3 things to consider when deciding if this hike is worth it for you
Alex and I completed the full Annapurna Circuit from Besisahar to Naya Pul without a guide. The trek is over 200km long at mostly high elevation. We had been planning a trip to Nepal for years and knew we wanted to do a trek, as hiking and mountaineering are the primary activities of our travels. Being the planner that I am, I wanted to be sure that the trek we selected would be worth our limited time off which we typically save for a big trip. After much research, I had some doubts about whether the Annapurna circuit would be worth it considering the increased accessibility due to the roads that have been built recently along side the trail in many parts of the trek. When Alex and I travel, we typically try to avoid excessive crowds and seek less popular areas, as we prefer a more ‘authentic’ adventurous experience. However, given our limited time and overall very positive comments we heard, we decided to complete the world famous Annapurna Circuit, but to take the alternative side trails away from the roads as much as possible.
There are so many wonderful things to love about the Annapurna Circuit. At the beginning you traverse through warm tropical forest scattered with many stunning waterfalls, the occasional monkey, and dozens of drawbridge crossings.
Please note that since creating this post the Nepal Tourism Board announced that people can no longer trek in Nepal independently. If this is the case that is very sad. Check out this article for more details.
As you continue, the terrain gradually becomes hillier and rice-patty-terraced hills come into view in the high plateaus. You then pass through pine forest, and begin to see the first signs of the Himalayas peaking in the distance. You take in this majestic scenery as you sip tea in quaint tea houses run by locals dotted throughout the trek. The end is equally impressive with giant Himalayan backdrops as you pass through gorges and villages strewn with children washing laundry by water pumps, and sunken faces of local elders smiling at you as you pass by.
The middle is another story…thanks to the new roads that have made the classic Annapurna Circuit more accessible to travelers with limited time frames. Given our travel style the trip would not have been worth it if we had just gone from Manang to Jomson as we saw so many do. Our goal with this website is to give the facts even if they do not always fit in with the at times ‘romanticized’ notions people have about travel. Below outlines a few things to take into consideration when considering doing the Annapurna Circuit.
- Crowds
People come from around the world to do this iconic trek. Anywhere from large guided tours with porters, solo trekkers with guides, bicycle groups, to independent trekkers like us. With these crowds came both positive and negative experiences.
- Positives: Alex and I were able to befriend people from around the world. It was not uncommon to have dinner with people from 3 or more different countries on any given night. I remember one dinner in particular the eve before the 2016 presidential election with people from Belgium, Germany, and Russia about the impact this election could have around the world. Everyday was full of fascinating cross-cultural experiences with people we met along the trail; these types of experiences are some of my favorite parts of traveling. One of the advantages of this trek is that it seems to facilitate these types of interactions, as the nature of working towards the same goal forms a type of camaraderie especially among the independent trekkers. I will go into depths on some of the negatives below, but we found the crowds were not too bad from Besisahar to Manang and then again after Jomson. There were opportunities to cross-amazing scenery in these parts and if we hadn’t befriended some trekkers who we hiked most of the time with we probably could have had parts to ourselves for an hour or two at a time in these areas.
- Negatives: There is no doubt that this is a very crowded, popular trek. I don’t think I fully realized before I left just how popular this trek is. We didn’t run into a lot of tourist in other parts of the country, but on this trek they felt like the majority of the people we saw each day. The impact of the construction of the road was especially prominent after Manang. The day we pushed on from Manang is where the crowds got very frustrating for the most part all the way up the pass and down to Muktinath. There was literally a line of people that my acclimatized and trail leg-adjusted husband and I had to try to push past. It reminded me a bit of what is was like on a previous trip we took on the way up to Machu Picchu from Aguas Calientes. It seemed like a bunch of people (especially guided tours) took cars all the way up to Manang, which involves skipping the first 6-8 days of the trek. Another annoyance after Manang was the mountain bicycle groups. They were so aggravating for hikers. On the way down after Thorong-La pass I got quite sick and a bicyclist heading down almost ran into me while I was quite visibly throwing up on the side of the trail. The trail gets too narrow in parts for both bicycles and trekkers to use the same trail in an orderly manner. Additionally, at the time at least there are no alternative trails you can take after Manang before Thorong La pass; so like it or not there was no way to avoid the crowds during this part of the trek.
- Interaction with locals and their cultures
- Positives: There are many temples, prayer wheels and flags all over the trek, which is quite incredible. You can take the time to explore some in religious sights in places such as Upper Pisang and Muktinath. It was fun seeing adolescents in their Buddhist robes spinning prayer wheels and women lighting incense near religious shrines. Additionally, it was quite common to see locals herding goats and other livestock, and carrying heavy bundles of hay or sticks in many parts of the trek.
- Negatives: It felt like many of the interactions with locals were strictly for an exchange of goods (i.e. to recruit you to stay in their tea house or to get you to buy merchandise). I know this is a common travelers quandary but it seemed like most villagers were well versed in the tourism business. However, when we took some of the alternate paths we came across many more opportunities to interact with locals and witness village life, but had we kept to the traditional route we would not have had those opportunities. Our favorite parts for this were the alternative trails on the way down after Jomson, which I highly recommend.
- Well defined and beaten path
- Positives: Given Alex and my unfortunate tenacity for getting lost on our adventures we can successfully say that no major disasters happened on this trip (okay there may have been one incident when we sort of got a little lost and stuck in thick mud but it really was minor compared to our other incidents). The path is quite straightforward most of the way and locals are very helpful in redirecting you if they see you get off the main route.
- Negatives: Everyone seemed to be doing the exact same route, with the same stops as prescribed in their handy dandy guides. From the very start, it seemed that almost everyone was staying in the same villages at night. There were the occasional people who would venture off to do side treks, but for the most part, people followed the same or similar prescribed programs which left little room for the feeling of true adventure. Alex and I are used to backcountry style backpacking in the PNW where we live and this did not feel like a ‘backpacking’ hiking experience at all. This hike is far too popular and tourist accommodating for that. However, there is something great about the camaraderie that develops by seeing the same people at each stop.
So would I recommend this trek? Is the Annapurna circuit still worth it despite the roads?
If you only have time to hike from Manang to Jomson I would not recommend this trek! The crowds, tour groups and bikes make it quite unpleasant at times. Our favorite parts were at the beginning and the end for this reason. Even if you do the full circuit, if you are seeking truly off the beaten path, solitude and wild adventure I would say this is not the trek for you. However, if you enjoy meeting and being around people from all over the world, want good infrastructure for travelers, and want super cheap accommodation and food, coupled with some great scenery and local culture than I think this would be a wonderful trek choice!
We truly enjoyed the experience, amazing scenery, and all the many people we met from around the world. There were signs of more roads being built that will further make this trek accessible and undoubtedly bring more masses, so perhaps now may be the best time to do it.
-Liz
