This is a write up of my 14 day Annapurna mini circuit trek. A big thanks to Arti for instigating me to do a trek in Nepal while she looked after the kids. It had been almost 7 years since we did a 21 day trekking vacation in Peru. The kids came soon after that and that put a stop to any adventurous trekking plans. Once Arti seeded this idea (it was a bday present), I looked up on web and came up with the Annapurna mini circuit trek. It looked decently strenuous to keep an "out of shape after kids" me challenged. Secondly, it reaches a max altitude of about 5400 mts. I have been at this altitude before in Peru and so am hopeful that I would do fine this time too. And finally it promises some breathtaking views (claims to be one of the most scenic treks in the world).
After some research, I decided to ahead with Nepal Hiking Team for the trek. They had pretty good reviews on tripadvisor. The trek that I decided was http://www.nepalhikingteam.com/annapurna-circuit-trekking.php. I had an option of a group trek with fixed departure dates or an individual trek with customizable itinerary and dates. I was initially inclined towards a group trek because a big part of international trek for me is the people that I would meet and interact with. However the cons of a group trek was that the dates and itinerary were fixed and that I would be sharing a small room with fellow trekkers. With an individual trek, I would be able to climb at my own pace and since the trek is pretty crowded, would also meet other travelers on the way. So finally I decided to go ahead with the individual trek. I also customized the trek so that I would get to spend more time in the mountains instead of in cities. My customized itinenary was -
Initially the dates were fixed from March 20th to April 2nd. I had booked my Bangalore-Kathmandu flight on Kingfisher airlines since they had the cheapest fare and shortest times. However within a few days of the booking, the flights started getting rescheduled and then cancelled. I had to call makemytrip.com as well as the airlines to get new dates. That was an ordeal in itself. When the flights got cancelled the 2nd time, I decided to cancel my booking with Kingfisher and choose another airlines. Since it was a couple of weeks before my departure, the next dates that I got cheap airfare were 20th April. I made the booking for April 20th to May 3rd on JetKonnect. After that the hunt for travel insurance started. It took me more than a week to finally find a suitable travel insurance that would cover me. I had 3 problems due to which I couldn’t find a travel insurance quickly – 1. I am US citizen. Hence pretty much all of the indian travel insurance did not cover me. However the process for finding that was not very straightforward. I would call a phone number that is advertised on the website. There I would talk to some 1st level people who would collect my information and have an executive call me within the next 24 hrs. Here I was ready to purchase a travel insurance from the company once a few questions were answered and I was told that I couldn’t speak to someone with the required knowledge and power right away and that someone would call me in the next 24 hrs. With some companies the 24 hrs were more like 3-4 days. For others it was within the next 5 mins. The executive who would call me would obviously not have my information since he/she would be from some completely random department (like medical insurance instead of travel insurance). So it would entail another “24 hrs” wait for the correct executive to call me. Then most companies would tell me that I am not eligible for the travel insurance since I am a US citizen. So much to get that answered. 2. I was about to participate in an hazardous activity (climbing above 3500 mts constitutes an hazardous activity which majority of travel insurance companies do not cover even with hazardous activity coverage). This ruled out all the Indian Insurance Companies. Now the search was spread out to US and other international travel insurance. 3. I am an Indian resident. Specifically, my journey was not going to start and end in US. This rules out majority of US travel insurance. However the process to find that was very smooth and involved just one phone call. The customer service reps were usually very helpful in suggesting some alternative insurance companies who may have coverage. Finally after much search, I got an insurance company to cover me and my hazardous activity (Atlas Travel Insurance). Since I had customized the itinerary I was not to be part of a group and would be by myself with a guide and a porter. Once the travel insurance was taken care of, I booked my trek with NepalHikingTeam for $1000. The last few days before the trip were busy packing for the trip. I had most of the trekking gear from our trip to Peru. Finally after more than a month of planning and booking the trip I was ready to go….
ANNAPURNA
CIRCUIT TREK 14 DAYS
Day
01:
Fly into Kathmandu. Overnight at Samsara resort, inclusive of breakfast
Day
02:
Drive to Syange and trek to Ghermu. Overnight at guesthouse, inclusive of full
board meals
Day
03:
Trek to Dharapani. Overnight at guesthouse, inclusive of full board meals
Day
04:
Trek to Chame. Overnight at guesthouse, inclusive of full board meals
Day
05:
Trek to Upper Pisang. Overnight at guesthouse, inclusive of full board meals
Day
06:
Trek around upper Pisang. Overnight at guesthouse, inclusive of full board
meals
Day
07:
Trek to Manang. Overnight at guesthouse, inclusive of full board meals
Day
08:
Acclimatization day at Manang. Overnight at guesthouse, inclusive of full board
meals
Day
09:
Trek to Ledar. Overnight at guesthouse, inclusive of full board meals
Day
10:
Trek to Phedi or high camp. Overnight at guesthouse, inclusive of full board
meals
Day
11:
Trek to Jharkot. Overnight at guesthouse, inclusive of full board meals
Day
12:
Trek to Jomsom. Overnight at guesthouse, inclusive of full board meals
Day
13:
Fly to Pokhara. Overnight at hotel, mum’s Garden or similar category, inclusive
of full board meals
Day
14:
Fly to Kathmandu (morning) and transfer to internal terminal for the home
departure
Initially the dates were fixed from March 20th to April 2nd. I had booked my Bangalore-Kathmandu flight on Kingfisher airlines since they had the cheapest fare and shortest times. However within a few days of the booking, the flights started getting rescheduled and then cancelled. I had to call makemytrip.com as well as the airlines to get new dates. That was an ordeal in itself. When the flights got cancelled the 2nd time, I decided to cancel my booking with Kingfisher and choose another airlines. Since it was a couple of weeks before my departure, the next dates that I got cheap airfare were 20th April. I made the booking for April 20th to May 3rd on JetKonnect. After that the hunt for travel insurance started. It took me more than a week to finally find a suitable travel insurance that would cover me. I had 3 problems due to which I couldn’t find a travel insurance quickly – 1. I am US citizen. Hence pretty much all of the indian travel insurance did not cover me. However the process for finding that was not very straightforward. I would call a phone number that is advertised on the website. There I would talk to some 1st level people who would collect my information and have an executive call me within the next 24 hrs. Here I was ready to purchase a travel insurance from the company once a few questions were answered and I was told that I couldn’t speak to someone with the required knowledge and power right away and that someone would call me in the next 24 hrs. With some companies the 24 hrs were more like 3-4 days. For others it was within the next 5 mins. The executive who would call me would obviously not have my information since he/she would be from some completely random department (like medical insurance instead of travel insurance). So it would entail another “24 hrs” wait for the correct executive to call me. Then most companies would tell me that I am not eligible for the travel insurance since I am a US citizen. So much to get that answered. 2. I was about to participate in an hazardous activity (climbing above 3500 mts constitutes an hazardous activity which majority of travel insurance companies do not cover even with hazardous activity coverage). This ruled out all the Indian Insurance Companies. Now the search was spread out to US and other international travel insurance. 3. I am an Indian resident. Specifically, my journey was not going to start and end in US. This rules out majority of US travel insurance. However the process to find that was very smooth and involved just one phone call. The customer service reps were usually very helpful in suggesting some alternative insurance companies who may have coverage. Finally after much search, I got an insurance company to cover me and my hazardous activity (Atlas Travel Insurance). Since I had customized the itinerary I was not to be part of a group and would be by myself with a guide and a porter. Once the travel insurance was taken care of, I booked my trek with NepalHikingTeam for $1000. The last few days before the trip were busy packing for the trip. I had most of the trekking gear from our trip to Peru. Finally after more than a month of planning and booking the trip I was ready to go….
* honest, knowledgeable and sincere discussions regarding anything from Nepal's history and current politics, local religions and culture history, to geography natural landscape and all Mountains Name
ReplyDelete* a sensitivity and sensibility to allow a good balance between conversation and respecting an individual or couple’s need for privacy * over 9 years of trekking guide experience
* a respect for an individual’s desired pace and physical condition
* an intimate knowledge of the best accommodations, tea stops and places of interest along the way, according to our own individual budget
We would highly recommend any potential trekker in Nepal to enlist the services of Sanjib Adhikari. It is without a doubt that you will be richly rewarded if you do so Trek in Nepal his contact address is: sanjib-adhikari@hotmail.com and his website : www.nepalguideinfo.com www.hikehimalayas.com
facebook :http://www.facebook.com/sanjib.adhikari?ref=ts&fref=ts further picture
Silvana Pagani from Italy wrote in 2011: "My friend Sanjib Adhikari, Nepalse Guide
Silvana Pagani from Italy wrote in 2011 about my experience in Nepal and recommends as guide, Sanjib Adhikari.
This year at the end of february i went in Nepal for 18 days for the second time and i did a small trekking in the Annapurna region, I went to visit Pokhara, Kathmandu, Bakthapur and Nagarkot and I saw the National Park of Chitwan and in this trip I had the pleasure to meet Sanjib Adhikari.
He is an independent trekking guide and tour operator in Nepal and he has already obtained trekking guide license from the ministry of tourism, government of Nepal.
In his work Sanjib is a person very responsible and serious, very helpful and attentive to his customers, he knows very well the mountain because he has many years of experience and is also an excellent guide for visiting the cities.
He is someone very competent in his work and always ready to find the best solution, if necessary and speaks English very well.During the trekking and the tours he will tell you many interesting things about culture, about life in the villages, mountains, history and traditions in Nepal.
The best thing is that Sanjib loves his country very much and loves his work and always manages to convey all his enthusiasm with simple ways and always with the smile. He is a very nice person and is always attentive to the needs of his customers. Sanjib is also very funny and after this experience we became a very good friend. Next year at the end of January I will return for the third time in Nepal and Sanjib will be again my guide.
For these reasons I am very glad to report all references of Sanjib
Sarah and Ryan from Perth wrote in 2012
We have just returned from trekking the everest region in Nepal. It was our first time traveling to Nepal and our first experience trekking. We contacted our guide, Sanjib Adhakari after reading reviews from his previous clients and it was the best decision we made. Sanjib made our whole experience much easier and more enjoyable! From regular contact before our trip, to booking hotels and flights for us, organizing our holiday was a very effortless experience. Sanjib is not only very knowledgable and experienced at trekking, he has a great sense of humour that makes even those longer days walking more fun! I would highly recommend Sanjib and have actually already begun organizing our next trek with him.
Feel free to contact me at sarah_lyons@hotmail.com if you would like to know anything else or contact
http://www.nepal-dia.de/int__England/EV_porter/ev_porter.html