Australian Camp Small Trek

If Pokhara has set itself as a major tourist attraction in Nepal it is largely due to the countless short and affordable treks and hikes for a wide audience that the southern area of Annapurna offers. Usually, routes of 4 to 7 days and even they are short they are still very interesting itineraries. To hike in the Annapurna National Park involves paying the price of your entrance fee and trekking card (TIMS) so it has a high cost for those ones who only want to hike for two or three days. However, the Australian Camp itinerary is just outside the limit of the protection zone, so it does not imply this extra cost.

The route is nice, running through rhododendron forests and fields of crops and grazing at the foot of the Himalayan peaks and is suitable for anyone who likes to walk in the mountains at least a little. The Australian Camp is a group of lodges located on an open plateau and the sunrises are very beautiful from here, with the Annapurna South and the Machhapuchhre in front of us tinged with the sunrise colours. It is a spacious place to rest and relax, perfect even for a day of doing nothing, far from everything.

This itinerary can be done in both directions, but in the direction that we propose you lose more height than you gain, so most of the route is downhill. The ascent is of short duration, although a little more abrupt, gaining 400 meters of unevenness from Kande to the Australian Camp, also making possible to make the itinerary in the afternoon, so it is possible to fly from Kathmandu in the morning and start the route the same day if necessary.

The return route is longer but practically in descent, losing 1000 meters in altitude until Phedi. The scenery is beautiful, passing through the village of Dhampus, farms and terraced fields, but much of it, especially the end, is stairs and ladders, so if anyone thinks it might be too much, you can always return by the same place to Kande. Whether it is to Phedi or Kande, our vehicle will be waiting for us to return to Pokhara.