PM Balen Shah Spotlights Api Himal Base Camp in Far-West Nepal

Nepal's far west is the part of the country the world forgot — and Nepal's Prime Minister, Balen Shah, just reminded everyone it exists. His film of Api Himal and its base camp in Darchula district — snow-draped giants above impossibly green alpine meadows — drew close to 300,000 likes. For the trekker who wants to stand somewhere virtually no foreigner has been, this is your map.

From the trail · Dolpo

Where the trail goes

Api Himal sits inside the Api Nampa Conservation Area, in the far north-western corner of Nepal where the country meets India and Tibet. This is no teahouse highway like Everest or Annapurna — it is a genuine wilderness route through rhododendron forest, thundering waterfalls and the high alpine meadows of Khaliya and Dhar, ending at a base camp beneath the Api and Nampa glaciers. Along the way you pass through Byans and Chhipla villages whose culture has been almost untouched by tourism. It is exactly the kind of place Balen's camera was made for — and the kind of place you will likely have to yourself.

Permits, season and who it suits

You will need the Api Nampa Conservation Area Permit (ANCAP, NPR 2,000 for foreign nationals) and a TIMS card, and — as on every remote far-western route — a licensed guide is mandatory. We arrange all of it. Because the trek tops out at a relatively modest 3,900 m, the challenge here is remoteness and trail length rather than extreme altitude, which makes Api a superb wilderness objective for a fit trekker who has perhaps already done Annapurna or Everest and wants something with no crowds at all. Spring brings the rhododendron bloom; autumn brings the clearest mountain air.

Source: @balenshah on Instagram; trek details, Travel Himalaya Nepal.

Cover photo: Danielvandermaas via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).