Annapurna Sanctuary

Re: Annapurna Sanctuary

Sadly, I'm not going on this trip - I wish I were! - but I have been to Nepal with ImTrav before, and loved every minute of it.

I went on the Images of Nepal tour in late November last year. It included the Kathmandu Valley Trek, which was absolutely brilliant. I've heard great things about Annapurna Sanctuary, too, and fully intend returning to Nepal to try it out.

As to your questions...these are all the things that I panicked about last year. If you haven't got it already, I'd suggest getting a copy of the Rough Guide to Nepal. It's a cracking read, and has got a lot of handy tips.

Anyway - I can't say whether or not you've got the right gear, because you haven't told us what you've got! I took a full-size rucksack to take all my gear in, and also a Nike backpack (you know, the ones you can get in any sport shop) to use as a daypack when trekking. You take your essentials in your daypack...water, sunscreen, toilet paper, wet wipes, energy snacks/chocolate. I invested in a bandana - perhaps not the best of sartorial elegance in the West, but extremely handy to keep the sun off your head. I also had a (frankly spectacular) Indiana Jones style hat, which got me quite a bit of good-natured stick.

No two people are the same when it comes to gear. I liked using walking poles when trekking, because I found it took the strain off my thighs and calves a bit when going downhill. You can rent a pair extremely cheaply in Kathmandu, but you could buy a pair before you left if you wanted to.

Make sure you've got a few stuff-sacks to put in your trek bag. You can get them cheaply at any camping shop.

I hope you've got good walking boots, and that you've broken them in. If not, DO IT NOW! You will pay at length if your boots aren't comfortable, and it will affect your enjoyment of the trek. Also get some stuff for blisters - I found Compede to be the best, but you may like something else.

As for altitude sickness - frankly, no-one can say. It affects everyone differently. I can't imagine you'd really get struck with AMS seriously on Annapurna Sanctuary, but it's unpredictable. There's genuinely no point in worrying about it - you may feel a bit grotty at higher altitudes, but you'd be surprised at how resilient the average person is. If - God forbid, and it's very unlikely - you did get AMS to a serious level, your tour and trek leaders will be experienced in dealing with it and will know exactly what to do for the best. Seriously - put this out of your mind.

Lastly (!), fitness. I am far from an Olympic athlete. In fact, I'm what you might call a "bit of a large fella". I had no problems on my trek whatsoever. In fact, I probably felt better than I had done in years after each day's walking. I know that Annapurna is more demanding than Kathmandu Valley, and a bit longer, but the principle is the same. There will be points when you think "I'm not f**king walking up there!" but these are few and far between. The rewards in terms of views, scenic splendour, and personal achievement, far outweigh any tiredness you may have.

Feel free to practice walking at weekends before you go to get yourself more used to it. You'll be averaging somewhere around 6 hours a day, I'd think, with some breaks for lunch etc. If you are going to practice, don't just do 2 hours and say "Right, I'm obviously ready!"

Oh yeah - get a head torch (handy for those nighttime trips to the toilet tent - keeps your hands free, if you follow me) and a good book. You'll want to read before going to sleep at night (and believe me, you'll sleep like a baby).

If you've got any other questions - anything at all - drop me a Private Message here. I've even got photos that you could take a look at, if you want to get a feel for the place!

Enjoy your trip! You'll have a fantastic time, I promise you.

Dom

Re: Annapurna Sanctuary

Hi Jules did this trip last year annapurna sancturary is fantastic , you don't need exceptional fitness just a reasonable level there are long ascents and equally long descents but if you take your time you'll be fine , you soon adjust and the guide and sherpas know what there doing . the scenery is spectacular , it was november when I went and it was warm during the day only cooling off at night time , though quite cool over night at the top , there was very little rain only a few short showers . We met maoist rebels several times on route with no trouble at all in fact they posed for pictures with us ! As for altitude sickness I was the only one of our group who significantly got it ! most people had shortness of breath at the top between machupuchare base camp and annapurna base camp but nothing major at all we all made it the guide raj was brilliant as were the sherpas they deliberately held the pace down over the higher section to allow adjustment we saw other groups come past us who we later passed as they had gone to fast and were suffering ! after annapurna I went on to tibet where I went over 5000 meters seven times with nothing more than shortness of breath you just have to learn to take it slowly at high altitude . You may want to talk to your travel nurse or doctor about diamox as an extra insurance but you won't have a serious problem . Annapurna is one of the best trips I've ever done and I couldn't recommend it enough you'll love it , obviously make sure you've got comfy boots but bare in mind for other kit that kathmandu is very cheap and has some great shops , I hired a sleeping bag rather than carry one over and it was brilliant and only something like

Re: Annapurna Sanctuary

Thanks to Dom and Unihazard for their helpful and encouraging replies. You have allayed my fears and now I just can't wait to get there! Cheers!