Poon Hill or Annapurna Base Camp, here's which one fits the time and fitness you actually have

Choose Poon Hill if you have under a week, have never trekked above 3,000 m, or want a sunrise rather than a summit. Choose Annapurna Base Camp (ABC) if you can give it nine days, are comfortable with stone stairs and cold nights, and want to stand inside a ring of 7,000 m peaks. Both start from Pokhara and both need the same two permits, so the real decision is days and altitude.

Which trek is easier, and by how much?

Poon Hill is the easier trek by a clear margin: it peaks at 3,210 m on day 3 and then descends, while ABC climbs for seven straight days to 4,130 m. We grade Poon Hill as easy and ABC as moderate. Poon Hill is a viewpoint hike, and ABC is a sustained climb into a glacial basin.

How hard is the altitude on each?

Neither is extreme, but ABC is the only one where altitude sickness is a realistic planning issue. Poon Hill never goes above 3,210 m, so most healthy walkers feel only mild breathlessness. ABC sleeps at 3,700 m at Machhapuchhre Base Camp and 4,130 m at the top, which is where headaches and poor sleep start for many people.

Be honest about the early days of both. Day 2 on either trek climbs from Tikhedhunga at 1,540 m to Ghorepani at 2,860 m, a gain of 1,320 m on about 3,000 stone steps. That is a harder first two days than most brochures admit, and it is the same stretch for both treks. On ABC the steep sections after that are Bamboo (2,310 m) to Deurali (3,230 m), a gain of 920 m, then two shorter days of roughly 470 m and 430 m.

What will you actually see?

Poon Hill gives the wider view, and ABC gives the closer one. From the 3,210 m summit you see a long skyline that includes Dhaulagiri (8,167 m), Annapurna I (8,091 m) and Machapuchare (6,993 m) at sunrise. ABC puts you inside the Annapurna Sanctuary, a basin surrounded by a ring of mountains, most above 7,000 m, entered through a narrow valley between Hiunchuli and Machapuchare.

The Sanctuary is also shaded. Wikipedia notes it gets only about seven hours of sunlight a day at the height of summer, so mornings at ABC are cold and the light is dramatic rather than warm. Poon Hill is the better pick if sunrise photography is the whole point.

What does each cost, and when should you go?

Poon Hill costs roughly half as much because it is four fewer days. On our ladder the 5-day Poon Hill trek is US$500 solo and US$450 each for two or three people. The 9-day ABC trek is US$920 solo and US$830 each for two or three, with the guide, porter, permits, lodges and meals included. Permits alone are NPR 3,000 for ACAP and NPR 2,000 for TIMS, about US$38, and since April 2023 you must trek with a licensed guide through a registered agency.

Go in October or November, or March to May, for either. If you only have a long weekend, our shorter Ghorepani Poon Hill trek is the safe choice. If you have nine days and want the mountain amphitheatre, book the Annapurna Base Camp trek. Allow spare days in Pokhara either way, because weather and road closures after this monsoon can shift plans.

Common questions

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