Khopra Ridge Trek 10 days

Get tourist bust at 7:00 am in the morning and 6 hour drive to Pokhara. Free day in the afternoon, and the pre-trek briefing in the evening by your trek guide.

We leave from the hotel at 8.00 am. The drive from Pokhara to Syauli Bazaar will take around 3 hours. You cover around 60 km during this time.The initial trail from Syauli bazaar is narrow and runs through a village. The river to your left is Modi Khola. On the opposite side of the mountain, you can spot the trail for the Mardi Himal trek. Ghandruk becomes visible after 1.5 hours of trekking. Have lunch at Syauli Bazaar before you begin the trek to Ghandruk. The trail continues to ascend gradually.

As you approach Ghandruk, after about another hour, the view starts opening up. You see Mt Himchuli and Mt Annapurna south. This is just the beginning of mountain views. As you ascend some more, Mt Machapuchare (the ‘fishtail’ mountain) welcomes you. This is also an indication that you are very close to your first tea house. Ghandruk is the largest village in the Annapurna Conservation Area (ACAP). You will see old stone and slate roofed houses lining the slope. You will also find a lot of tea houses spread through the entire village.

To go to Tadapani from Ghandruk, begin by walking through the narrow path running through the village. The trail here consists of steps cut into the rocks. After climbing for 10 minutes on these steps, you will reach the first view point. This is the “Lovely view point”. From here, you will be able sight Mt Annapurna South, Mt Himchuli, Mt Ganga Purna, Mt Annapurna III and Mt Machapuchare (fishtail). These mountains stay with you on your right as you move ahead.

As you proceed on the trail, you enter a forest trail dominated by a variety of tall trees. Very soon you hear the faint sounds of a waterfall in the distance. The dense canopy of the trees above coupled with moist air from the flowing stream gives you a fresh respite. Rhododendron trees also make an appearance here. You will see big red flowers on these if you are trekking here in April

Follow the forest trail till you reach a small bridge. From here you get a perfect view of the source of the stream. Take a break here and refill your water bottles. The next section is a steep ascent for about 45 minutes. As you climb up along the small waterfall, you will reach Bhaisi Kharka, a small village in the far western region of Nepal. This is 5 km from Ghandruk.

The rest of the day’s hike will take you through similar but denser forest trails. Rhododendrons dominate here. These are unusually high if you have only seen the shorter trees in the Indian Himalayas. At certain places, the branches of the trees intertwine on the top to form a gateway for the trail ahead. Another 2 hours of trekking brings you to the tea houses at Tadapani. Have lunch here. End the day with a perfect sunset view of Mt Machhapuchare.

Similar to the previous day, the trek starts today starts on a forest trail filled with rhododendrons and bamboo. The Annapurna range accompanies you on the right. As you trek further, the trail enters deep forests. Oaks appear here. Now, the trail descends. After about 30 minutes, you again start climbing up. This bring you very close to the tree line. From here, you can see the ridge which is a part of the trail from Dobato to Khopra Ridge.

After an hour’s climb you reach Meshar. Fill your water bottles here. Straight ahead of you are Mt Annapurna (10th highest mountain in the world) and Mt Annapurna Fang (7,647 m). The 2 mountains remain visible for the next two hours, till you reach Isharu.

From Meshar, the trail gradually ascends till Isharu, the second viewpoint of the day. You are just above the tree line here. The views from Isharu are outstanding – the panorama includes Mt Annapurna II, Mt Annapurna IV, Mt Ganesha Himal along with other peaks of the Annapurna range. The next hour till Dobato is a mix of ascent and descent. After reaching Dobato, have lunch at the teahouse.

After a short break, set out for the best place on this trek – the Muldai peak view point. There is a reason this place has such a reputation among locals. You see twenty-two snow peaks out of which two are among the fourteen highest mountains in the world – Mt Dhaulagiri I (7th highest) and Mt Annapurna I (9th highest). The complete Annapurna and Dhaulagiri range with Mt Tukuche and Mt Nilgiri North and South are a sight to behold, especially at sunset. If you want to witness this magic again, don’t forget to come back for sunrise the next day.

Start early from Dobato since it’s a long day today. After 30 minutes of ascent you will reach a junction. The trail to the right leads to the hidden lake and the one to the left goes to Khopra Ridge. Halt here and capture the last view of all the mountain peaks of the Annapurna range. Don’t worry, these mountain views will soon be replaced by the Dhaulagiri range.

Take the trail leading to Khopra ridge. After 15 minutes, the Dhaulagiri range appears to the left. This is also an indication that you are close to your first rest point, Bayali. From Bayali, the trail descends for two hours through a forest. This brings you to Chhistibang, a tea house inside the forest. Have lunch here. Make sure you eat a light lunch – you have 3 more hours of trekking to complete.

From Chhistibang, the trail ascends continuously. There are multiple small streams and small waterfalls all along. On both sides of the ridge, clouds form a small playground and enchant you with their changing forms. From here, every step towards Khopra takes you up-close to the Dhaulagiri range. Watch the sun and clouds prepare for a perfect sunset. On reaching Khopra, you see majestic mountain ranges all around you. Mt Annapurna South, Mt Annapurna Fang, Mt Annapurna I, Mt Nilgiri South and North, Mt Tukuche and the Dhaulagiri range welcome you. The tea house here itself is a view point.

Start early today. It’s the summit day and the longest day of the trek. The initial 45 mins is a level walk with scenic views of the Dhaulagiri range. The trail turns into a ridge walk with multiple climbs and descents for the next two hours. Take a look to your left – in addition to the Dhaulagiri range, you will see the world’s deepest valley, Kaligandaki, between Mt Tukuche and Mt Nilgiri North. Slowly the trail brings you to an open field surrounded by barren mountains. This is similar to the cold desert landscape of Spiti in the Indian Himalayas. This also means that you are approaching Khayar lake.

A small dhaba at Khayar Ghat welcomes you with some local tea and snacks. From here, it is another 1.5 hours’ trek to Khayar lake. The trail ascends continuously from here, on steps. All along, there is are symbols of a temple and bells clubbed together, which is a sign of khayar lake and mythological stories of the area. Before you see the lake, you see Mt Annapurna South. The lake is at its foothill. The lake is surrounded with praying flags, bells and a lone temple. Sit down here for a while and take in the surroundings. You have reached the highest point of the trek.

In the month of July a yatra (pilgrimage) is undertaken by Nepalis who visit Khayar lake to seek fulfillment of wishes and sacrifice an animal to lord Shiva. They believe that if the wish comes true, they will have to return as a token of thanksgiving. It will take around 3.5 to reach Khopra Ridge on the same trail. Have lunch at Khayar ghat on the way. Every step on the descent is an ideal spot to view the sunset.

Today’s trek starts with a ridge walk which which descends into the forest. Up to Chhistibang, it’s the same trail that you took to get to Khopra ridge. After 2 hours of continuous descent, you reach Chhistibang. At Chhistibang, the trail splits. The one to the left goes back down to Dobato. Avoid this, and take the trail to the right – this leads to Swanta and further on to Ghorepani.

From Chhistibang, you will trek through a dense forest which is entirely different from the initial two days of forest trails. You mostly find oaks here, followed by bamboo.Three more hours of trekking through this forest trail brings you to a village named Swanta. There is a lot of agricultural land here, but very few tea houses. Your tea house is near a basketball court. Enjoy your rest of the day exploring the quiet village life of Swanta.

The trek today begins by descending right down to a water stream. Here, you cross the only bridge on the trek. After crossing the bridge the trail goes uphill but it is not very steep.After a hiking for about an hour, you will reach the village of Chitre.

The next three hours of the hike is a mix of ascents and descents. After about 1.5 hours, You can see Ghorepani in the distance. Ghorepani is one of the most developed villages in Annapurna Conservation Area. There are hotels here instead of teahouses. You also find bakeries and clubs. Another popular trek to the base camp of Poon hill starts from here. If you’re interested to do this trek you have an option to go till Poon hill which is 45 minutes from your tea house. The entire Dhaulagiri range is visible from Poon hill top.

The last day of the trek takes you till Ulleri which falls on the old route for Mansarovar lake. Because of this it is also known as old pilgrimage route. It’s a completely easy descent through forests for initial 2 hours. Post that you walk along a water stream till the time you reach Ulleri. Your trek ends here. Take a jeep drive to reach Pokhara.

Breakfast and get tourist bus, drive back to Kathmandu. It is also possible to extend this trip to Lumbini, Chitwan and Bardia from Pokhara. Stay night at hotel in Kathmandu.