Nilgiri and North Annapurna Base Camp Tented Trek

Welcome to Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal. The Langtang Ri Trekking & Expedition representative will greet you at the airport and transfer you to your hotel. After your refreshment you will be picked up from your hotel lobby and driven to our Thamel office where you will be formally introduced to your trekking guide. We will go through all your trek itinerary and arrangements with you to insurer every detail is in place. We will also ask to bring your passport, extra passport photographs and a copy of your travel insurance so that we can organize permits required for your trek in the Upper Mustang Region.

After breakfast, we start an interesting tour around Kathmandu. Escorting by an English speaking guide (can be provide any language speaking guide on request) the tour will give you a taste of our vivid Nepali culture and history. In our sightseeing tour we go to Monkey Temple Swayambhunath, Pashupatinath, Bouddhanath and Kathmandu Durbar Square.

Bouddhanath: Bouddhanath is a Buddhist religious complex with a history dating back over 500 years. Located on the eastern edge of Kathmandu it is now a site of great pilgrimage for Buddhist followers who circle its massive stupa, spin its many prayer wheels and visit its beautiful monastery. The main feature of Boudhanath is its huge hemispherical white stupa with central golden tower and the all-seeing eyes of the Buddha. Visitors should circle the stupa in a clockwise direction and spin prayer wheels for good fortune and a good life. Visitors may also enjoy visiting the thangka painting school within the complex to see highly skilled artists at work on religious mandala paintings.

Pashupatinath: This Hindu Temple is a very large complex and focal point for the Hindu religion in Nepal. This old and very revered complex of buildings and shrines is dedicated to the Lord Shiva, one of the main deities of Hinduism. While Lord Shiva has multiple forms he is often seen as the destroyer. This has great significance for the Pashupatinath temple as it is the site of many Hindi ritual cremations each day. Pashupatinath is considered by Hindus to be an auspicious site for passing from one stage of life to the next through the purifying and destroying flames of cremation. However, on a happier note, visitors may also get to see the temple in a buoyant festival mode with one of the many Hindu festivals celebrated here through the year.

Swayambhunath: You will first visit the Swayambhunath temple complex that sits atop a high hill overlooking Kathmandu and the entire Kathmandu Valley. Swayambhunath is perhaps the most sacred Buddhist pilgrimage site in Nepal. It consists of a very large white stupa with the all-seeing-eye of Lord Buddha plus many small stupa and beautifully carved stone shrines. This is a wonderful place to catch your breath and start to understand and appreciate the deep importance of Buddhist belief to the people of Nepal and the Himalaya region. Make sure you ring the many bells to awaken the gods and let them know you are in Nepal. Take the time to enjoy the view over Kathmandu and have your guide point out the many other highlights of the city. In the far distance to the east you may also be able to see the hills of Nagarkot. If you feel energetic you might also like to try some or all of the 350 steps that lead all the way from Kathmandu city up to your Swayambhunath temple vantage point.

Kathmandu Durbar Square: The next stop today is the beautiful Kathmandu Durbar Square, or the royal palace square of the ancient Malla Kings of the Kathmandu Valley. This square and all its architectural treasures are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. While some damage to buildings occurred in the 2015 earthquake the site still contains many stunning architectural gems. The original royal palace courtyards are open to visitors and you will marvel at the intricate timber carving and beautifully crafted brickwork of the palace. The open square outside the palace has many beautiful multi-storey pagodas and temples with ornate carving and carpentry artwork that tells some of the story of the ancient kings and their mystical time and beliefs. The square also contains many important Hindu temples and statues such as to Vishnu and Lord Shiva. Durbar Square also contains the unique and intriguing Kumari Chok. This is an ancient and ornate house where resides the Raj Kumari – the Living Goddess. She is a young girl chosen through an ancient and mystical selection process to become the human incarnation of the Hindu mother goddess, Durga. If you are in the courtyard of her home at the right time in the afternoon you may see a brief glimpse of the Goddess at her window.

Drive or fly to Pokhara. The flight is an optional extra for this itinerary. Pokhara is located about 200km west of Katmandu on the shores of the beautiful Lake Fewa. Pokhara is a mixture of restful and busy. It has the atmosphere of a relaxed “resort town” where visitors take it easy seeing the sights and resting before their Annapurna or Mustang trek and once again upon their return. But is also a busy place with all these visitors arriving, leaving and exploring the lake and nearby sights of Pokhara. The option to drive from Kathmandu to Pokhara provides an opportunity to experience more of the real Nepal beyond the national parks and trekking trails. The scenery and people you will meet on the drive is also worth the experience.

Overnight in Tent .Early morning you will drive to Lete in private transportation. The drive will be around 6 hours long where you will pass through Beni city and Tatopani (Hot Springs). From Lete the trek will start, first continue to a nearby bridge where you will have lunch. Than we continued the trek for around 1-2 hours to Jhipra Deurali village. The village will be the camp for the night. Today we could witness the view of Mt. Dhaulagiri and Tukuche Peak. Dinner will be served in Camp side and than you will sleep in your respective tents. 

Overnight in Tent. After breakfast continue the trek to Jungle Camp. First hour of the trek will be pleasant with mostly flat terrain. After that you will cross a river and than it will be straight uphill for around 5 hours of walking. All of the uphill consists of jungle terrain. Their is a proper trekking trail but it hasn’t used much by trekkers as it is not a very popular trekking trail, so the trail has been damaged in few places and lots of unstable rocks during the start. Lunch will be served on the way and you will continue onwards towards Jungle Camp. Jungle Camp is located on top of a hill. The campsite offered amazing view of Dhaulagiri and Tukuche peak. Dinner will be served in Campsite. 

Overnight in Tent.The day starts straight from uphill hiking. About and hour consisted of walking through Jungle but after that you will cross the Jungle terrain and moved towards more barren terrain. You will witness amazing view of Mt. Dhaulagiri, Tukuche Peak and Niligiri mountains. The best part of the day will be right before lunch where you will reach top of a hill that allowed you to see the view of new set of Mountains including Annapurna 1, Annapurna Fang, Annapurna South. This is a surreal moment as you will have one 8000+ meter peak behind you, which was Mt. Dhaulagiri and we had another 8000+ peak in Annapurna 1 in front of you. Later after lunch you will continue your trek toward Nilgiri Base Camp. You will also reach the highest point of the trek during this route where you will reach an altitude of 4400m. From that point you will continue for an hour and decent few hundred meters to reach Lower Nilgiri Base Camp.

Overnight in Tent .After breakfast you will start the trek for what would be the most challenging hiking day of the whole trek. The first few hours consisted of relatively low uphill and some downhill hike. The hiking path is very narrow and there are some places with small landslides that needed very careful crossing. After than the path is straight downhill. The downhill path is not like a normal trekking downhill path. You will need to go straight downhill with lot of bushes and small plants as support for walking without any proper walking trail. After around total 4 hours of downhill you will reach the trekking trail that continued to North Annapurna Base Camp. Just few minutes ahead in the trail you will reach a camping house creating by ACAP and TAAN for campers and this will be the camp site for tonight.

Overnight in Tent .After breakfast you will start the trek for what would be the most challenging hiking day of the whole trek. The first few hours consisted of relatively low uphill and some downhill hike. The hiking path is very narrow and there are some places with small landslides that needed very careful crossing. After than the path is straight downhill. The downhill path is not like a normal trekking downhill path. You will need to go straight downhill with lot of bushes and small plants as support for walking without any proper walking trail. After around total 4 hours of downhill you will reach the trekking trail that continued to North Annapurna Base Camp. Just few minutes ahead in the trail you will reach a camping house creating by ACAP and TAAN for campers and this will be the camp site for tonight.

Overnight in Tent .The following day you will leave all of your bags in the camping area and head towards North Annapurna Base Camp. The hike to the base camp is around 2 hours long. The walk is relatively pleasant due to lack of bag pack and relatively slow uphill path. The base camp provided breathtaking view of Annapurna 1 and the mountains surround it. The base camp only had a lake that formed from the melting of glacier. The lake can be completely frozen during winter. Besides the lake their is also a temple referred to as small Muktinath temple. This also meant that many domestic tourist also visited the base camp to pray in the temple. Than you will make your way back to the camp. After lunch in the camp site you will continue the trek. The rest of the trek is mostly downhill path where you will cross jungles. Around 3 hours of walking from your lunch you will reach the camp site for tonight, which is situation right after crossing a bridge.

Overnight in Hotel. After breakfast, you will walk around 30 minutes downhill at which point you will reach Phut-Phute Waterfall. This waterfall is very beautiful and picturesque. The water in the waterfall is deep and blue in colour. This waterfall is also quite popular with domestic tourist. Than you will continue the trek for around 1:30 to 2 hours to reach Niligiri Hydropower. This is the end of the trek as from here the trekking trail will finish and it will also be the end of your trek. Your private vehicle will be waiting here which will take you to Pokhara with the drive time being 7-8 hours long.

After breakfast in the morning you say goodbye to Pokhara and head back to bustling Kathmandu by road. You may also choose to fly back to Kathmandu as an optional extra to your itinerary. You will be delivered back to your Kathmandu hotel at the end of today’s travels.

This is the free day to explore a little more of Kathmandu and complete your gift shopping. In the evening you will be collected from your hotel for a fun farewell dinner and Nepali cultural dance – so don’t forget your dancing shoes!

We will meet you at your hotel and take you to the airport in plenty of time to meet your flight home