Walking through the deep valley of the Modi Khola, surrounded by thick jungle and high walls where long waterfalls are dropped, to finally reach the impressive circus that forms the south face of Annapurna, with the first light of the sun dyeing it with color. This is the direct route of the Annapurna Base Camp Trek, which ends with a well-deserved bath in hot springs in Jhinu.
If any trek runs away from the crowded routes, this is it. Quiet paths, rhododendron forests, terraced fields, small villages and farms here and there, and vast views of the Himalayas, including the Annapurnas and Manaslu. This trek is a unique opportunity to immerse yourself in Nepalese culture, sleeping in homestay, where the people will welcome you with a shy and friendly smile.
This short route runs along the edge of the Mardi Himal, in fact, a shoulder of the beautiful Machhapuchhre, and therefore its views over the Annapurna and other mountains are quite spectacular. Here the lodges are basic and you still find the taste of the old routes, passing through less travelled, more solitary areas. An itinerary that can easily be extended to other routes in the south of Annapurna.
Pikey Peak trek is really different. Here you don’t pass near spectacular mountains, we don’t have glaciers that hang down next to us, here the important thing is the human and cultural environment. The Pikey Peak area represents in a way the paradigm of Nepal, medium mountains, forest, crops, farms and small villages, in the middle of an area with big influence of Tibetan Buddhism.
Of an average duration, the Khopra Ridge trek is one of the most interesting routes in the southern part of the Annapurna, crossing areas of great cultural richness and with unrivalled views of the Himalayan peaks and over the Kali Gandaki valley. It is a relatively new route, so it is still little exploited and much more authentic.
With the wide panorama of Poon Hill in the heart of the Himalayas, its short but interesting trek through Tolka and Ghandruk, and a few days in Kathmandu and Pokhara, this program offers a good immersion for those who are not lucky enough to have many days, but want the most complete experience possible of Nepal and its treks.
