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Some of you may be considering trekking in Nepal, and others are wondering about the conditions along the way, so I thought I would write a little about what it’s like.

I think there are two main difficulties that trekkers may run into - one is physical, and the other relates to creature comforts, or lack thereof!

Physically, the Annapurna Circuit was not a difficult trek by any means. You do need a certain level of fitness before you start (if you find walking 15 minutes too exhausting, you might want to start doing a little bit more exercise). This is mainly so that you don’t suffer too greatly in the first few days of the trek. We walk about 10-20km every day with frequent ups and downs so some experience with doing hills will help. We didn’t do any specific training before we left apart from a couple of short 1 or 2 day hikes in the Grampians (We highly recommend training in the Grampians as the rocky and rugged conditions there are pretty similar to Nepal). We kept our fitness up with a couple of jogs or swims a week but you don’t need to be an elite athlete to attempt this trip. Bad knees might get worse during the trek though.

The trail itself poses a bit of a challenge as it is very very rocky, sometimes very steep, often studded with animal poo, and can be slippery and muddy at times. There are frequent landslides in Nepal so you find yourself crossing over huge piles of loose rocks almost every day. Trekking poles help a great deal.

Acute Mountain Sickness is a potential problem, and even if you don’t get sick with this you will most certainly feel some effects from the increasing altitude. The altitude often makes you feel very out of breath, especially with any effort - even climbing two steps seems like a big deal. This usually passes by the evening or the next day. You may spend a few evenings feeling really quite ordinary - I describe it as feeling like you’re recovering from a bad case of the flu.

Now on to the creature comforts! Plumbing here has not reached the levels we enjoy in the West. Most toilets will be located in an odorous outhouse, which may or may not have its collection of flies buzzing around. Some will just be a hole in the ground. Flushing is manual (pour a bucket of water down). Toilet paper is BYO, and cannot be thrown into the toilet - instead, everyone has to put their used paper in a bin, and it’s burnt later on.

At some towns along the way, you may get rooms with attached toilets which are the sitdown ones we are used to.

Every lodge claims it has a shower, and these range from fantastic, to a pathetic cold dribble (usually somewhere in between).

Sometimes you have to do some plumbing yourself. CJ unblocking our attached shower in Manang.

Rooms range from a tiny wooden crate with two plank beds and no lock on the door, to carpeted rooms with proper brick walls and ensuite. Usually the wooden crate with plank beds is the more common, and what you should expect. There is usually no heating in the rooms, and there may not be electricity so bring a torch!!

The reassuring thing to everyone is that plenty of older people enjoy this style of trekking, proving that it is not too difficult physically or in terms of the comfort stakes. Just be aware that there are no “deluxe” versions of the trek - you will be staying where everyone else is staying.

Lastly, the awards for Best and Worst toilets go to:
Worst toilet: a wooden outhouse with no door, at 5000m along the trail to Thorung La, with a knee high pile of human excrement inside. Needless to say I didn’t visit that loo! (NOTHING decomposes at that altitude - yuk!!!)

Best toilet: a spotless porcelain sit down toilet with a flush and toilet paper, a sink that worked, and a mirror, and absolutely no odours. This was in a small town we passed through in the first few days of the trek and was a real surprise!!