Annapurna Base Camp Itinerary 2026: Day-by-Day 7 to 11 Day Plans

Into the sanctuary

The Annapurna Base Camp trek climbs into a natural amphitheatre ringed by peaks over 7,000m, ending at the 4,130m sanctuary directly beneath Annapurna I (8,091m). The most rewarding trek accessible to fit beginners.

The classic 9-day itinerary, day by day

This is the version most people mean by "ABC". It folds the Poon Hill sunrise into the walk in, which costs two days and is worth them: you get a wide Himalayan panorama early, while your legs are fresh and before the valley closes in around you.

Day 1 — Pokhara → Nayapul → Ulleri (2,050m) · 4–5 hrs

A 90-minute drive out of Pokhara drops you at the trailhead. The walking starts gently along the Modi Khola, through terraced fields and buffalo, and then you reach the Ulleri staircase — roughly 3,300 stone steps cut straight up the hillside. There is no technique to it. You simply climb, slowly, and it ends. Most people remember day one for those steps and nothing else.

Day 2 — Ulleri → Ghorepani (2,870m) · 6 hrs

The best forest day of the trek. The path climbs through old rhododendron woods, mossy and dim, with water running everywhere. In late March and April this forest is in full flower and genuinely worth planning around. You reach Ghorepani in the afternoon; it is cold once the sun drops behind the ridge, and every lodge has a stove in the dining room that everyone crowds around.

Day 3 — Poon Hill (3,210m) at dawn → Tadapani · 6 hrs

You leave in the dark, around 4:30am, for a 45-minute climb to the viewpoint. Dhaulagiri, Annapurna South and Machapuchare come up one after another as the light arrives. Be honest with yourself about the crowds — on a clear October morning there can be well over a hundred people on that hilltop. It is still worth doing. After breakfast you descend, then contour through forest to Tadapani, which is quiet by comparison.

Day 4 — Tadapani → Chhomrong (2,170m) · 5 hrs

A long descent through forest to Kimrong Khola, then the climb up to Chhomrong. This is the gateway village to the sanctuary and the last place with proper shops, bakeries and a hot shower worth paying for. Machapuchare stands directly above the village. Buy anything you have forgotten here; prices climb with the altitude from this point on.

Day 5 — Chhomrong → Dovan (2,600m) · 5–6 hrs

The day everyone underestimates. You lose several hundred metres straight down the Chhomrong stone steps to the river, then win it all back on the far side up to Sinuwa. After that the valley narrows and the trail settles into bamboo and rhododendron through Bamboo village to Dovan. The mountains disappear behind the walls of the gorge — this is the enclosed, green middle of the trek.

Day 6 — Dovan → Machhapuchhre Base Camp (3,700m) · 5 hrs

Through Himalaya Hotel and past the Hinku Cave, the treeline thins and then stops. You climb into open, rocky ground at Deurali and the valley finally opens ahead of you. This stretch between Deurali and MBC is the avalanche-prone section after heavy snow; in winter and early spring your guide may hold you at Deurali until it is safe to cross, and that judgement is exactly what you are paying for. MBC is cold, exposed, and the first place you feel the altitude.

Day 7 — MBC → Annapurna Base Camp (4,130m) → descend to Bamboo

The short, slow climb to ABC takes about two hours and you start before dawn to be there for sunrise. The sanctuary is a natural amphitheatre — a ring of peaks over 7,000m with Annapurna I, at 8,091m, directly above you. The light hits the summits first and works down. It is the reason people come.

Then you turn around and descend a long way, all the way to Bamboo, which is a hard afternoon on tired legs. Poles help here more than anywhere else on the trek.

Day 8 — Bamboo → Jhinu Danda (1,780m) · 5 hrs

Back down through the forest and the Chhomrong steps in reverse, finishing at Jhinu Danda. Twenty minutes below the village are natural hot springs beside the river. After seven days of walking, that soak is the single best-value part of the itinerary — build the time in rather than rushing past.

Day 9 — Jhinu → Nayapul → Pokhara · 4 hrs

An easy morning's walk out along the river to the road, then the drive back to Pokhara. Most people are at Lakeside in time for a late lunch.

The 7-day version — what you give up

The 7-day ABC drives higher and goes in directly via Chhomrong, skipping Ghorepani and Poon Hill entirely.

You lose the panoramic sunrise and the rhododendron forest. You keep the sanctuary itself, which is the part nobody should skip. If your holiday is short, this is the right trade — a week that reaches base camp beats ten days that never gets there.

Day	Route	Sleep at
1	Pokhara → Siwai, trek to Chhomrong	Chhomrong (2,170m)
2	Chhomrong → Dovan	Dovan (2,600m)
3	Dovan → Deurali → MBC	MBC (3,700m)
4	MBC → ABC at sunrise, descend to Bamboo	Bamboo (2,310m)
5	Bamboo → Jhinu Danda, hot springs	Jhinu (1,780m)
6	Jhinu → Ghandruk	Ghandruk (1,940m)
7	Ghandruk → Pokhara	—

The 11-day version — and who it is actually for

The 11-day is not the 9-day walked slowly. It adds two things worth having: a night in Ghandruk, the Gurung stone village with Annapurna South standing over it, and a spare day held in reserve.

That spare day is the point. Snow closes the Deurali–MBC section, a lodge fills, someone in the group has a bad night at altitude — with a buffer day you absorb it and still reach base camp. Without one you turn around. If you have flown a long way for this and only get one attempt, the extra day is the cheapest insurance on the whole trip.

Difficulty & permits

Graded moderate, max 4,130m. The Ulleri steps and the climb into the sanctuary are hardest; acclimatisation is easier than EBC. You need the ACAP and a TIMS card. Best seasons: October–November and March–April.

Plan it properly

See the full Annapurna Base Camp trek guide, the cost breakdown, and the packing list. Ready? Tell us your dates — we're based 45 minutes from the trailhead in Pokhara.