Hi all, i’m a first time poster, but loooooooong time lurker.
Thought i’d give it a go actually asking a question for myself this time.

So i’m going to be hiking the Annapurna Circuit next March through to April, absolutely can’t wait for it, it’ll be the first 2 week trek that i have ever done!
I was wondering if any of you folks had any advice as to what kit to take, or even any general advice?
I’m doing it with 3 other friends, through a tour company so will have a guide and sherpas. I’m a reasonably fit 32year old so don’t anticipate any issues from a health and fitness perspective (apart from altitude sickness of course).

My main debate with myself at the moment is that I’m currently torn between wearing full size hiking boots or hiking shoes. Any thoughts on this? And as i said any other general hints, tips and other peoples experiences would be gratefully welcome.

Cheers.

It was many many years ago that I hiked in Nepal and I was solo, unguided, carrying my own stuff (to Annapurna basecamp).

If I was going now I’d be packing –

Full hiking boots (but only if they’re really comfortable. It’s a serious hike, you’re going above the snowline. You’ll be crossing streams. There will probably be leeches.

The stuff I’d take that I didn’t have last time –
Lots of merino layers to cope with everything from tropical temperatures at low level to very cold when you’re high.
Definitely merino/or merino mix socks.
Packable puffa type jacket.

Great, that’s exactly the kind of advice that I was looking for, thank you.

I imagine going solo to Annapurna Base Camp was an incredible experience.

Bog roll, about twice as much as you thong you will need. 😆

I did it a while back and walked the whole thing including the Sanctuary trek afterwards in a pair of Merrell approach shoes which were fine even up on the Thorung La.

During the day it’s generally pretty much like UK spring temperatures, going down as you get higher and you can dress pretty normally. It gets cold at night higher up and I’d definitely take a down jakcket for the evenings, a fleece beanie or similar, and a warm-ish sleeping bag.

Are you staying in tea houses or camping. I did the former on my own and it was properly easy and liberating. You carry less, buy food as you go – you do that camping anyway – and generally have a very mellow experience. One thing I’d consider taking is one of those self-contained water-bottle type water purifiers so you’re not totally dependent on drinking tea all day…

I doubt you’ll be crossing many streams to be honest, the trails are very well maintained and have bridges etc. The only reason I’d take boots would be just in case there was a massive blizzard event as happened a few years back, though in that case, it’ll be the last of your worries.

But if you do go for boots, find something light and comfortable. There’s absolutely no point in plodding around in heavy mountain boots. Mids are a good compromise.

These days I’d maybe consider taking a solar charger-type thing for camera etc if you’re using one. It’ll make life easier even though some tea-houeses do have power.

Merino is good for baselayers as it doesn’t stink and washing both yourself and your clothing tends to be a bit of a sporadic thing.

I found the Trailblazer guidebook series very good as well. But it’s all very straightforward and user friendly. Brilliant walk, lovely culture, enjoy 🙂

ps: never get between a yak and a big drop., Seriously.

During the day it’s generally pretty much like UK spring temperatures, going down as you get higher and you can dress pretty normally.

I’d guess a lot depends on the time of year. I was there a couple of weeks before the ‘official’ start of the autumn trekking season which I think is end of monsoon. I remember it being pretty humid low down and sometimes wet underfoot.

That makes sense. I’ve been there twice in November/December and it was mostly pretty much crisp and dry, quite settled. When I said ‘normally’, I meant normally for UK walking, but it’s a classic high mountain thing where altitude tends to dictate how cold it is. The only time I remember it being really cool on the circuit was at Thorung Pedi before you head over the Thorung La. And up at Annapurna Base Camp at night.

I tend towards shoes anyway, the only thing that would worry me about that would be the possibility of snow, but I’m thinking that’s unlikely in March/April and if I were doing it now I’d probably take some mini-gaiters just in case and maybe some micro-crampons, then again I’ve only ever been there November/December.

Incidentally, I did the Circuit first so I was already acclimatised, then bombed up to Annapurna Base Camp in a couple of days, Worth doing if you have the time and it’s quite different from the circuit. More ‘in’ the mountains whereas with the circuit you’re kind walking around them.

18 years ago now, but I did the circuit in Oct/Nov, solo although hooked up with others. I remember it being very cold at night, very snowy over the pass – I had three season boots and was glad of them. The last tea house before the pass, Thorang Pedi(?) was a grim place, i’d rather have camped! Take a down jacket. Once over on the Jomsum side the weather was warmer, the tea houses more pleasant and the whole thing more relaxed and less harsh. I thoroughly enjoyed it, but it was a bit of a trekker conveyor belt.
Gosainkund and langtang were (dont know if you can trek there now after the earthquake) better IMHO.
Have a great time – wish I was going!

Bog roll, about twice as much as you thong you will need

I suffered from really bad constipation last time I trekked in Nepal, didn’t go for over 2 weeks. So no bog roll used at all 😉

I did it about ten years ago. We hired a porter locally and stayed in tea houses. The terrain is not terribly difficult to walk on, but we got caught in a snowstorm (not expected at the time of year we went) so I was mighty glad I had proper Meindl walking boots. My gloves froze, and I have permanent loss of feeling in my right index finger. Oh, and we were held up by Maoist rebels, though they were nice enough to give us a recipt!

Don’t let this put you off – it was a brilliant trip.

I’m a reasonably fit 32year old so don’t anticipate any issues from a health and fitness perspective (apart from altitude sickness of course).

Fit people can suffer more from altitude sickness, because they ascend more quickly. Take your time – it will feel deathly slow at times but it’s for your own good. My own experience (as a then pretty fit 28 year old) was the altitude hit me suddenly (at about 4,000m) and I found everything after that a real struggle.

I have treked in Nepal but not Annapurna

I’d take a camera and batteries or solar charger. I bet spare batteries is lighter and less hassle. A camera capable of low light indoor shots would b nice

Flexible clothing e.g. Light trousers that are wind and sun proof for low down. Thermals to put under when its cold. Just classic layering stuff.

I’d say boots but light ones.

However fit you are do some long hilly walks in the build up

Think about what you might do in the evenings. A pack of cards or set of dice might be nice. My wife and Invented alot paper based games as we had some evenings in quite hostels

If I was traveling again I might get some business cards made up to make it easier for people to find my after the trip. So that photos can be shared etc.

It’ll be great have fun

I spent 3 months in Pokhara with the Brigade of Gurkhas about 5 years ago and did a number of treks including ABC and a longer solo 3 weekend towards Kanchenjunga. The best bit of kit I had was a cheap umbrella which I bought out there: when it’s sunny, it’ll give you shade (especially if you’ve managed to burn yourself) and when it’s pissing it down you’ll be nice & dry. When not using it, just strap it to your pack. Simple.

The porters will sort you out with the rest of the little luxuries. Cards are good. A decent camera goes without saying. Oh, and a little Nepali helps – you don’t need to be fluent but just a little goes a long, long way.

I have some experience from last year – just before and just after the quake. Feel free to email me for specific advice or anything.

We (wife & I) trekked Manaslu Circuit in late March then Biked Annapurna Circuit backwards in May.

General – take TP and alcohol gel. We found it was great to have a solar panel and battery pack to keep the camera batteries topped up. We would have coped with less but it meant we never had to leave phones or cameras unattended. We took Kindles loaded up with books. We coped pretty OK with altitude sickness but we did do lots of trips of increasing altitude all the time we were in Nepal so had prepared ideally.

March – might be a lot of snow. Have a gap at the end of your trek before you fly home, so you have time to wait out bad weather. You might spend time waiting acclimatising as well so you want down jacket and wam kit for days in the cold doing short walks. We had proper waterproof boots, gaiters and trekking poles with powder baskets, which were all invaluable. Even the Mrs, who hates trekking poles, was grateful for them on the days we had to cross snow fields and were repeatedly falling through the crusty top layers.

By May, there were fewer snow fields left to cross on the Annapurna circuit and we were wearing Five:Tens. The only price to pay was the wet feel from snow getting in the top.

Larkya La (5200 m) in March

Thorong La (5400 m) in May

@Jon: that looks amazing!!

Oh, and make sure you get down town to Lakeside and have a few beers in Busy Bees, best bar in Pokhara!

The singletrack from Larkya High Camp to Manang is sublime.

An now, for the three days you spend hiking up, all you’ll be able to think about is how amazing it must be to be riding your bike the other way 😉

Namaste!

A gallon of suncream. They can boil a kettle just off a reflector that high up.
Babywipes.
Diarolyte and pile cream.

HTH 😀

Nothing to add to above excellent advice other than do lots of stairmaster training.

John Taylor that looks fabulous 8)

I suffered from really bad constipation last time I trekked in Nepal, didn’t go for over 2 weeks. So no bog roll used at all

Should’ve taken some Picolax

Should’ve taken some Picolax

No need. Pick up a dose of Giardia in Katmandhu (easily available – drinking water from a restaurant table should do it*) and you can spend 48 hours hallucinating and evacuating from both ends while you wait for the military grade antibiotics to kick in.

Not the best preparation for a 10 day trek.

(* to this day have no idea what went through my mind that morning – i’d not drunk anything but bottled water for 3+ months across Asia. Think I was jetlagged/half asleep)

Fantastic advice from all. Thanks very much. Particularly found useful:
Solar charger for camera, great idea
Extra bog roll, for obvious reasons, and all other bowel related advice
Learning a few words of Nepalese also a great idea that I like alot.
Sounds like light boots is the way to go, which is a shame as I’ve got a very nice pair of arc’teryx approach shoes that I use round the Brecons etc. (But maybe I’ll look into mini gators…)
And brill pictures Jon, just hope I don’t spend 2 weeks looking at Himalayan singletrack and wondering what if…..
I’m so excited about this trip!

Glad you’re looking forward to it! FWIW I bought new chargers for both camera battery types (one compact, one DSLR) that would connect to a micro USB o didn’t cost much and reduced the amount of kit we were taking further.

I was there in 1992 and in terms of clothing, we made do with what we had from the rest of the trip. Wasn’t ideal carrying a fully loaded rucsac around with us but a great time. Thing we missed most was a warm sleeping bag – you can cope during the day but a good night’s sleep really helps.

We went in Sept, which as I remember was very early in the season so plenty of rain. However, it was shorts and a waterproof during the day with a silly Aussie cowboy style hat that someone had left on the plane to keep the rain off. Cheap umbrella idea above is a good call.

Take a lighter and a knife or key so that you can get the damn leeches off quickly!

I think it’s mostly been covered (plenty of layers, suncream, toilet supplies), but when I did the Sanctuary trek in March it was fairly deep snow at the top and I was glad of proper boots and trekking poles (crossing avalanches where they had gone over the trail was the hairiest bit, probably not an issue on the Circuit).

I was using a DSLR and knew I would be taking a lot of pictures. One thing I have found over the years is the problem of having it readily accessible for picture taking but still protecting it. In Nepal I had it on a neck strap and rigged up some elasticated line to stop it swaying around, but I ended up scratching the screen panel against my rucksack chest strap. For my next big trip I bought one of these, which allows you to have a sort of quick-release mount on your backpack strap. Really really useful.

Also useful:
‘Evening’ shoes to wear after taking boots off
Broad-brim hat
Sigg bottle with insulating cover – excellent for a hot water bottle at night which becomes your (cold) drinking water the next day
Single-use soap ‘flakes’ so you can actually wash your hands rather than apply yet another coating of antibac gel…
Berocca – makes for a decent morning drink for when you crave something other than tea…

Enjoy!

OP, I hope conditions are a little better than this:

Oh similar to maccyb, I had my DSLR on a Peak Designs clip, which gave a good secure quick release rucksack strap mount.

Hello Adam
I did trek only Annapurna Base Camp Trek and share my personal experience via blog. Hope that will help you alot. Annapurna Circuit is little be difficult and long in comparison with ABC.
Read my Blog : My Solo Annapurna Base Camp Escapade

In general, as little as possible. Seriously.

We had a guide but no porters (didn’t feel right to me) so carried our own stuff… but I brought WAY too much. If I was doing it again I’d try get away with a 25L or less backpack.

Are you doing the pass? Or just up and down one side? You can bring less if the latter.

Clothes-wise I think you could get away with:
– 2x merino t-shirts (+maybe a long sleeve if you are doing the pass, I like icebreaker coolite)
– 2x thin merino socks (I like smartwool)
– 2x uniqlo airism boxers (incredible, and cheap!)
– Quick drying zip off walking trouser/shorts (patagonia get my vote)
– Trail runners (I simply hate “hiking” shoes/boots now)
– Light hydroscopic down gilet (I love Rab)
– Light packable shell
– Light down sleeping bag
– Sun hat

You can put all of that on if it gets cold.

Steripen split between you all to avoid use of plastic bottles though if with a company they probably sort it. Talk to and tip the porters. They work hard for absolute pennies and are generally interesting and come from far flung places. Solar charger super useful. Do some research and get some mega antibiotics for stomach complaints. Available at a fraction of the cost in Kathmandu. Can’t remember what I used it was 5 years ago. Thankfully never had to use them. Have fun.
Walking poles. Pair of if no one has said it.

I lived out there for a few years and did a bit of trekking, I think most of this has probably been mentioned.

Down jacket can buy a good quality cheap one from Shona’s in Kathmandu
Sleeping bag again can get a good quality down one from Shona’s
A silk liner for sleeping bag.
I would now take merino base layers.
A decent deodorant (some days you will smell)
2-3 season boots if they are light and comfy and a good pair of flip flops or sandals as well that you can walk in for the evenings, and you could trek in them on the warmer lower parts.

Pass the pigs and other such lightweight simple games to play with porters and quides on an evening.
A couple of books – loads of cheap book shops in Nepal.

If your net altitude gain from one sleep to the next is planned to be more than 500m, seriously consider seeing your GP about appropriate medicinals for coping with altitude. Altitude sickness makes the experience miserable but slowing down the rate of height gain helps keep it at bay for longer. Most trip companies are sensible enough to apply the 500m rule but not all.

Piss bottle as well. No fun walking to loo at 3 a.m. Sorry your 32 so may not need to do this yet.