Round Annapurna Biking

Day 01: Arrive in Kathmandu and transfer to the hotel in Thamel, touristy city offering numerous bars, shops and restaurants and an instant taste of Nepali life. In the evening over dinner, there will be a tour briefing. Overnight in Guest House.
Altitude: 1340M

Day 02: Sight Seeing around Kathmandu. In the morning, hand over your passports and return tickets to your guide to make the trekking and biking permits and to re-confirm your return flight ticket. Take this day for further preparation and as a rest day or visit Kathmandu Durbar Square, Patan Durbar Square and Boudhanath Stupa to explore the cultural heritage of Nepal. Overnight in Guest House.
Altitude: 2000m

Day 03: Kathmandu to Nuwakot – 100% ridable – 45km, 983m ascent – 1383m descent. Starting from the very heart of Kathmandu, there will be a controlled start, behind a lead vehicle until the race is on the outskirts of the city centre. From here the trail climbs a brutal 400m of sealed ascent up through Shivapuri National Park before the trail turns to a flat but very rough jeep track. After about 10km the trail drops 18km and 960m into a rural and flat area rarely frequented by tourists. The day finishes with another hot and brutal 500m of rutted trail towards the 1st days destination of Nuwakot and tranquility. Overnight in Farm House.

Day 04: Nuwakot to Dhading Besi – 100% ridable – 50km – 1359m of ascent, 1739 descent. A rapid “sealed road” descent starts the day from Nuwakot to Trisuli Bazaar. From here the rejoins and rural and undulating jeep trail through arable contryside. The terrain is relentless with numerous climbs and descents and riders skills will be tested with a mixture of rocky and sandy conditions. A descent into Dading Besi,the districts major town. Although this is early spring, temperatures will be into the mid 20’s as the trail drops to only 500m above sea level. Overnight in Guest House.

Day 05: Dhading Besi to Gorkha – 100% ridable – 56km – 1700m ascent, 1567m descent. What goes down must go up and from Dhading it’s a climb back up into the Himalayan foothills. Another day to test the legs and mettle of the riders with more relentless but breathe taking scenery. Nepal’s former capital, and for those finishing early enough this is a great opportunity to visit the ancient palace complex perched on the side of the surrounding hills. O/N Guest House

Day 06: Gorkha to Besi Sahar – 100% ridable – 61km, 1121m assent, 1368m descent. An 8km downhill section on jeep track starts the day and from then the trails in gently (in a Himalayan style) undulating until it reaches the sealed road to Besi Sahar. A rare opportunity to use the big ring then rears its head with a 30km section of sealed road but this will be hot and again “undulating”! Overnight in Guest House.

Day 07: Besi Sahar to Taal – 100% ridable. Altitude: 760m – 1700m Distance: 40km – 1635m ascent. Approx 2km of sealed road starts along Besi Sahar Main Street. The trail soon turns to rough jeep track, and follows the course of the Marshyangdi River along the left side of the valley. After approx 30km the jeep track runs out and from then its 11km of mainly push and carry up steep rocky climbs with a final 1km descent into the flat valley surrounding Taal. Overnight in Guest House.

Day 08: Taal to Chame – 33% ridable. Altitude: 1700m – 2570m Distance: 23km, 1365m ascent. Leaving Taal, there is a Mani wall (dry stone wall inlaid with Buddhist prayer slates) in the middle of the path. These should always be passed on the left. After going by fields of maize, barley and potatoes, the valley becomes narrow again. From Taal to Danaqu it will involve a large percentage of push/carry with a very steep hard climb out of Danaqu. From here though it becomes more rideable with closer views of snow capped peaks and a wide flowing trail to the finish. After a hard day’s work to reach Chame, We can relax by the hot springs on the other side of the Marshyangdi Khola, enjoy the fares at the bakery, or even email home from the internet cafe. Overnight in Guest House.

Day 09: Chame to Manang – 75% ridable. Altitude: 2570m – 3540m Distance: 30km – 1044m ascent
The route today takes through a dense forest in a steep, narrow valley and crosses a river via two bridges, one at 2910m and then another at 3030m. The trail continues along the river to Pisang, where the altitude is enough to bring on the first symptoms of altitude sickness or AMS. From Pisang, the route follows a wide valley that opens up ahead of us. We will pass through Humde (the highest commercial airport in the world) and Braga with its Gompa and roots in Tibetan religion. A cliff face obscures Manang until were practically upon it and a final steep climb brings us to its prayer wheel lined streets and stunning scenery. Overnight in Guest House.

Day 10: Rest day in Manang, No Riding!
It is necessary to spend a rest day in Manang for acclimatization. To ascend too rapidly could have potentially fatal consequences. There are many short excursions possible from Manang and remaining active is encouraged to aid acclimatization. Overnight in Guest House.

Day 11: Manang to Thorong Phedi – 68% ridable. Altitude: 3540m – 4450m Distance: 17km 980m ascent
We leave Manang through narrow, medieval looking streets and then climbs steadily upto Khusang. Although the trail is more ridable above Khusang (3900m), the altitude now takes effect making turning those pedals very hard work. For the majority of the international competitors it becomes a slow hard slog up to Thorong Phedi with an added bonus of having to cross a steep screed landslide area in the final 2km. Overnight in Guest House.

Day 12: Thorong Phedi to Muktinath – 66% ridable. Altitude: 4450m- 5416m – 3750m Distance: 18km
Early start is necessary to cross the Thorong La (Approx 4am): the trail can get windy later making it difficult to cross the pass. It will take approximately 5 hours to reach the top (approx 5km) and will be 100% carry. The effects of altitude are now fully felt and the majority of us will be unable to move at anything but a snails pace. Once at the top, the trail descends rapidly on a very steep slope (technical riding) for approximately 1 hrs to a collection of tea-houses and then on fast and flowing single-track to Muktinath with its pilgrimage site of the temple of the eternal flame. Overnight in Guest House.

Day 13: Muktinath to Tatopani – 100% ridable. Altitude 3750m – 1190m: Distance 67km
Today we will descend from snow capped peaks to tropical lowlands in just under 70km. Leaving Muktinath the course drops rapidly on jeep track before taking a detour onto narrow and technical single track that drops down to the river bed. From here the terrain undulates along jeep track through Jomsom, Marpha and many other small villages along the route. From Kalopani the trail again drops rapidly on a very rough but fast trail to Tatopani, where tired riders can enjoy the revitalizing qualities of the village hot springs. Overnight in Guest House.

Day 14: Tatopani to Khaniya Ghat – 100% ridable. 1190m to 800m: Distance 35km
Out of the mountains and into the lowlands. As we descend the temperature increases and the trail becomes less rocky. From Beni the final 15km is along an undulating track that follows the course of the river and passes through paddy fields, lined with banana plants. Once at Khaniya Ghat we have rejoined the sealed road and transfer to the lakeside enclave of Pokhara (approx. 2hours). Overnight in Hotel.

Day 15: Rest Day.

Day 16: Pokhara to Kathmandu. Overnight in Guest House.

Day 17: Departure