Annapurna Base Camp Trekking – A Classic Trek

“I always used to get chills by just thinking of this Himalayan eight-thousander and that morning I was standing right before it.”

Marija Grujovska describes her trek to Annapurna Base Camp as physically and mentally demanding and full of surprises. From uncertain weather to different people you come across, uncertainty is the best part about trekking. Grujovska started her trekking in Syauli Bazaar. The beautiful views and river moving along the path made walking in the scorching sun totally worth it. The trek for the day ended at a small village named New Bridge – a small village situated above the river with a view of an almost vertical hill. They started early the next day and were headed towards their new destination Bamboo.

After a few hours of walking in the dense forest, they reached Jhinu – a charming village with hot springs. After taking a short tea break, they headed towards their next stop Chomrong. Chomrong was Marija’s personal favorite and she thoroughly enjoyed every part of the village. The view of the charming stone houses dotting the endless paddy fields seemed truly idyllic to them.From Chomrong, the trail leaded down to a suspension bridge and then up again to Sinuwa. Despite the drizzle and bad weather, they decided to listen to their lodge owner and marched on towards Bamboo. After walking through a dense forest entirely made of bamboo trees, they realised why the place got its name.

They headed towards Deurali the following day. Marija writes :”Passing Dovan and Himalaya on the way, the trail to Deurali was very diverse in terms of landscapes. Annapurna and Machhapuchhre were following us everywhere while walking through another portion of bamboo forest and then a bare, rocky and steep trail on the final approach to Deurali.” The 4th day was a major as they were about to march to their final destination, the Annapurna Base Camp.

With each step they were taking, the view was just getting better and better. The forest was not visible anymore and now they were walking through high altitude river valley with mesmerising view of Annapurna right ahead of them. They stopped by at Machhapuchhre Base Camp for some lunch. Recalling her experience Marija writes,”This last portion of the trail was a true delight. Our pace was significantly slower, but not out of exhaustion (which we didn’t feel out of excitement) but because we would stop every other minute to take photos of the magnificent scenery. The clouds had already covered the mighty peaks once we reached our final destination, but we knew that a real show was waiting for us in the morning. And it really happened.”

Marija recalls ABC Trek as a classic trek and a fine example of how trekking in the Nepalese Himalayas feel like. According to her, ABC Trek is all in all a wonderful opportunity to see some of the most breathtaking landscapes in your life, as well as to meet, talk to and observe the life of the local people living in the foothills of this mighty massif.

The above is excerpted from the original blog post up on www.insidehimalayas.com