Day-by-day plan for the standard 9-day ABC trek from Pokhara — walking hours, altitude gain, where to sleep, and the one acclimatisation cue we wish more trekkers heard.
This is the route the ops team walks four times a year. Nine days, Pokhara to Pokhara, descending through Jhinu Danda for the hot springs on the second-to-last day. It's slower than the express seven-day plan and faster than the twelve-day extension via Poon Hill — most trekkers should walk this one.
Get to Pokhara from Kathmandu (25-minute flight, 6–8 hour bus, or 6-hour drive). Same afternoon: collect ACAP + TIMS at the Damside NTNC office. Last-minute kit shopping in Lakeside — local stores have decent down jackets at half the European price if you forgot one. Early dinner; an actual early one. You've got a 06:00 jeep tomorrow.
Jeep to Kimche (1.5 hours, NPR 800/seat shared, NPR 6,000 private). Trail starts immediately, climbing through Ghandruk and on to Chhomrong. ~4 hours walking, ~700 m altitude gain. Stay at the upper end of Chhomrong — the view back across to Annapurna South at sunset is worth the extra ten minutes' climb.
Drop into the Chhomrong Khola gorge (1,750 m, knees notice), climb the stone stairs to Sinuwa ridge, then a long forest descent through Khuldighar to Bamboo. ~5 hours walking. The middle section through rhododendron forest in March-April is the prettiest stretch on the trek.
Long gorge day. Through Dovan, then Himalaya for lunch, finally up to Deurali. ~6 hours walking, ~900 m altitude gain. The gorge is cold even at midday in season — keep your fleece on. Deurali fills by 16:00 in peak weeks; aim to arrive by 15:00 or radio ahead.
Short day but the altitude pushes you. ~3 hours walking, ~500 m gain. Sleep at MBC, not ABC. Climb high, sleep low is the rule that prevents most HAPE/HACE on this trek. The 430 m of additional altitude at ABC overnight matters at this elevation; on an unacclimatised body it's the difference between mild headache and emergency descent.
Wake at 04:30 for the dawn push. Headtorch on, layered up, two hours to ABC for the sunrise on Annapurna I. Coffee at one of the six ABC teahouses, photos, then back down: through MBC, Deurali, Himalaya, all the way to Bamboo. ~7 hours of mostly descent, brutal on the knees. Trekking poles are not optional.
Across the gorge, climb back to Sinuwa, then the long descent through Chhomrong to Jhinu. ~5 hours. The hot springs are 20 minutes downhill from the village; bring small change for the entry fee (NPR 150) and a small towel. The hot bath after seven days on the trail is the emotional finale of this route.
Two-hour walk to Siwai or New Bridge, where shared jeeps run back to Pokhara (~3 hours). Lakeside dinner at one of the Newari restaurants on the Damside strip. Sleep horizontally for the first time in a week.
Built in because weather sometimes delays the final descent jeep, or you want the day to actually enjoy Pokhara. Skip it if you must.
The MBC overnight is non-negotiable. Every season we get the same message from trekkers who skipped it: "I didn't feel great at ABC and now I'm descending at 02:00 with my partner carrying my pack." Use the AMS checker at Deurali and again at MBC; if you score 2+ on either, sleep low.
Don't book ahead. Teahouses on this route don't honour bookings made more than 24 hours out — they give the room to whoever shows up at 14:00 with cash. Arrive early instead.
Plan the descent as carefully as the ascent. Day 6 (MBC → ABC → Bamboo) is the trek's longest day and most knee-destructive. Don't sandbag the morning thinking the afternoon is easy.
If you only have a week: drop day 9 (buffer) and combine days 7+8 into a single push to Pokhara. If you have twelve days: do the extended variant via the Poon Hill loop — Nayapul → Tikhedhunga → Ghorepani → Poon Hill sunrise → Tadapani → join the standard route at Chhomrong. Adds three days and one of the best sunrise mountain views in Nepal.