Dates: Dec 2-11, 2024
Team members have two primary options for travel for this adventure. Ultimately we will all arrive in Kathmandu on December 3rd and depart from Kathmandu on December 10th. However, some team members will choose to travel directly to Kathmandu and others will prefer to travel into Delhi first, visit the Taj Mahal, and then fly on to Kathmandu on a separate flight ticket. Both options are explained below:
- Travel directly to Kathmandu–Team members choosing this option will arrange their flights in and out of Kathmandu (arriving Dec. 3rd and departing afternoon/evening Dec. 10th). This option is in many ways more convenient that flying through Delhi in that it allows the trip to be a couple of days shorter than routing through Delhi. The problem with this option is it can be quite a lot more expensive to arrange flights into and out of Kathmandu than it is to arrange them into Delhi and then on to Kathmandu on a separate ticket. There are not as many airlines flying to Kathmandu these days as in years passed, so flight costs alone from the States to Kathmandu could be as much as $1,000 or more expensive this way. However, if the price difference is not an impediment for you, or if you have no interest in visiting the Taj Mahal, this is the option to choose.
- Travel to Delhi, visit the Taj Mahal, and then fly on to Kathmandu on a separate ticket–Team members choosing this option will arrive in Delhi on Dec. 1st. They will then stay two nights in a hotel in Delhi near the airport and travel on to Kathmandu on the morning of December 3rd. On December 2nd, we will take a day trip to Agra to visit the Taj Mahal. We charge an additional $700/person for those choosing this option, which covers two nights in a Delhi hotel, the day trip to the Taj Mahal, all food while in India, and the round trip flight from Delhi to Kathmandu. Those choosing this option will also need to acquire an Indian tourist visa in the weeks leading up to the trip (~$50). We recommend those who are not pressed for time to choose this option. Visiting the Taj Mahal is a once in a lifetime opportunity and it also allows team members another couple of days to adjust to the time change before beginning our trek.
If you choose option 2, we will include the extra $700 in your billing schedule and we will handle all of the details of booking the hotels, roundtrip flights to and from Delhi to Kathmandu, and the trip to Agra.
We would prefer to know which travel option you plan to choose at the time of registration, but the deadline to move to option 2 is August 15th.
Please note…in order to arrive on Dec 3rd in Kathmandu, you will leave on either the 1st or 2nd from the USA. You flights will say (+1 or +2 days). We are happy to help you with your flights to make sure you arrive when you intend if this is confusing.
***We are also offering an optional sight seeing flight from Kathmandu to Mount Everest ($300) on the morning of December 4th before we fly to Pokhara. The mountain flight has been an absolute highlight for our previous teams; however, it is very important to understand that these mountain flights are weather dependent and are cancelled ~15-25% of the time. If the flight is cancelled, we will only be able to secure a partial refund (~$200). The airlines would allow us to reschedule at no cost, but we do not have any other days available in our itinerary for a reschedule, so please understand the risks before choosing to book the mountain flight.
Cost: $2,350
- A non-refundable $400 deposit is required at the time of registration to secure your spot on the team. Please read our Trip Cancellation and Refund policy before registering for your adventure.
- $1,175 is due before June 1st, 2024
- $2,350 is due before September 1st, 2024
- The Taj Mahal/Delhi add-on ($700) and Everest flight ($300) are both due on Sept 1st.
What is included:
- One night hotel in Kathmandu, two nights hotel in Pokhara. Pokhara is a very fun city with great restaurants and shops along an alpine lakeside.
- Roundtrip air travel from Kathmandu to Pokhara, Nepal.
- Jeep transport to and from the start/finish of our trek. It takes a little over 2 hours to drive from Pokhara to Jhinu where will begin our trek. There is really no way to describe the jeep ride into the Himalayas except to say that it will be memorable. The blacktop roads will give way to rugged trails as we drive around hair pin turns and through waterfalls where the view gets better and better around every few minutes.
- Four nights lodging in tea houses along the trail. Tea houses offer modest dorm like accommodations. Each room will have two or three simple beds with a pillow and a thick blanket. We require all team members to bring a sleeping bag to supplement the blankets at higher elevations.
- All food throughout our time in Nepal. We will eat breakfast, lunch, and dinners each night in the tea houses that mark the trail. There are several food options at the tea houses. We encourage team members to bring a small supply of snacks for the trail, but you will definitely not go hungry on this trip and there is no need to bring huge supplies of food.
- Trekking permits and TIMS card. We will take care of all arrangements for the permits required to enter the Annapurna Sanctuary.
- We are now required by the Nepali government to utilize the services of a guide. Discipletrek will cover the cost of the guide, but not the tips.
- We will be utilizing the services of porters to carry a majority of our gear. This is a great way for us to invest in the local economy and you will enjoy the trip quite a lot more if you are not carrying heavy each day. We will employ one porter for every three trekkers. Each porter will carry up to 45lbs (15lbs/trekker). Discipletrek will cover the cost of the porters, but not the tips.
What is NOT included:
- You are required to bring your own trekking gear (sleeping bag, day pack, clothes, hiking shoes/boots, etc.). We will provide an extensive and detailed packing/gear list for all of our participants. It is possible to do this particular trek with very little gear and a small trekking pack. We will discuss this at length as the trip approaches.
- Team members are responsible for bringing some cash to tip our porters and guides. Tips are at the discretion of the team member, but we typically recommend each team member bring around $100 to split between our guide and porters.
- We will cover the cost of all food and one drink per meal. If you would like more drinks (cokes, tea, other beverages are all a couple of dollars in the tea houses), you will need to pay for that. The tea houses will only take Nepali Rupees and we will give you time to change some cash over before the start of the trek. A budget of $10/day is more than enough to get a couple of extra cokes or snacks along the trail.
- If you choose to fly in and out of Delhi and visit the Taj Mahal, you must secure an Indian tourist visa in the weeks before the trip. We will walk you through this process, but you should expect it to cost less than $50.
- Each team member must secure a Nepal tourist visa upon arrival in the country. Please bring $30 in cash with you to pay for the visa.
- Cash summary–Required expenses ($100 for tips, $30 for Nepali visa) + daily snack budget & money for souvenirs. Most team members will probably bring between $200 and $400, but you are only required to spend $130.
Trek Difficulty: Difficult
We rate the trek to Annapurna Base Camp as “Difficult.” Though we will not face the same elevation on this trek as we would on either Everest Base Camp or Kilimanjaro, it is still a very challenging physical endeavor to trek for 5 days in a row with significant elevation gain and loss each day.
It is possible to complete this trek without being in top physical condition, but we recommend you take the season of preparation seriously. In particular, there are quite a lot of rock stairs on this trail, which can be very tough both ascending and descending. We suggest that all members of our team devote themselves to a season of physical training that should include a mix of smaller training hikes, strength work, and significant cardiovascular exercise.
Itinerary:
Saturday Nov 30th
Those doing the Taj Mahal will depart the States for Delhi.
Sunday, Dec 1st
Taj Mahal crew will Arrive in Delhi and spend the night in the team hotel.
Monday, Dec 2nd
Taj Mahal crew will take a day trip to the city of Agra (~4hrs by car both ways) to see the Taj Mahal and Red Fort. We will have a nice buffet lunch and an opportunity to explore some souvenir shopping unique to Agra. We will arrive back in Delhi at the team hotel in the early evening.
The rest of the team will likely depart the USA on this day.
Tuesday, Dec 3rd
The Taj Mahal crew will take a 1.5 hour flight to Kathmandu in the morning. We will check into our team hotel, spend a little time sightseeing around Kathmandu, and for those who are interested, we will have the opportunity to spend some time investing in the lives of some Nepali Christian leaders.
The rest of the team will arrive in Kathmandu at some point on this day.
Wednesday, Dec 4th
Those doing the optional Everest Flight will make their way to Kathmandu airport early in the morning for their flight. The rest of the team will join them a bit later to take a 25 minute flight to Pokhara. This will be a very relaxed day. We should arrive in Pokhara in the late morning and enjoy an afternoon by the lakeside.
Thursday, Dec 5th
We will rise early to begin our journey into the Himalayas by jeep. We should be on trail by late morning making our way across the incredible cable bridge at Jhinu Danda. From Jhinu, we will ascend a seemingly never-ending series of stairs to the hamlet of Chomrong, where we will stop for lunch. If it is clear, Chomrong will provide your first real view of the Himalayas. After lunch, we will make a lengthy descent before regaining significant elevation to the village of Sinuwa where we will spend our first night in the tea house. Though this day is not at serious elevation, many will find it to be among the toughest days on trail, both because it can be quite warm in the lower elevations and also because ascending and descending the stairs into Chomrong is very challenging.
Friday, Dec 6th
After a nice breakfast in Sinuwa, we will make a brief, but steep ascent and then another lengthy descent to the village of Bamboo on the banks of the Modi Khola river. This stretch of trail is quite different from the rest of the trek in that it will take place in dense forrest. Once we pass through Bamboo, we will move steadily up through Dovan, and Himalaya, and then to our destination of Deurali. The views begin to change dramatically after the ascent into Himalaya, and by Deurali, you will feel like you are in a different world.
Saturday, Dec 7th
It is not a long trek from Deurali up to Machapuchare Base Camp and then on to Annapurna Base Camp, but it is steadily uphill the entire way. We only expect to be on trail for about 4 to 5 hours, but this is the only part of the trek that is at significant elevation, capping out at 13,550ft at ABC. The views on this day will be otherworldly. You will take a million pictures…none of them will come close to capturing the majesty of the Himalayas looming over you. We will stay this night at ABC and you can expect it to be a very cold night (~15-20 degrees).
Sunday, Dec 8th
We will rise early to watch the sunrise over the 10th highest mountain in the world. If we are lucky enough to have clear skies, you will get to watch the sun make it’s way down the 8,000ft face of Annapurna-1, which is just incredible. After a nice breakfast and some hot drinks to warm up, we will begin the descent back into the valley. Our hope will be to get as far as Bamboo. This is not a strenuous day in terms of cardio, since it is almost exclusively downhill, but it is pretty challenging on your joints to descend nearly 5,000ft in a single day.
Monday, Dec 9th
Assuming we get all the way back to Bamboo, we will still have a pretty significant trek in front of us for our last day on trail. We will have to go back up over Sinuwa, down into the valley, then back over the stairs into Chomrong and back down to Jhinu Danda. We will be done trekking by midday, but there is no sugarcoating this one–it is a tough day on trail. After crossing the bridge at Jhinu, we will take a jeep back into Pokhara for a warm shower at our hotel and a celebratory dinner. You will be absolutely ready for both.
Tuesday, Dec 10th
We plan to take an early flight from Pokhara to Kathmandu and then make our connections to our international flights. Those flying directly from Kathmandu will begin their journey home in the afternoon. Those who did the Taj Mahal will make their way back to Delhi to catch their international flights either very late night on the 10th or early morning on the 11th. If you schedule a flight in the morning of the 11th from Delhi, we will take care of getting you a hotel in Delhi for this night.
Wednesday, Dec 11th/Thursday Dec 12th
All team members will arrive back in the States.