Here's the story of my rapid three week hiking trip in Nepal, tackling the 200 km long Annapurna Circuit Trek (reaching an elevation of 5416 m), the 100 km Annapurna Sanctuary Trek, as well as new Mardi Himal Trek (although these distances ended up being much longer due to the side trips I added on, plus getting lost a few times. Okay, more than a few times). I hiked these routes solo, taking advantage of the tea houses lining the trails for accommodation and meals. It was entirely human-powered, not utilising jeeps, buses or animals at any stage.

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The Annapurna Circuit Trek started in Besi Sahar, from where I quickly made my way up to Manang (3540 m) before starting the acclimatisation process. I checked out some of the sights around this region for a couple of days, including the stunning Tilicho Lake side trip. Once over the pass (Thorung La, 5416 m) I made my way down to Ghorepani, taking in a few more side trips, and then crossed over to the Annapurna Sanctuary Trek. 

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From Ghorepani I walked via Tadapani to Chhromrong, joining up with the traditional route to Annapurna Base Camp. While the elevation wasn't as high on this trek (4130 m), the rapid gain in altitude and never-ending stairs still made for a strenuous hike. After hitting the Base Camp for sunrise I quickly hiked back to Chhomrong, spent the night, then entered the Mardi Himal Trek via Landruk. I was up at High Camp and down again in two days. After that it was back to Pokhara and Kathmandu for some much needed R&R.