Trekkers: Rohan Ghimire,
Fastpacking to Annapurna Circuit was the most memorable trekking experience I had with fastpacking Nepal. We as a team of 6 members were looking for the best fastpacking company to complete the Annapurna Circuit trek and came across Fastacking Nepal. In this Blog I will mention all the fun experiences our team had with fastpacking Nepal and completing one of the toughest trails of Nepal with ease.
Firstly, we found this trekking company through some recommendations. Their office is based on Pokhara, Lakeside. We got to their office, told them about our plans and ideas. They were very happy to customize the trip based on our recommendation. We met with the guide (Hari) who was a local resident and had trailed every part of nepal. We had a certain discussion and were happy with their overall hospitality. So, we had our final confirmation and we were ready for our fastpacking journey for the next day.
Day 1: Pokhara to Syange (Syange Altitude: 1700m)
Everyone on our team woke up very early, packed our bags and we were ready for our journey. We had our route customized according to the longer annapurna circuit itinerary. Our plan for day 1 was just to travel and enjoy new experiences with new people we met just yesterday. On the first day we drove from Pokhara to Besisahar (took us about 5 hours), from Besisahar we drove to a place called Syange (approx 2 hrs). We started our journey around 9:00 am in the morning after having our breakfast and reached Syange by around 5:00 pm. We had some fun and slept early (because we had to get up early tomorrow).
Day 2: Syange to Chame (Chame Altitude: 2650m)
New morning, Started our day with light breakfast and we were ready for our fastpacking experience. The destination for day 2 was Chame. We started our journey around 8:00 am in the morning. It was such a new experience carrying a light bag and jogging. Everyone in the group was having fun. We reached a place called Tal in around 2-3 hours of light jogging. Everyone was very hungry and we stopped at that place for our morning lunch (there were few lodges and tea houses for the trekkers). We had our food (It was so delicious, maybe because we were very hungry). After having food and a few minutes of rest, we moved towards our destination for the day (Chame). Listening to music and singing along the way, we reached Chame by around 5:00 pm. We had fun along the journey (surrounded by waterfalls and small villages, it was amazing). We were so thrilled thinking if our first day was this good, how amazing other days would be. We had dinner, sang a few songs and slept early.
Day 3: Chame to Ngawal (Ngawal Altitude: 3650m)
Our plan for day 3 was to reach Ngawal from Chame and continued our journey after having breakfast. Surrounded by hills, we were enjoying our light running. We reached a place called Pisang after running for a few hours (Took some water and snacks along the way). We had our morning food in Pisang and carried on our journey after a few minutes of rest. We reached our destination for day 3 by 4:30 pm. We were very sweaty, took a warm bath and enjoyed our stay at Ngawal.
Day 4: Ngawal to Ice Lake and back to Manang (Ice lake Altitude: 4600m)
We had heard about Ice lake in Manang before starting our journey, so we made sure to visit the lake by extending a day of our trek. We had already had this customized before starting the trek. We continued our day 4 journey from Ngawal and reached the Ice lake in a few hours. Although, the journey to the ice lake was a bit tougher than previous days (maybe because of altitude) but it was worth it. We spent some time, took some photos and trekked back to Manang. Our day 4 ended at Manang. It was a bit of a tough day(we had our dinner and slept early).
(We were tired but our guide was full of life, he was like (i could still run 4-5 hrs non-stop and still won’t feel tired).
Day 5: Manang to Tilicho Base Camp(Tilicho Base Camp Altitude: 4150m)
We slept very nicely and started our day 5 with more energy and enthusiasm. We heard from our guide that most of the trekkers on day 5 just take a short hike from Manang to chongkar view point and stay at Manang for day 5 but our plans were different. We started our journey early and reached Tilicho Base Camp around 3:00 pm. Although the journey wouldn’t take that long we were just walking, taking rest and having fun along the journey(It was a short day). Since we reached very early we explored the areas around the tilicho base camp that day. After exploring the nearby area we went to the tea house, had dinner and slept.
(Our guide knew every single location around there and we were very happy and felt relieved to have such experienced guide)
Day 6: Tilicho base camp to Tilicho Lake and run to Yak Kharka (Tilicho Altitude: 4919, Yak Kharka: 4000m)
We were eager to see the mighty Tilicho Lake (Highest Lake in the world). We started our trek with a decent jog, sped up a bit and reached Tilicho lake in around 5 hours 30 minutes. The lake was so mesmerizing. Our destination for the day was a place called Yak Kharka. We only clicked a few photos and rushed to our destination for the day (Yak Kharka). We reached Yak Kharka by 5:30 pm. It was a tiring day, we had dinner and slept pretty early.
Day 7: Yak Kharka to Thorung Phedi (Altitude of Thorong Phedi: 4540m)
We woke up late and started our journey late for day 7. We started the journey around 11:00 am and reached thorong Phedi by 2:00pm. It was a short day, we were very rested too. We really enjoyed that evening (Danced, sang, played games etc). Though, day 7 was the shortest, It was one of the most memorable days.
Day 8: Thorong Phedi to Muktinath (Thorong la pass: 5416m, Muktinath:3710m)
Day 8 was one of the most exciting days since we were about to cross one of the highest mountain passes in the world (thorong la pass). We started early and continued our trek and reached the mighty thorong la pass. (We were stunned by the view). We were surrounded by mountains. It felt like I could stay there my whole life. We were at a very high altitude(it could always be risky at such high altitude),so we didn’t spend much time there. We clicked a few photos and continued our journey to Muktinath. We reached Muktinath around 6:00 pm.We had our dinner in the lodge and slept early (It was a long day, even our guide was feeling a bit tired today).
Day 9: Muktinath to Marpha (Marpa Altitude: 2650m)
We woke up early, visited Muktinath temple and started our journey to Marpha. We passed a beautiful village called Lupra on our way to Marpha. We Learned about their culture, spent some time there and started running to Marpha. We reached Marpha village around 6:30 pm and stayed there. There was such amazing hospitality there. As it was our last day before returning to Nepal, we really had fun that night.
Day 10: Return Back to Pokhara
The exciting fastpacking journey comes to an end at day 10. We drove from Marpha to Pokhara by jeep. We arrived at Pokhara at around 3:00 pm. We went to the fastpacking Nepal office, had a conversation with their owner, thanked him and the guide for providing an amazing experience.
How was our entire journey?
Honestly, It was the most amazing experience we had in my life. I have already tried a few areas of Nepal and it was our first time trying fastpacking in such a tough trail and we loved every moment of it. The guide was so amazing and helpful throughout the journey. We had so much fun and thankfully we were all safe and sound (no injuries/sickness) to any of the members throughout the trip. Me and my team definitely recommend fastpacking Nepal if you want to experience fastpacking in the tough terrain of Nepal with ease.
(A thankful Blog to Fastpacking Nepal from our entire Team.)
