(Best months to trek: September through May) Famed for its wild beauty and number of diverse ecosystems, the Annapurna Circuit Trek takes you from subtropical woods to high-altitude alpine deserts. But for many, the journey isn’t officially complete without seeing from Poon Hill that exhilarating sunrise. Although it’s not strictly part of the main Annapurna Circuit trek itinerary, Poon Hill is a feasible side-trip and a welcome change of scenery on foot. This guide will walk you through step-by-step on fitting in a visit to this famous spot, so that you too can catch a view of one of the most famous sunrises along the Himalayas.
The Circuit to Poon Hill trail
The right time to visit Poon Hill is after you have finished your circuit and descended from Muktinath. You’ve hiked over Thorong La Pass and descended to Muktinath, so the subsequent step is down even farther to a village inside the Kali Gandaki Valley. Many trekkers fly straight from Jomsom to Pokhara — but if you intend to visit Poon Hill, your trek will not end here. You can then take a bus or jeep from Muktinath to Tatopani, which is famous for its hot springs. Drive to Tatopani- a long but scenic trip from Muktinath. Tatopani is a great place to rest and recover before you grind it up to Ghorepani and Poon Hill.
Tatopani to Poon Hill: The hike
You can soothe your body in the hot springs at Tatopani, where your next phase of the trek gets underway. The climb to Ghorepani from Tatopani was a hard one, but a good one. From the rhododendron-rich forests to curving terraced fields and pretty villages, this trail has it all. The walk is a universe apart from the Circuit wilderness, and it’s nice to be back in greenery and signs of life. It’s a full day’s walk (usually 7-8 hours) and quite some elevation to gain. The part of the trek can be surprisingly hard if you don’t have a rest after the circuit. To me, it is proof that the Annapurna Circuit Trekking, including all side tracks, is not only a high altitude challenge but also many different and challenging surfaces!
The Morning Hike to Poon Hill
The reward for this detour is an early morning walk up to Poon Hill for sunrise viewing. The path up to the peak from Ghorepani is already nicely trodden and isn’t always too long (about 45 minutes to one hour). Most trekkers wake up around 4:30 a.m, with a headlamp, to overcome the worst climate on the better elevations on the mountain. Early morning chill and icy stone stairs are the last test of mettle to be endured, but the resulting feast is absolutely worth every step.
The View from the Summit
Poon Hill is popular for a reason. From the pinnacle, there are beautiful perspectives down into a big, steep-sided valley with a great amphitheatre of peaks, including Dhaulagiri (8167m), Annapurna I (8091m), Annapurna South, Fishtail Mountain, and Hiunchuli. It’s the sheer size of it and the way beautiful it is far, with the sun rising over a number of the very best mountain ranges in the world; there’s something certainly magical about that. What a view, and just as impressive as the ones you saw from Thorong La Pass! If Thorong La delivers a broad, sweeping sense of space and achievement, then Poon Hill makes for an intimate close-up view of the giants we’ve been standing on the shoulders of – the Annapurna and Dhaulagiri ranges. But it’s a different kind of awe: awe that makes you feel blessed to have witnessed this absolutely stunning creation.
Logistical Considerations and Planning
There are a few logistical details to figure out if you plan to incorporate Poon Hill into your Annapurna Circuit Trek Itinerary! One, this detour will put days on your clock. You will require at least 2-3 extra days of travel to Poon Hill from the Circuit. You should keep that in mind when deciding where to spend your time and money. And I would also suggest that you do it with a professional Annapurna Circuit Trek Agency, which can take care of everything, so that you can combine this short trek. They can assist with your accommodation arrangements, choose a place to stay, and make a booking, as well as hire an escort or some guide(pool from the forum who knows both the main circuit versus the Poonhill route )
Another option: Poon Hill Trek, then the Circuit
It is also possible, but less common, to trek to Poon Hill before you begin your Annapurna Circuit Trek! This would mean beginning in Pokhara, doing the Ghorepani Poon Hill trek, and then heading to what was once the original starting point of the Circuit at Besisahar, or somewhere new by road. The advantage, of course, is that you get your legs into trekking shape and give yourself a chance to do a low-altitude trek before three weeks in the high-altitude antics of the circuit. It’s still the same address and record for Express, but I have a completely different trip to make.
The Experience After Poon Hill
Descend to Ghorepani after sunrise for breakfast and back on the trail. From Ghorepani, you then descend back to Pokhara, but on a different route from the one you took up. It’s a fairly easy 3-hour descent to road head at Nayapul, where a car takes you back to Pokhara; just before the road head, we walk through the attractive Gurung village of Ghandruk, your last chance for some decent culture. The descent is a beautiful stroll through terraced fields and the typical Nepali way of life until we reach the tranquil downhill end to our amazing adventure.
Final Thoughts: The Perfect Coda
If you are thinking of the Annapurna Circuit, here are some reasons to remember to include Poon Hill in your itinerary. It’s the perfect coda to an epic adventure, a final throbbing punctuation mark that sears the Himalayas onto your soul. The circumnavigation of the massif from Tatopani to Ghorepani, before rising in the early hours for an ascent of the peak itself, is a classic endgame to an expedition that will have both tested and thrilled you. Nobody is going to argue that the Annapurna Circuit by itself isn’t an amazing experience, but when turned into a once-in-a-lifetime memorable occasion, thanks to a sunrise over Poon Hill, you’re left with an image of something so beautiful that one has to question its reality.