BY MARY ANNE POTTS PHOTOGRAPH BY EMILY POLARclose to Himalayan peaks—without Everest crowds.
STEP INTO CLOUDS
RETURN TO
TOURISM
With some of the world’s
tallest summits, Nepal is a
top trekking destination.
A devastating 2015 earth-
quake and the pandemic
have kept travelers away
for the past few years,
but now adventurers are
coming back. “It feels
intimate because the
mountains feel really
close,” says photogra-
pher Emily Polar about
the Annapurna Base Camp
trek, which provides
epic views of legendary
peaks Dhaulagiri and
Machapuchare.THE ROUTE
The Annapurna Base Camp
hike is a multiday, custom-
izable loop best under-
taken in spring or autumn,
to avoid the monsoon
rains. Hikers can fly into
Kathmandu and make their
way to Pokhara to start
the trek either solo or with
a guide. Local teahouses
serve as the backbone of
the trail experience and
provide rustic accommoda-
tions, cultural connections,
and food. All-you-can-eat
dal bhat, Nepal’s tradi-
tional savory lentil-and-rice
dish, is especially popular
with hungry trekkers.THE LANDSCAPE
The route traverses a
range of ecological zones,
all located within Nepal’s
first designated conser-
vation area and its largest
protected region. It mean-
ders through lush forest
(you might glimpse a
Nepal gray langur monkey
here), past waterfalls and
terraced fields, before
emerging into a land-
scape of steep rock faces
and snowcapped peaks.
”You’re hiking into a
cirque, an amphitheater
of mountains, that really
frames the whole base
camp,” says Polar.COMPARED WITH THE MORE well-known trek to Everest’s Base Camp, the
hike to Annapurna’s staging area offers lower elevations and fewer fellow
trekkers. And unlike the popular Annapurna Circuit, it allows hikers to head
deep into the Annapurna range, rather than going around its perimeter.NGM MAPS JUNE 2022 23