Annapurna Base Camp — the Sanctuary Trek

Nayapul roadhead → Kimche

River trail and jeep track

Follow the milky Modi Khola upstream on an easy grade through Birethanti, past subtropical terraces and suspension bridges. Hot and low — this is the last of the easy walking.

Kimche → Ghandruk

Stone staircase

A long flight of stone steps climbs to Ghandruk, a slate-roofed Gurung village stacked on the hillside. On a clear evening Annapurna South and Machapuchare stand directly above the rooftops.

Ghandruk → Kimrong Khola bridge

Steep forest descent

A steep, knee-testing descent through rhododendron forest to a bridge over the Kimrong Khola. Everything you lose here you climb straight back.

Kimrong Khola → Chhomrong

Long climb, then a traverse

Climb hard over the Kimrong Danda and traverse to Chhomrong, a village of stepped stone terraces facing the Sanctuary entrance. This is where the fishtail of Machapuchare first fills the skyline.

Chhomrong → Sinuwa (about 2,360 m)

Endless stone steps, down then up

Descend a famously long stone staircase to the river at about 1,900 m, cross the suspension bridge, and grind straight back up to Sinuwa. Trekkers talk about these steps for years afterwards — and you get them again on the way home.

Sinuwa → Bamboo

Damp forest trail

Contour and drop through dense bamboo and rhododendron to the cluster of lodges called Bamboo, wedged in the bottom of the gorge. Damp, green and closed-in — the walls are rising on both sides now.

Bamboo → Himalaya (about 2,920 m)

Forest trail beside the river

Climb through Dovan (about 2,600 m) and on to the lodges at Himalaya, with the Modi Khola roaring below and waterfalls dropping from the cliffs above.

Himalaya → Deurali

Rocky trail, avalanche slopes

Pass the Hinku Cave and climb out of the last trees into open rock and scrub at Deurali. This is where altitude starts to be felt and where the avalanche-prone section ahead begins — check conditions at the lodge.

Deurali → Machhapuchhre Base Camp (about 3,700 m)

Moraine and avalanche paths

Cross the slide paths early in the day and climb through the narrow gate between Hiunchuli and Machapuchare to Machhapuchhre Base Camp. The sacred fishtail summit above you has never been climbed — it is closed by law.

Machhapuchhre Base Camp → Annapurna Base Camp

Open moraine, often snow

A slow, breathless walk up open moraine as the amphitheatre closes around you. Base camp sits at 4,130 m under the vast south face of Annapurna I, with the ring of peaks turning gold at sunset and pink again at dawn.

Annapurna Base Camp → Machhapuchhre Base Camp

Moraine

Stand out in the freezing dark until the sun catches the south face of Annapurna I and works its way down the ring, then walk back down the moraine as the Sanctuary warms up.

Machhapuchhre Base Camp → Bamboo

Rock, then forest trail

Retrace the route through Deurali, Himalaya and Dovan. Descending is fast but hard on the knees — poles earn their keep here.

Bamboo → Chhomrong

Down to the river, up the steps

Climb back to Sinuwa, drop to the Chhomrong Khola and haul up the long staircase into Chhomrong for the last time. Order the cinnamon roll — you have earned it.

Chhomrong → Jhinu Danda / Siwai

Descending village trail

Descend to Jhinu Danda and walk twenty minutes down to the natural hot springs on the bank of the Modi Khola. From Jhinu or the roadhead at Siwai, a jeep takes you back to Pokhara.