Are you planning to trek in the Annapurna circuit during December but worrying about the cold weather, snowfalls, tea houses’ availability, preparations, costs, and everything? Well, we have the answer for your questions, as in this blog, we will be discussing every question that you thought of during your research. So, let’s start with a detailed overview of the topic.
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Tags: act trek, annapurna, annapurna circuit trek, Hiking, nepalA guide and porter are essential and most important for your trek. As you will be trekking to the highest altitude of 5416 meters, it’s very important to trek with a guide and let a porter carry your weight so that you can trek easily. But as it’s important, still, people are confused about where to hire the guide and porter, whether I should hire or not, whether I will need to pay extra for the guide and porter, and many more questions arise in their minds.
In this blog, we’ll answer all the key questions about guides and porters on the Annapurna Circuit, including why you need them, costs, rules, and what’s included in their services, and everything, so let’s get started.
First and foremost, the question that may strike your mind is, why do you need to hire a guide for the Annapurna circuit trek when you can do the solo trek? Well, a guide is not just about navigation, but it’s about safety, navigation, altitude sickness support, cultural insights, logistics and communications support, moral support, and many more. A guide is necessary for you throughout the trek. A guide is a person who will enhance your trekking experience. A guide is your best friend for the trek, who will help you in every condition.
The cost for hiring a guide for the Annapurna circuit trek depends on your requirements. If you want a well-experienced and licensed guide for the Annapurna Circuit, then you will need to pay 30 USD to 40 USD per day. If you want to hire a guide who speaks your native language, like German, French, Spanish, or any other language, and he is well-experienced and licensed, then you will need to pay up to 50 USD per day. If you are hiring a guide who is just a beginner, which is not suggested, but still, if you do it, you can get the guide for 20 to 25 USD as well.
Yes, you can trek to the Annapurna circuit without a guide, but it is not suggested, as the Annapurna circuit takes you to an altitude of 5416 meters, which is one of the highest passes in Nepal, making it difficult for you to trek through this place. Also, without a guide, you will face safety issues, navigation issues, you will miss the cultural insights, and you stress a lot during the trek.
No, you will need to pay for the guide’s food, accommodations, and insurance when you hire a guide for the Annapurna circuit trek. If you are hiring a guide from a reputed trekking agency like us, then the guide’s costs you pay per day already include the food, accommodations, and insurance. But if you are hiring a guide who is a freelancer, then you might need to pay extra, as they are not registered with the company, so every burden of their costs will be on you.
A porter is very important for your trek as he not only carries your weight, but he also lets you experience the region without any stress. A porter will carry your 20 to 20 kg weight in duffel bags, which will include your entire weight. A porter will help you to acclimate properly, as he will carry your weight, you will have less strain on your back, and it will help you to conserve your energy. When you are hiring a porter, it will also help you to overcome your fatigue-related mistakes and injuries. It will also increase job creation in the market.
The cost of hiring a porter for the Annapurna circuit trek is 20 to 30 USD per day. The porter carries 20 to 25 Kg of your weight. If your weight exceeds the limit, you might need to pay extra. If you hire a local porter when reaching the starting point of the Annapurna circuit, you might find the porter more affordable.
Yes, you can trek to the Annapurna circuit without a porter, but it’s important for you to realize that without a porter, your trek will be very difficult. You will need to carry your weights, which might be of 10 to 15 kg, on your back, which increases the strain on your back. You might feel tired carrying the heavy bags and walking. You might not be able to acclimate properly, which might lead to Acute Mountain sickness and altitude sickness. If you want to keep your trekking budget affordable, then you can avoid the porter; otherwise, you must hire a porter for your trek.
No, you will not need to pay for the porter’s food, accommodations, and insurance, as the cost you pay for them includes all fees if you hire from a trekking agency. But, just like the guide, if you hire a local porter or a freelancer, then you might need to pay for their costs as well.
There are many ways in which you can hire a guide and porter for your trek. The places are:
You can hire a guide and porter via registered trekking agencies like Adventure Vision Treks (us). If you hire a guide and porter from the registered trekking agencies, then you will not need to pay any extra fees for food, accommodations, or insurance. A company-registered guide is most trustworthy, and they will help you in every place and rescue you in need with the help of the company.
You can also hire a guide and porter from the Facebook groups. The freelancers, guides, and porters post regularly on the Facebook groups like Guide and Porter for the Annapurna circuit, Trekking in Nepal, and many more. You can contact them by messaging them or calling them. When you hire from Facebook, you need to check their license to avoid theft and scams.
You can also hire a guide and porter by reaching the starting point of the trek, which is Jagat, Besisahar, or Chame. When you arrive there, you will see lots of freelance guides and porters asking the trekkers if they want to hire them. But Rembert has said that if you hire a local guide and porter and there are any kinds of emergency situations, you might not get help or rescue as they have no contact with the trekking agencies or any authorities.
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Tags: act trek, annapurna circuit, annapurna region, nepal, Trekking in NepalAre you planning to trek in the Annapurna circuit and researching the circuit trek cost? Well, we have an answer for you, as in this blog, we will be discussing every cost from minimum to maximum that you will need to bear during the Annapurna Circuit trek.
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Tags: act trek, annapurna circuit, annapurna circuit trek, nepal, trekkingHow to reach the starting point of the Annapurna Circuit trek is the first and foremost question that may arise in your mind if you are planning for the ACT trek. In this blog, we will be talking about the different ways to reach the trail head of the Annapurna circuit by bus, jeep, the vehicle costs, time taken, and many more. Let’s break down everything in detail:
If you are planning to reach the starting point of the Annapurna circuit by bus, then you can do that as well. Every day in the morning, the bus departs in 5 minutes for Besisahar from Kathmandu. To get your public bus to reach the starting point, you will first need to reach the Gongabu bus park. From the Gongabu bus park, you can take a drive to Besisahar. The cost from Kathmandu to Besisahar is NPR. 1500. The distance between Kathmandu and Besisahar is 185 kilometers, which can be reached in the time frame of 7 to 8 hours, depending on the road conditions.
You should drive to Besisahar by public bus because public bus is affordable, and when you are driving by the pubic bus, you will feel the local experience where people will come and go. They chit-chat with you and share their stories. You will see the authentic local lifestyles on the way. You will have enough space to put your luggage. You will stop at the local Dhabas(local Restaurants) for lunch and refreshments, which enhances your local experience during the Annapurna circuit trek.
While you will enjoy the local experience during the drive. The public buses might be overcrowded for you if you are starting your Annapurna circuit trek during the peak seasons, like the Autumn, which is the season of the festivals in Nepal. During your drive, you might feel uncomfortable on the narrow seats, and the local people might not be able to speak English, which may increase the communication barrier. If you want to stop at some place for refreshments or want to do any kind of side visits, then the public bus might not help you do it.
If you are reaching the Annapurna circuit trek starting point by a private vehicle, which is a Jeep or Scorpio, it would be the best option for you. The private vehicle comes to pick you up from your hotel basement, and then from there you can drive. The private vehicle takes you to Chame, which will decrease your trekking distance. The cost for the Private rented vehicle is 180 USD, which can be negotiated. You can reach your destinations in a short time, just like the public buses your private rented vehicle would not stop anywhere.
You should choose the private vehicle to reach the Annapurna circuit trail head because you will have a comfortable drive from Kathmandu to Chame. The private vehicle will be a 4*4 WD, which will be comfortable for you even on the off roads. You can stop your vehicle at the places you want and enjoy your time.
You can even do the side trips, for example, you are driving to the Besisahar and on the way you see the Manakamana temple in Mugling, and you can visit there with an extra cost. You can travel with your friends and family only. You will have the guide as the driver who will explain to you and everything you find curious on the way.
As you will be trekking to the Annapurna circuit, you will have many options to reach the starting point. You will have many destinations from which you can start your trek and complete your trek. You can choose the places like;
The cheapest way to reach the Annapurna circuit trek starting point is by using the public bus, which can be found in the Gonga bus park, and the cost is also 1500 NPR.
Yes, you can go directly from Kathmandu to Chame by jeep. The distance between Kathmandu and Chame is 248 km, which can be reached in 8 to 10 hours via Kathmandu, Dhading, Mugling, Besisahar, and Chame route.
Whether to start the Annapurna circuit trek depends on your choice. If you want to experience the authenticity, spend more time in nature, acclimate yourself to the Thorong La Pass, then the Besisahar will be better, but if you want to avoid the roads where vehicles run during the trek, and if you want to complete in short durations, then the Chame would be the better option for you to start.
Yes, you can book the buses or jeeps online in advance with us. We provide the rented vehicles for the trekkers at an affordable price, and we also manage the public buses for the guests.
The time taken to travel from Kathmandu to Besisahar by bus is 8 to 10 hours, depending on the road conditions and the bus availability.
Yes, you will get many shared jeeps available from Besisahar to Chame, which depart every 30 minutes from Besisahar.
No, the roads to Chame are not safe during the monsoon season, as the roads are off-road and the monsoon rains sweep away the roads, making them muddy, which makes it difficult for the vehicle to reach Chame.
Yes, you can take a cycle to reach the Annapurna circuit trek starting point. Please use the motorcycles, which are adventure bikes and dirt bikes. The cruise bikes can also reach, but the sports bikes may not be able to reach
A private jeep is the most comfortable way to reach the activity starting point, as during the drive, only 7 people will sit, and the jeeps have a 7-person seating capacity.
No, you will not need to go through Pokhara to start the Annapurna circuit. You will need to reach the Dumre, and then from Dumre you can drive to Besisahar and to Chame.
The private jeep from Kathmandu to Chame costs 180 USD per vehicle, which can be divided among your fellow trekkers, friends, and families.
The most common starting points for the Annapurna circuit trek are:
Yes, you can travel in a single vehicle with your trekking group if it’s 7 people; if it’s more than that, you will need to rent a bus, which can take you to your destinations.
The side trips which you can do during the Annapurna circuit trek are:
Related Blogs Topic
What permits are required for the Annapurna Circuit Trek?
Top 8 things to know before trekking in Annapurna Circuit
Best time for Annapurna Circuit Trek
Tags: act trek, annapurna circuit trek, annapurna region, annapurna trekking, circuit trek, jeep rent, vehicle rent
Top 8 Things to Know Before Trekking in Annapurna Circuit is a well-designed blog discussing everything you will need to know before doing the trek so that you can have a comfortable and safe trek. As you know, the Annapurna Circuit Trek is regarded as one of the most difficult, adventurous, and exciting trekking journeys in the Annapurna Region. Exploring the Annapurna Circuit Trek will allow you to witness cultural and historical beauty, a wonderful landscape, spectacular natural beauty, and breathtaking panoramic views of the Himalayas.
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Tags: act trek, annapurna circuit trek, annapurna region, nepal, trekking