Nepal: Trekking to Annurpurna Base Camp - Any tips?

[sebianos]

Again thanks for all the replies. They are all so useful. It is my first time going trekking, going to Nepal, so want to gather as much info as I can.

sebianos: your photo makes me even more looking forward to the trip.

You're most welcome. Nepal will always hold a special piece in my heart. Be prepared to lose weight though. I lost 5 kilos just from trekking Remember to go slow, and not be in a rush. I've seen trekkers rushing and ended up sick or falling off mountains - and what's worse is that the mountains were covered by clouds. :cry:

 

[2evans]

This is some great advise, and to continue plugging for tips, are trekking poles a must or would they be recommended?

 

[whattokingu]

I am not sure if this has been mentioned. You can get the handwarmer( available at Winning, Wintertime, and so adventure shops at Novena Velocity). It is basically a bag that heats up. Works for 8 hours or so. You can try using that to warm your batteries, but becareful! It gets quite hot....

 

[kilkenny]

You're most welcome. Nepal will always hold a special piece in my heart. Be prepared to lose weight though. I lost 5 kilos just from trekking

Really!!! hmm then its me then i put on weight hahaha i especially loved the fried potatoe dishes, the potatoes there seems especially nice. Their dessert dish at the guest house seems pretty decent also or i am just hungry after the trek haha.

I rem we saw luncheon meat at MBC and we paid 10 SIN for a can so that they can fry it for us hahaha its was truly heavenly =p

cheers,
kilkenny

 

[Gengh]

I rem we saw luncheon meat at MBC and we paid 10 SIN for a can so that they can fry it for us hahaha its was truly heavenly =p

Oh yes! For us too! We bought luncheon meat leaving Chomrong, and fried it... can't remember where. Yum yum ;p

 

[Vulpix0r]

Anyone got any comments on the Annapura Circuit? The hike seems to be fairly long at around 22d, but from the blogs I've read people don't seen to have to carry much and there's no need to camp outside at night. How do they get water and stuff along the way?

 

[raymond yap]

I have a very good tour guide friend at Nepal , you can cantact him . His name is Rajendra Pant , you may find him at face book also visit .www;greathimalaya.com,www.trektohimalaya.com
:thumbsup:

 

[limkopi]

If it's juz a one-off trip, u can simply rent downfeather jacket, sleeping bag & walking sticks in Thamel. Quite cheap. They charge via no. of days & quality range of the pdt.

U can definitely find lotsa cheap trekking gears there (@ only 1/3 of SG price or even lower), thou many are imitations but the locals wear them on a daily basis during the harsh winter anyway... However, shoes & socks are better to get fr SG. Cos it's impt to get suitable shoes & decent socks (they only sell the thick cotton ones there which will smell like hell after absorbing all the perspiration fr ur feet) cos ur feet is gonna get the roughest treatment during the trek. & odour-absorbing powder will be useful too.

Silk liner will be useful to keep u warm as well as keep off bugs (though winter I guess they're all pretty dead?). Downfeather sleeping bag is a must in higher altitudes cos the temperature dips really low once the sun is down, especially when u go in winter. There's no heater in the rooms. Showers are barely lukewarm & powered by solar heaters (ie. if u're lucky, u get some barely lukewarm water, otherwise brace urself for a "refreshing" Himalayan shower).

Batts charging is a heng-suay thing in the mountains. U can pay a small fee to charge (there's no individual plugs inside the rooms) but power trips are often & usually the same power source has to be shared with other trekkers (sometimes gotta queue to charge). So best bet is to conserve batt life by cutting down on LCD-reviews & trigger-happy shooting. Keep charged batts warm in ur pockets otherwise no matter how long u charge them, the juice will drain fast.

 

[limkopi]

Anyone got any comments on the Annapura Circuit? The hike seems to be fairly long at around 22d, but from the blogs I've read people don't seen to have to carry much and there's no need to camp outside at night. How do they get water and stuff along the way?

The Annapurna Circuit trek itself is only abt 14-16 days (12-13 days if u walk fast) at most. SG agencies will publicise them as 22 days cos it also includes ur time spent to travel & rest (ie. SG-Kathmandu, Kathmandu-Pokhara or Besishahar depending which direction u go, rest day @ Pokhara after descending fr mountains & then Pokhara-Kathmandu).

There's absolutely no need to camp on this trek. There are plenty of teahouse lodge along the way, every 1 hour or so u'll past by a small village where u can rest, eat, get snacks & water or find accommodation. It's very tourist-friendly (read: commercialised). In fact, u can also make calls or surf internet along the way in the bigger villages like Chame & Manang.

 

[Vulpix0r]

The Annapurna Circuit trek itself is only abt 14-16 days (12-13 days if u walk fast) at most. SG agencies will publicise them as 22 days cos it also includes ur time spent to travel & rest (ie. SG-Kathmandu, Kathmandu-Pokhara or Besishahar depending which direction u go, rest day @ Pokhara after descending fr mountains & then Pokhara-Kathmandu).

There's absolutely no need to camp on this trek. There are plenty of teahouse lodge along the way, every 1 hour or so u'll past by a small village where u can rest, eat, get snacks & water or find accommodation. It's very tourist-friendly (read: commercialised). In fact, u can also make calls or surf internet along the way in the bigger villages like Chame & Manang.

For a more scenic and a trip more towards photo taking, which would you recommend?

 

[sebianos]

Really!!! hmm then its me then i put on weight hahaha i especially loved the fried potatoe dishes, the potatoes there seems especially nice. Their dessert dish at the guest house seems pretty decent also or i am just hungry after the trek haha.

I rem we saw luncheon meat at MBC and we paid 10 SIN for a can so that they can fry it for us hahaha its was truly heavenly =p

cheers,
kilkenny

Hahaha.... i was on a very tight budget back then. Only had a can of coke which costs
3 SIN up there at Namche Bazaar, other than that it's veg fried rice, veg fried noodles, ocassional yak steak.... that's about it.

Food supplies carried up by porters and locals - which means 1-2 days trek. And there's a limit to how much they can carry... tough work.

 

[sebianos]

For a more scenic and a trip more towards photo taking, which would you recommend?

Any one of them is scenic, only thing to be careful are clouds. You want cloud free days, although the sunset shot with a glowing orange cloud is beautiful too. One thing, i missed out back then was taking photos of the locals. Their faces shows what weather can do to your face - and they do lots of interesting things. Burning gandum grass in an urn, swinging prayer wheels, their mani poles, mani stones... I want to go back

 

[2evans]

Hahaha.... i was on a very tight budget back then. Only had a can of coke which costs
3 SIN up there at Namche Bazaar, other than that it's veg fried rice, veg fried noodles, ocassional yak steak.... that's about it.

Food supplies carried up by porters and locals - which means 1-2 days trek. And there's a limit to how much they can carry... tough work.

Oh you ate the meat during the trek? Everyone says to stay away from the meat while going on the trek as fridges are not common.

 

[blackman]

You can buy all the trekking gears like shoes, pants, cap, socks, gloves etc in KTM or Pokkara. There are plenty of shops there, and depending on your bargaining skills, most of the time, you will get cheaper price or better quality compare to in SG. Just dont be too fussy about the brand and outlook.

The only thing you need to get from SG are maybe local snacks, medicine, vitamin C tablet or Ribena and water purifier, if you dont want to keep buying mineral water there. Hot water is not cheap at base camp. I am kiasu kind of people, i even purify hot water.. If you get diarrhea, your schedule will definitely be delayed. Do buffer one or two days in Pokkara, just in case your schedule delayed. KTM is dirty and dusty, staying in Pokkara is much better.

You can eat meat during the trek. Indeed, their momo (dumpling) is really nice. However, beyond Chomrong, no much meat you can eat, only vege. Eat more while it last..

Lastly, do some exercise in SG before you go, like climb 10 floor HDB 5 time a day..

 

[sebianos]

Oh you ate the meat during the trek? Everyone says to stay away from the meat while going on the trek as fridges are not common.

LOL... At the altitude, fridge is the last thing on your mind. I'm thinking hot stoves and heater. Everything is freezing up there and meat is quite fresh, really. Is cold enough that your breath form vapors when you breath out? If you think that's cool, wait till you pee. :bsmilie:

There's a question about trekking poles. It may be necessary if you've got a bad knee, or just pick up a strong branch on the way up. Trick is to trek properly but transfering your weight on the leading foot to conserve your energy. Will be panting really hard though, because of the thin air.

 

[Gengh]

For the trekking poles, I found that having one does help, but it's when you have two then it really does wonders. It made me really appreciate why most animals walk on 4 legs . No sure if anyone else tried using both one and two trekking poles and felt the same way?

Going up is simply exhausting, but going down is exhausting and risky at the same time. The steps are often very big and uneven, if you misstep you can easily get a sprain, or if you keep landing with too much impact you might hurt your knee. At least it seemed that way to me. None of my party actually suffered any injuries. But the guides were simply amazing how they can practically run up and down, carrying so much load, and wearing just worn out sneakers!!! :bigeyes::bigeyes::bigeyes:

 

[kilkenny]

Hahaha.... i was on a very tight budget back then. Only had a can of coke which costs
3 SIN up there at Namche Bazaar, other than that it's veg fried rice, veg fried noodles, ocassional yak steak.... that's about it.

Food supplies carried up by porters and locals - which means 1-2 days trek. And there's a limit to how much they can carry... tough work

Well....all our staple was essentially paid for, basically we booked with a tour guide(local nepalese) and was quoted all in one price including lodging and meals during the trek. First day our guide told us that we can order what we want but after the 3rd meal where we had 2nd and third helpings, he gave us the yellow card and we could only order 1 main and 1 dessert haahha. Its damn funny man.

Meat-wise i dunno but the veg are seriously out of the ground. I still rem at one of the lunch places, we literally saw them pick the veg, wash and chop it and fry it hahaha.

Lastly, do some exercise in SG before you go, like climb 10 floor HDB 5 time a day..

Great advise! U prob can still complete the trek if u are of normal fitness but if u are fitter it will go a long way in helping you enjoy the trek and admiring the scenery.

Anyone got any comments on the Annapura Circuit? The hike seems to be fairly long at around 22d, but from the blogs I've read people don't seen to have to carry much and there's no need to camp outside at night. How do they get water and stuff along the way?

I do not know bout other circuits but if its ABC, do not op for the camping option. Me and my friends were deliberating so long over whether or not to go for the camping option so that we can so called experience the great outdoors but we were glad we did not as the campsite was like 5 steps from most of the lodges and at night u see the dining area really full as the campers all come in to stay out of the cold hahaha.

Side trek hehe, anyone have done lake tilicho? Am really keen on doing it but seems a path less taken.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tilicho_lake

cheers,
kilkenny

 

[krishna91]

The best way to prepare for a trek is to do a few easier treks before that. Maybe you could do bukit timah in singapore twice or thrice.

Dave Hahn, record 11 time Everest climber, when asked "How strong/fit do you have to be if you want to climb Everest?" told me "Fit enough to feel strong on the summits of a hundred other climbs leading to it."

As for trekking pants, Tommy Hilfiger Backcountry, North Face, Lowe Alpine and Columbia are great brands. UPF 30 material is the most appropriate.

Boots- Lowa or Vasque Gore Tex high top boots if you're trekking on snow and ice, otherwise Salomon/Columbia and all those other brands.

Gloves- thin gloves if you've taking photos

Insulation - lowest layer - thermal , middle layer - shirt, outer layer- downfeather jacket. A great down feather jacket is the North Face Nuptse.

wear a scarf/balaclava to prevent the sun from scorching your neck.

UV protection goggles/sunglasses.

A hat.

woolen socks.

you're good to go.

 

[Vulpix0r]

How do you people settle water over there? Gotta buy everytime you stop?

 

[barracuda]

How about the conditions of the toilets along the trek & at those guest houses?