Tiger Balm Tales Vol. 22
Best and the Worst of the Annapurna Circuit
Near the end of hiking the circuit, my father and I reminisced on some of our best and worst experiences over the past 21 days. We compiled a list of the best / worst of our Annapurna Circuit experience. Remember…this is only our opinion!
| My Dad | Me | |
| Best Food | Onion Tomato Lasagna in Marpha (so good he had it for lunch and dinner!) | Dharapani’s Mushroom noodle soup and Momos |
| Best Guest House | It was unanimous…our Gunsang guest house had the best hospitality there was and a great view that you would never tire of. Not to mention our ensuite toilet! | |
| Worst Guest House | Also unanimous – the first guesthouse we stayed in with the bucket shower in the smelly outhouse was the worst. They people were super nice, but the rooms left something to be desired. Since we experience the ‘worst’ on the first night – we had nowhere to go be up from there! | |
| Best Village | Marpha – the apple capital! | agreed with Marpha for it’s clean and colorful décor, but the little village of Shikha came in a close 2nd! |
| Worst Village | Unanimous again…Ghorepani. Maybe this was due to the fact that we had to work so hard to get up there, and then realized it was just an over-touristed village with no character…and crappy cinnamon rolls! | |
| Most surprising thing about Nepal | the people were so friendly, courteous, and welcoming. | the country gets better the on the 2nd trip…I never thought it was possible to get any better! |
| One thing you wish you would’ve brought with you | More Tiger Balm! | Clothes pins |
| The one thing you should’ve left at home. | Waterproof pants and a pocket knife | Bug Spray |
| Most difficult thing to adapt to | The altitude of course! | Wearing the same clothes for 5 days+ in a row. |
| Scariest Moment | Running from the rock slide and navigating the snow on the other side of the pass. | The narrow trails with big drop offs, the bus ride to Tatopani, and of course the mouse in my bed! |
| Lasting Memory | the experience in Puma was on top of his list, followed by the Thorung La Pass | My return to the village of Puma was also special – but it was a lasting memory because I was able to bring my dad with me and introduce him to Puma this time. |
| Why should people come to Nepal? | A lot of people shouldn’t; this type of ‘roughing it’ isn’t for everyone. However for the people that enjoy a simpler way of travel, you should come to see how hard people work to make a little living. How appreciative they are about little things we take for granted. | You should come to see the mountains, meet some of the nicest people living in the hardest environments. |
Also in alignment with the ‘Best of’ theme – I’ve also put together a photography album – The Best of Annapurna Circuit Photography – check out my Global Photography Website!
Have you hiked the Annapurna Circuit? Share some of your best/worst experiences in the comments!
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Sherry Ott is a refugee from corporate IT who is now a long term traveler, blogger, and photographer. She’s a co-founder of Briefcasetobackpack.com, a website offering career break travel inspiration and advice.
Additionally, she runs an around the world travel blog writing about her travel and expat adventures at Ottsworld.com.com.
