Trekking in the Annapurnas

This three day trek will take you into the Modi Khola valley, which is dominated by the peaks of the Annapurna Massif: in fact the head of the valley is what is known as the Annapurna Sanctuary, home of Annapurna and Machhapuchhre Base Camps, at about 4,000 metres. The trek you will be undertaking will, however, be at a rather more comfortable altitude, and you will be trekking anywhere between 1,000 and 2,000 metres. You may well feel some small effects of altitude — such as a slight shortness of breath — but you should not feel any of the adverse effects of altitude sickness (these are usually only encountered at altitudes higher than 3,000 metres).

You will be walking on paths built by the local villagers for their own transport purposes. These quite often take the form of shallow slate steps leading up or down the hills, and can be quite relentless in places — though they are rarely very steep, they seem to go on for quite some time! The views and feeling of satisfaction at the top however are well worth the hard work, and you will be able to stop and rest as much as you need to. Most of the walking is through paddy fields, as most of the land is farmed, so there is little protection from the elements, but there are some points where you walk through some pleasantly shaded woods. You will pass through numerous villages, where you will be able to stop for a tea or a coke and a snack if you wish, and despite the fact that you are a number of hours' walk from any road, you will rarely be far from habitation as the local Gurung people, who live a very traditional life of subsistence farming, have populated these hills quite extensively.