/struggled/died/sweated our way up the mountain… about 90.9% of it was 80 degrees uphill…”
“I bet we will be so sore tomorrow! Not sure if I’v ever been so drenched in sweat with such painful shoulders! It was beautiful though – our first day was quite the success! We passed gorgeous roaring waterfalls, suspension bridges, bright green rice fields, super blue turquoise and clear river next to us along the way. So pretty.”
Day 2: Ulleri to Ghorepani
- Time: ~ 4 hrs
- Climbed: 800 meters, 2625 feet
- Landscape: Forest/Jungly
- Tea house cost: 200 NPR
From Ulleri, you will climb another 800 meters (2,625 ft) to reach Ghorepani which sits at 2,900 meters (9,514 ft). The hike takes approximately 4 hours at a good, easy pace.
Our first full morning on the trek from Ulleri.
However, my hunch came true. The start of today’s hike involves MORE STEPS. Today’s trek though is much more enjoyable after a night’s rest. You’ll pass through jungle-like trees and pass through cute communities.
On our hike to Ghorepani, we found handpainted bamboo trekking sticks which we bought for 200 NPR each. Those sticks ended up being life-savers on our knees!
Journal Entry Snippet: Sunday, 18 October 2015 | Location: Ghorepani
“Today’s trek was so nice! It was like hiking through the jungle, it was wet and lush green trees popped out from all directions. It was so beautiful! Today also wasn’t as strenuous as yesterday – oh la la. We trekked for 4 hours, so we had a pretty good pace…”
We had a warm/hot shower, froze our butts off (again) and bundled up in our cozy clothes & came downstairs to have a hot cup of tea and some french fries and a custard apple pie. Now I’m listening to a German and a fellow American have a conversation. And quite frankly, it’s pretty annoying. :-)…”
Paul picking out a trekking bamboo stick!
Day 3: Ghorepani – Poon Hill – Tadapani
- Time: Varies with Poon Hill visit (Ghorepani – Tadapani is ~3hrs)
- Climbed: 400 meters to Poon Hill
- Landscape: Up and downs, mountainscapes
- Tea house cost: 200-400 NPR
Prepare for an amazing early morning! The highlight of today is by far catching the Milky Way and then the sunrise over Poon Hill. At Poon Hill, you’ll witness magnificent vistas of Annapurna South, Annapurna I, and another mountain that I scribbled in my journal but can’t read, lol.
Poon Hill at sunrise – View of Annapurna South and Annapurna I
Most trekkers rose around 4 am to reach Poon Hill, which is a 400-meter climb up more stairs (surprise). I certainly wasn’t prepared for this, so I’m warning you to get some rest, take water, and leave your bags back at your tea house!
Lots and lots of people make the same early-morning trek to Poon Hill to marvel at the fiery mountain tops as the sun rises. With that said, there’s a constant trail of people on the stairs, which pressured me to walk fast and I got quite sweaty (despite it was freezing out) and out of breath.
From Poon Hill, we headed back down to Ghorepani to collect our things, eat breakfast, and then continue to Tada Pani. We arrived at 1:45 pm and spent the afternoon napping since our morning was quite intense!
Journal Entry Snippet: Monday, 19 October 2015 | Location: Tadapani
Finished day #3 at Tadapani. Truly wasn’t expecting such a grueling day! First we woke up at 4:00 am to get ready and head to Poon Hill… Everyone had the same idea of course so a bunch of people were out with their headlamps ready to climb the mountain… We took loads of photos, froze our glutes off (twice again) and then we headed back down. Our wee legs were shaking!”
“It was quite the up and down trek today; horrendous for my feet, otherwise just so pretty. The scenery/nature looked like it was taken straight from LOTR or OUAT. [Lord of the Rings and Once Upon a Time].
Day 4: Tadapani to Chomrong
- Time: 4-5 hours
- Climbed: 200+ m
- Landscape: Scenic valley + mountain views
- Tea house cost: 200-400 NPR
The hike from Tadapani to Chomrong was nice, but nothing compared to what awaited us once we arrived in Chomrong! On our route there we passed several fun suspension bridges and saw loads of puppies, kittens, chickens and mules from the villages, and even a few water buffalo.
The valley view at Chomrong from our tea house.
Little by little, our trekking group outgrew just from Paul and I. In fact, by this time, we already had a couple of internationals traveling together in a pack! At Chomrong, we all seemed to combine groups, and we ended up with a fun trekking group from all over – England, Argentina, Chile, Mexico, Germany, France, and the US!
Journal Entry Snippet: Tuesday, 20 October 2019 | Location: Chomrong
“We reached our destination for today: Chomrong! It’s one of the best views we’ve had. It’s nestled right in the valley and behind the clouds is a beautiful view of Macchapuchhre (nicknamed ‘Fish Tail’ Mountain).. the clouds opened up perfectly – we could see the mountain so clearly and the sun was shining right on it.
It was important to share that Nepal was still safe for trekking despite the devastating aftermath of the two earthquakes of April and May 2015.
Day 5 of ABC Trek: Chomrong to Dovan (Dobhan)
- Time: 5-6 hours
- Climbed: 430m (1410 ft), Dovan sits at 2600m (8530 ft)
- Landscape: Up and downs, mountainscapes
- Tea house cost: 100-300 NPR
Make sure to get up early to see the sunrise over the Macchapuchhre mountain from your guesthouse in Chomrong. Today is a grueling yet absolutely beautiful hike!
First, you will descend into the Chomrong valley before (you guessed it) hiking back up steep climbs. Eventually, though, you reach incredible views as you start to travel further into the Himalayas.
The gorgeous views from Hinku Cave.
Originally, this portion of the trek was meant to go from Chomrong to Bamboo, but we made it to Bamboo by lunchtime. We decided to skip ahead and gain a few hours in our itinerary by hiking to our next location: Dovan. Along the way, we passed one of the longest suspension bridges we had seen so far! It had worn Nepali flags waving in the breeze.
Journal Entry Snippet: Wednesday, 21 October 2015 | Location: Dovan
“This morning we got up nice and early to see the sunrise on the mountains from the view of our guesthouse. 6:00am. And the view was one of the best we’ve seen! Super clear and super close.
The ‘group’ all had breakfast together out on the bench in the sun. I’m pretty upset I’ve realized I lost my mommy’s cozy bear socks. Also, I am forgetting to mention some of the interesting people we met yesterday. Those that I’m thinking of in particular is a French family, well the guy. He left France and has been traveling by bike since September 2014 and for less than 5 euros a day. So cool! Super sympa aussi. [EN – very nice too].
Day 6: Dovan to Macchapuchhre Base Camp (MBC)
- Time: 5-6 hours
- Climbed: 1100 meters, 3609 feet
- Landscape: Valley, Mountainside
- Tea house cost: 200-400 NPR
The hike from Dovan to Macchapucchre Base Camp or MBC was one of my absolute favorites, and I think it will be the same for you too. There were unparalleled mountain and valley views, easy trails, waterfalls, bridges, and a beautiful, sunny sky. We were basically hiking in tank tops, lol. At least until we started ascending again toward MBC. Then all of a sudden the weather turned drizzly and frosty. There was even a snow cave leftover from last season!
Reaching our tea house at MBC. Today’s climb in altitude made some of us feel a little off, but none of us got altitude sickness which you should be aware of while trekking.
Make sure to carve in time for a small snack at Hinku Cave. It’s a beautiful spot to just rest before continuing up the path to MBC. The weather on this portion of the track can change quickly too. Once we passed Deurali, the sky became gray and we entered into a foggy, wintery landscape.
Paul and I were both so thankful to have the large Panchos that we bought right before our trip. We used them to cover our 15L backpacks as well to keep our things dry!
The tea house at MBC is like a cozy cabin in the mountains. And the mountains, particularly, Macchupucchre is standing right over you. Food is slightly more expensive, and if you want to shower it’ll have to be a hot bucket shower and it costs extra.
Psst. Some people skip the opportunity to stay overnight at MBC since ABC is just another one hour leisurely walk away. But don’t! Instead, wake up at the crack of dawn and brave the cold at MBC to marvel at the starry night sky. Seeing the snowy mountains glimmer white in the moonlight is truly a sight to behold.
Journal Entry Snippet: Thursday, 22 October 2015 | Location: MBC
“Normally we were supposed to stop at Deurali but instead the group wanted to go a bit further because we arrived so early in Deurali – around 11:45 am. We had beautiful weather today. There were (okay, gorgeous) cascading waterfalls running off the side of the cliffs. The sun was shining and we were just on the side of the mountain somewhere, completely deserted.
It’s a pretty crazy feeling to be so far away from everything! My favorite [view] so far was from Hinku Cave. The valley, the river below, the mountains above, the sun shining so warm – ahh it was lovely.
There was a very make-shift bridge form logs and wobbly rocks and 2 fet below were the roaring white rapids. Soon after that we were still on the way to Deurali and all of a sudden there was a huge swarm of flying bugs – don’t know what it, or they, were though. Kinda like from a movie scene.
It’s definitely worth waking up early to see the soft white glow of the mountain peaks.
Day 7: MBC to ABC – Staying at Annapurna Base Camp!
- Time: 1-2 hrs
- Climbed: ~500 m (1640 ft)
- Landscape: 360° mountain views!
- Tea house cost: 300-500 NPR
Ready for the icing on top of the cake?! The trek from MBC to ABC is short and sweet, so take your time to really enjoy it. Go in the morning, after your sunrise experience at MBC.
The stretch of trail between MBC and ABC is pretty navigable. It’s a constant, yet gentle uphill. It’s a mix of grassy lands and rocks, and small crackling creeks flowing down the mountain. And not to mention, you literally have a 360-degree view of some of the tallest mountains in the world.
Our super sweet trekking group made it to ABC!
The trip will only take 1.5 hours, but it’s really worth spending the morning to take your time and marvel at the views, take pictures, and just go slowly. Some people go up to spend the morning and have lunch at ABC, while others, like us, spent the night at ABC.
There are pros and cons of staying in the tea house at Annapurna Base Camp.
PROS: Gorgeous, unique, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, relaxed, sense of achievement, etc.
CONS: It’s f***ing cold! Like -13 Celcius cold in mid-October, with no heating, just several huge blankets and wearing ALL your clothes to bed. The craziest part was our shared bedroom (we all slept in the same room, lol) had glass windows. While pretty, it certainly felt like we were sleeping outside.
Not many trekkers stay overnight at ABC but the ones who do end up having great conversations, relaxing, and making unique memories. I’ll never forget getting up at 5 am to see the glow of the white mountains contrast against the night sky! It looked like you could just reach out and touch them, though they were still miles away.
Journal Entry Snippet: Friday, 23 October 2015 | Location: ABC
“ABC it’s easy as 1, 2, 3! We are here! I can’t believe it! And I’m f***ing freezing!
That pretty much sums it up! 😉
Staying overnight at Annapurna Base Camp… check!
Day 8: ABC to Bamboo
- Time: 6-8 hrs
- Descended: 2000 m (6561 ft)
- Landscape: Mountain + valley views!
- Tea house cost: 200-400 NPR
All of us were eager to descend back down the mountain today in search of warmer temps and at least a decent shower. So we had our eyes set for Bamboo which was a long trek down, at least a 7-8+ hour hike. But surprisingly, it went much faster than we all thought. I don’t have the exact time it took us but I remember it was at least an 8 am-4 pm endeavor!
The impressive “Fish Tail” mountain – Machhupuchhre – faces you as you head back down from ABC.
Bamboo sits at around ~2300 meters (7545 ft), so you’ll be descending almost 2000 meters today as ABC sits at 4200m!
The trek down from ABC to MBC and beyond is even more beautiful than the way up since you have Macchupuchhre literally right in front of you and it’s simply breathtaking. Then you have the stretch of the valley past Deurali that’s amazing as well.
Strangely enough, on our way back down the mountain, we ran into two of Paul’s old French school friends. They hadn’t seen each other in at least 5 years. And all the way here in the middle of nowhere! The world suddenly felt really small! Crazy, right?
Once we reached Bamboo, we had a warmish shower. The facilities were nice and since we had skipped sleeping at the tea house where we felt it was a good rest stop for the day. Another option is to stay at Deurali, which is slightly closer, but you can easily make it to Bamboo in one day. The way down goes much faster!
Journal Entry Snippet: 24 October 2015 | Location: Bamboo
“Today we woke up at A.B.C at 5:00 A.M. Gorgeous. Freezing. it was super dark outside and you could perfectly see the stars; the big and litter dipper. And the best part – the mountains surrounding us were glowing white. The contrast was beautiful. But I must say I’m glad to be warm enough to where I can write without my fingers freezing! So we stayed up until the sunrise and had breakfast early – around 6:30 am in the dining hall. Milk coffee (of course) and for me, some French Toast. Not long after that we packed our bags to begin our descent down the mountain.”
Simply breathtaking! My favorite view of our entire ABC trek. And back then I was using only a tiny Sony Cybershot. Still managed to capture it nicely though!
Day 9: Bamboo to Jhinu Danda
- Time: 6-8 hrs
- Descended: 500-600 m, 1900 ft (Jhinu – 1780m, 5839 ft)
- Landscape: Steps, hot springs, valley
- Tea house cost: 300-500 NPR
Our trekking group had heard that Jhinu Danda had natural hot springs. So our mission for the day was to make it from Bamboo down to Jhinu Danda. It’s a long downhill descent, and I’ll never forget my knee pain from that day.
A creative way to create a swing, don’t you think?
Jhinu Danda ended up being where I had my favorite meal of our entire trek: Chili chicken. It was expensive, but the best I had since living in Nepal. I don’t eat much meat anymore now, but back then it was a heavenly meal after such an intense day.
It’s worth noting that the hot springs were only supposed to be a 15-minute hike down, but in reality, it was more like 30 or more. Just FYI. It’s a lovely surprise though, with gushing hot water jetting out from tubes in the mountain and filling the natural pools by the riverside.
Journal Entry Snippet: 25 October 2015 | Location: Jhinu Danda
“Aaahhh.
Today was a horrendous day. Just kidding. It was terrible for me knees, that’s for sure. We walked all the way from Bamboo to here. it’s not that bad, but it was all the time up and down stone steps. Eek hurts my knees so bad. But we made it! …
Our last night! Can’t believe it went by so fast. See you later (and à très vite mon petit nug nug*!”[see you very soon nug nug!]
*nug nug = one of the nicknames for our cat Yoda!
A local school somewhere on our trip back down the mountain.
Day 10: Last Day of Trekking!! Jhinu to Nayapul
- Time: 6-8 hrs
- Descended: 600 m (1900 ft) down to Nayapul (sits at 1070 m, 3500 ft)
- Landscape: Mountain + valley views!
- Bus back to Pokhara:
We finished our Annapurna Base Camp trek itinerary back where we started: Naya Pul! We left Jhinu Danda around 8:30 am and walked all the way back to the familiar dirt road and the even familiar bridge that we crossed to start our trek. This time we circled back around so it was literally like making a full circle.
Last day of our trek back from Annapurna Base Camp. I remember turning around and thinking about how I was at the base of those mountains just 2 nights ago!
To get back to Pokhara we’d wait for the local bus. But Nepal was in a fuel crisis during this period and we had to ride on TOP of the bus with at least 20-30 other people. The locals helped us climb up the ladder and toss our bags in the middle. We all hung our feet off the edge as we wound back up the mountain and finally into Pokhara. What an experience!
I recommend you stay overnight in Pokhara at least one night, if not more. The aches really catch up with you! Plus, you’ll want a fresh, full day in order to take the bus back to Kathmandu. You should book a ticket in advance because buses fill up quickly. Otherwise, you can have a flexible schedule in Pokhara and just return to KTM when you can.
Last Journal Snippet Entry: 26 October 2019 | Location: Pokhara
“Omgosh! WE MADE IT!!! … We left Jhinu Danda around 8:30 am (like every morning), and walked, and walked, and yep you guessed it – and walked. It was a gorgeous day for it, though! Sunny + blue skies. The hike itself was so tiresome, despite the descrease in up and down climbs. We got to talk a lot with Zoe & Mario that day, as well. Wonderful people.
The trail led to the dirt road – and from there on it seemed like we’d never arrive. You just gotta keep pushing through. Once we saw the familiar bridge, which we’d crossed nearly 2 weeks earlier, we were all hoopin’ and ‘a hollerin’! … Psych! We weren’t done yet -> still more walking to reach Naya Pul. Group photo 🙂 all 10 of us. Then the bus arrived – of course it was full so we climbed on top, also full. … Aww, the views, the air, the experience was just really cool. Except the a** pain was awful [because] of the metal bars we were sitting on. Ouch!”
Our fun experience riding on top of the bus back to Pokhara. (Check out Paul looking cool in his Ray-Bans, lol).
10 Days Annapurna Base Camp Trekking Itinerary
There are several different trekking itineraries you can make to reach ABC and back. It all depends on the amount of time you have or if you go alone versus with a guide, and which villages and communities you want to see!
Personally, I couldn’t recommend enough the 10-day ABC trek itinerary that we made. And as we met so many travelers along the way, we were all kinda doing the same hike at the same time, so we joined forces and mutually agreed this was the best option to fit in everything.
It’s a good idea to remain flexible but aim for a total amount of days. We knew we had to be back in Pokhara on the 10th day, so we aimed for that and adjusted our days as we saw fit.
ABC sign reads, “Thank you 4 being together with us. Have a fantastic trekking. See you again.”
I hope you found this Annapurna Base Camp trek itinerary for 10 days useful! 🙂 Of course, feel free to reach out and ask questions about planning, packing, staying at tea houses, or anything else.
Thank you for reading! xx Bri
Great information, thank you for sharing!
Did you book the nights at the teahouses in advance? Thanks for letting me know – will be there in march 🙂
Nope, no need to book in advance! There are several options (most of the time) at each location and I couldn’t imagine them all being full since everyone is so varied/spread out on their itinerary. So exciting that you’re going!! Please feel free to ask me any other questions!
This looks like such an amazing experience!! Would love to do this trek myself one day 🙂 Will have to train a little I guess :p
What an adventure! My girlfriend and I definitely want to go to Nepal, but we need some training probably first haha. Love your detailed itinerary!
It looks SO BEAUTIFULLL but I’ll definitely have to do some training for it! How were the bathroom conditions…?
Wow this looks stunning. I really want to get to Nepal to do some hiking but not sure if I could do the full 10 days in one hit. May need to work on my fitness a bit more!
Thanks, Lisa! And I’m sure it is possible there were so many travelers of all fitness levels and ages rocking this trek! xx
This is SO high on my bucket list and your post made it THAT much higher! Great pics and info! xx
Thanks so much, Tara! You would absolutely love it! It’s such a bucket list adventure 🙂
Love that the itinerary is so detailed, gives a great overview of exactly what to do. And wow I mean look at this beautiful place!
Thanks so much, Patricija! It was an absolutely beautiful place indeed!! xx
Fantastic read, almost as if we were there with you! Love the combination of guide like writing and your journal entries. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks so much, Rich!! Glad you think so! I loved diving back into my old journal for this post.
Absolute bucketlist hike for sure! Loves the mix of your diary excerpts and practical notes too. Really good read.