Annapurna Circuit & ABC
Packing List
After finishing the Everest Base Camp Trek, hiking the Annapurna Circuit & Annapurna Base Camp Trek was immediately on our bucket list. The most important part of hiking in the Himalays is a well-organized packing list.
Here is what we carried around and all the way up to the Annapurna mountain range.
Clothing
The most important rule: Layering!
Base Layer
- 2x thermal pant: men | women
- 2x thermal shirt: men | women
- 2x trekking shirt long: men | women
- 1x trekking tank top
(great for warm days in lower altitudes) - 2x fleece sweater or fleece jacket: men | women
- 1x trekking T-shirt: men | women
- 2x pair trekking pants
one thin: men | women
one thicker: men | women - 3-4 pair woolen trekking socks
- bring enough underwear for the entire trek!
Outer Layer
- 1x wind and rainproof jacket with hood (hardshell): men | women
- 1x (thin) down jacket: men | women
- 1x warm winter hat
- 1x balaclava (especially useful on the Thorung La pass)
- 1x headband/buff
- 1x pair thin gloves
- 1x pair thick gloves (for those freezing mornings)
- 1x pair trekking boots
Annapurna Ciruit & Annapurna Base Camp Trek
Packing List for Men:
Gear
Since the Annapurna Circuit and the Basecamp Trek are both teahouse treks you don’t have to carry your own food or camping equipment. There are many small shops on the entire trek, but the prices are way higher due to the remoteness and elevation of the trek.
Try to buy everything you need in Kathmandu or Pokhara.
- 1 backpack
- 1 pair of (polarized) sunglasses
- 1 headlamp
- 1 heavy sleeping bag (Nearly all teahouses are equipt with blankets, but an extra insulation layer is quite helpful in high altitudes. If you are planning to rent your sleeping bag in Kathmandu, consider bringing a silk liner with you)
- 1 water bottle
- Snickers or chocolate bars
(thank us later) - 1 pair of trekking poles
- Garmin or another GPS device
(Since we like to hike independent, it is always nice to have a GPS device with you (a whiteout can happen anywhere)) - a whistle
- 1 pair of crampons
(there can be a lot of snow during February and December) - 1 seat pad
- 1 light daypack
(it’s great to hike with a small daypack during one of the acclimatization days) - 1 set of playing cards and/or board games
Annapurna Ciruit & Annapurna Base Camp Trek
Packing List for Women:
Documents
- Passports
- Permits:
– TIMs Card
– ACAP Card (both can be bought at the Nepal Tourism Board in Kathmandu) - Rupees
(bring enough for accommodation, food, and drinks, a good rule of thumb is 25$ per person per day) - Map
(there are many map stores in Thamel)
Electronics
This may be the trip of your lifetime; you will never forget the Annapurna mountain range. The first thing you will forget is the weight of your backpack once you finished your trek. If you want to document it, a few extra grams might not kill you.
We love to look back at our past adventures and revel in memories.
That is why camera equipment is the only extra we don’t mind to carry arond.
We left a few things in Kathmandu (at our hotel), so we didn’t have to carry around everything.
- 1 DSML camera (Sony A7 III) with 3 extra batteries
- 1 DSML USB Charger (Wasabi Power)
- 1 Lens (Sony 18-35mm 2.8L GM)
- Variable ND Filter (82mm X2 6-Stop ND Filter)
- 1 Microphone (Rode Video MicPro)
- 1 Tripod (Rollei Compact Traveler No 1)
- 1 Action camera (GoPro) with 1 extra battery (rechargeable with our RAVpower)
- 1 Travel Harddrive (WD My Passport Wireless 1TB with SD Card Slot)
- 2 SSDs (Samsung T5) (left in Kathmandu)
- 1 Gimbal (Ronin S)
- 1 solar charger (RAVpower)
(charging is expensive, free energy will save money and is fun in the process) - 1 power bank
(we love our Anker power bank!) - 1 GPS (Garmin GPS 64)
- 1 Laptops (Dell 9680) (left in Kathmandu)
First Aid
- Diamox
- Ibuprofen
- Aspirin
- Anti nauseant
- Immodium
- Bandaids
- Antiseptic wipes
- Elastic Bandage
- Triangle Bandage
- Survival blanket
- Blister band-aids
- Safety-pins
- Tweezers
- first aid kit
Toiletries
- Sunscreen SPF 50
- Purification tablets
- a good chapstick with SPF
- Toilet paper
- All-purpose soap
- Microfiber towel
- baby wipes
- panty liners
- toothbrush
- toothpaste
That is everything we carried up and around the Annapurna Circuit & Annapurna Base Camp. If you think we forgot something on our list. Please leave a comment.
Video Impressions of the Annapurna Circuit Trek 2019:
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I heard people mentioned duck tape. Also, for AC Route I. October, can I do a down vest instead of down jacket?(everything else mantains the same)
Nina!
It’s funny that you mention the duck tape! We have been debating that A LOT. And i really wanted to bring it (I love my duck tape!). But Jan wanted to eliminate every extra gram, and so far we didn’t really needed it. But, I mean, if you do need to fix something, there is nothing better. We bring a lot of camera equipment, so I guess if you don’t, bring some tape! 🙂
Oh, and we didn’t clearly mention our purification tablets (we will edit that), they are important! Don’t forget to bring some (or any other way to purify your water). You can find them in Kathmandu and Pokhara, for a tenth of the price back at home. The amount of plastic bottles up there is insane. And you need to drink a lot…
As for the down jacket/down vest, we’ve always been in late winter/spring, you might be fine in late summer/fall. But we wouldn’t want to miss ours – especially during those freezing cold nights (it’s just so comfy to have an extra cushy layer, preferably with a hoody to protect from dirty sheets)…
You will have a lot of fun! Send some pics! 🙂
All the best
Bella
Did you use the drone and did you have any issues flying it.
Did you get prior consent or just take the chance…
Thanks
As far as I know, the rules and regulation about flying a drone in Nepal are getting stricter.
I wouldn’t take one with me … Someone just got arrested on the Annapurna Circuit in Manang and had to pay 5000 USD.
Thanks
Jan
great list! love the top shots. do you really need crampons?
The weather conditions can change really quickly in the mountains… you still buy crampons in Manang if necessary.
They are not super expensive about 2000 npr (15 USD) and if you don’t need them anymore you can sell them to other hikers or give them away to some porters.
Best Jan