Annapurna Circuit Trek: Day 16 - Final Day!

DAY 16: Ghorepani to Naya Pul
Bittersweet ending to the trek. I awoke at about 4:30am and since I had put together the things I needed the night before I was set and ready to go. Following a trail of people up to the viewpoint at Poon Hill was done in complete darkness. Most everyone had headlamps on so following the trail was as simple as following the lights.

The sunrise view can be hit or miss. It's also quite cold so bring layers! Initially the clouds were obscuring the view but with a little patience we ended up with a great view of the sunrise over the Annapurna Himal and Dhaulagiri. A once in a lifetime event that I'm so beyond lucky to have experienced! The picture below doesn't do justice to what I bore witness to. Awe inspiring and humbling. One that I hope to see again in the future.

My view from the viewpoint above Ghorepani. Astounding!


After breakfast I hunkered down and after checking in at the police checkpost, continued on. Whereas the previous day was the single largest ascent, this day was the largest descent at about 1800 meters. Midway through the day I reached Ulleri and the dreaded "Great Stone Staircase". This stairway takes just shy of an hour to go down and at best guess has approximately 3300 steps. I timed it this time around and made it down in approximately 53 minutes.

Crossing the suspension bridge after resting some weary knees, I walked through the pleasant village of Tikhedhunga and enjoyed the fact that finally it wasn't a very chilly afternoon! Another two hours were ahead of me and by this point I was quite ready to rest my feet and ankles and just get a hot shower in. Initially I was debating simply staying the night in Birethanti. After initially refusing a cab ride to Pokhara I ran into the same driver ten minutes on and he lowered the price. It's hard to resist an approximately 20 dollar cab ride to go 45 miles! By just before 3pm I was in the Lakeside area of Pokhara and checking around for a room. The next four days were for relaxing and reveling in the accomplishment of having done the Annapurna Circuit Trek a second time.

Next for my series of hikes I will be down in Patagonia. I hope that this blog up to this point has helped give you the push to find your own adventure - big or small - and just jump right on in! Thank you and I hope to keep your readership!