Annapurna ABC/Sanctuary Trek – How To Do It Without a Guide

When I was researching my trip to Nepal, I found it difficult to find good info about the ABC Trek.

I only found trekking itineraries from commercial tour companies, which made me think that maybe you’re not supposed to do this trek on your own.

But as I discovered when I got to Pokhara, you can do the Annapurna trek independently… and it’s actually not difficult at all to do it without a guide.

Even though everyone wants to sell you pre-packaged trekking experiences, doing it independently is much cheaper and (I think in most cases) much better.

In this post I’ll share what I know based on my trek in May 2017.

Which Annapurna trek?

The trek leading up to the base camp at Annapurna is one of the most popular ones in Nepal. It is known by various names, which can be a little confusing.

To be clear, these:

• Annapurna Basecamp Trek
• ABC Trek
• Annapurna Sanctuary Trek
• Annapurna South Trek

…are all the same trek!

Most people just call it “the ABC trek”. I guess…