i'm going Annapurna Base Camp and Everest Base Camp, tentatively 15 March to 11 April.
most prob going on my own and hope to meet some kakis along the way in Kathmandu or Pokhara...
anyone interested here? [just trying my luck]
i'm reading "Rough Guide to Nepal" to plan my route...
what I've gathered so far for Annapurna:
Kathmandu to Pokhara by public bus (7 hours), departing KTM hourly
Pokhara to Phedi by taxi (30 minutes)
Phedi to Annapurna Base Camp, one-way is 4 days' worth of trekking, passing through:
Pothana
Bhichok Deurali
Landruk
Modi Khola
Chhomrong
Sinuwa
Dobhan
Deurali
South Annapurna Base Camp
An alternative route is to go to North Annapurna Base Camp:
first by taxi from Pokhara to Nayapul, then trek via:
Birethanti
Poon Hill
Tatopani
Dana
North Annapurna Base Camp (the book does not have details of the trekking condition from Dana to NABC, except that it is along the world's deepest gorge).
Any suggestions/comments from Annapurna veterans??
One recommendation about transport, if you got a bit more cash to spare, i'd recommend you get at least a tourist bus instead of public bus to bring you to and fro Pokhara, as the public bus can be really quite a harrowing experience. No point roughing it out the whole day (says 7hrs but often can take more, including breakdown halfway, tussling for seats with the locals though you paid for a seat... getting all dusty and dirty cos of the chickens, produce and who knows what else they cram on board... the list goes on), and then get too tired the next day to do anything. Trust me, the public bus in Nepal is nothing like SBS in singapore. A much better experience would be to either take the tourist bus, or charter a taxi or private car from Kathmandu...more expensive but worth the comfort. To save a day, you could even opt to fly domestic, which is about 80-90USD one way.
I've taken all three options before (public bus, private car, domestic) and i'd say car and domestic flights are well worth the extra. You can also ask the car to stop at any time to take photos, and if you get a window seat on the plan, you can take nice shots of all the peaks from the plane as well!
Hope that helps
