A short day taking you to one of the finest mountain sanctuaries in the World

Statistics

1 - 2

hrs

444

m

2

m

11

max°

Difficulty

FATMAP difficulty grade

Moderate

Description

With minimal distance to cover today you can take the opportunity to study every peak and face that comes into view, and there are plenty of them! It takes a while for the sun to hit Machhapuchchhre Base Camp so don't rush out of your lodge in the morning.

Drink plenty of tea and watch the sun slowly creeping up the valley below you and the peaks above until it finally reaches you.

Once you start hiking head almost due west up a good path through grassy terrain that leads to Annapurna Base Camp, which like Machhapuchchhre Base Camp is a series of lodges and not a lot else! The views on this day are mind blowing, and they just keep coming.

Machhapuchchhre looks more and more impressive the more you study it and the Annapurnas themselves (there are multiple summits that make up the Annapurna Massif) look fascinating and awe inspiring from any angle.

Straight ahead as you hike is Annapurna South, which looks huge but is actually "only" 7219 metres, fully 880 metres shorter than Annapurna 1 - the highest peak in the region.

Upon reaching Annapurna Base Camp, Annapurna 1's immense south face dominates the view to your right, and you will begin to understand what a big achievement the first ascent of this face was in 1970.

Spend the rest of the day soaking in the views and ambience now that you've finally reached the hallowed Annapurna Sanctuary and then, to get back to Pokhara, retrace your steps over several days to get back to Chhomrong and, from there, one final day leads back to the road at Syauli Bhatti.