A typical aid trek’s Himalayan Itinerary, visiting Tibetan refugee settlements

Below is a 24 day tour following a pilgrim route north of the Annapurna range to Muktinath’s ‘sacred flame’, visiting five Tibetan refugee settlements.

The Trans Himalaya Aid Trek.

Day 1. Meet Heathrow. Fly via to Kathmandu, Nepal.
Day 2. Arrive Kathmandu mid afternoon, transfer to Lhasa Guest House.
Day 3. Group breakfast, trek planning meeting. PM tour to Swayambhu, Patan and Bodhanath.

Day 4. Group breakfast, collect personal rental gear. PM walk to Asan Bazar and Durbar square pagoda temples. Early night.
Day 5. Early departure to Pokhara by coach. PM free, at Lake House.
Day 6. Visits to Tibetan refugee settlements, Trek Aid charity projects, visit Pokhara lakeside.
Day 7. Trek up lush hillsides and rice paddies to Dhumpus ridge and on to Potana & Austrian camp.

Starting from Pokhara the expedition follows the southern slopes of Machapuchare and the Annapurna Range soaring 26,000ft above, travelling through fertile land inhabited by Nepalese tribal people: Chetri, Pun and Gurungs.

Day 8. Spectacular views of the whole Annapurna massif from the ridge top Austrian camp, then descend an hour to Karre, and by coach three hours to district headquarters, Beni. Lodge after lunch at Galeshor.

Turning north through transitions from tropical to conifer, to Tibet-like high altitude canyons, the trek follows the Kali Gandaki river, through and beyond the Himalayan range by the deepest river gorge in the world.

Day 9. Riverside trails to tropical Tatopani village. Part-day rest to visit hot springs.
Day 10. Entering the worlds deepest gorge, an age old trade link to Tibet, trek to Ghasa.
Day 11. Up through pine woods, the valley opens out under Dhaulagiri into a spectacular plain and we are north of the Himalayas.

In passing north of the Himalayan crest the expedition now climbs into a different world. The tropical Hindu lowlands are left behind and we emerge into spectacular canyonlands, on the border of the Kingdom of Mustang, where the cultural influences are Tibetan Buddhist and the people are Thakali, Bhotia, Lo.ba, Tibetan and Manang.ba. There are Tibetan monasteries to see at Khobang, Tukche, Marpha, Kagbeni and Muktinath.

Day 12. From Tukche, merchant centre of the old Tibet trade, to the refugee camp at Tserok and on to Marpha. Grand merchant houses of the traders, and fortress-like Tibetan villages perched on cliffsides, replace the thatched Hindu tribes houses of the fertile south.
Day 13. Marpha to Ekli Bhatti via Jomsom, amid high canyonlands. Lodge early to avoid high winds.

Day 14. Slow acclimatising pace above 10,000ft climbing out of the Kali Gandaki canyon to Jarkhot and the Hindu/Buddhist shrines at Muktinath with its 'miraculous' sacred flame coming out of water - a focus of pilgrimage for several thousand years for Hindu’s and Buddhists alike.
Day 15. Descend from our highest camp, Muktinath (12,500ft) to Ekli Bhatti for half day rest at lodge.
Day 16. Ekli Bhatti to Tserok refugee settlement, evening party and Tibetan costume dances, a Trek Aid culture conservation scheme. Lodge at Marpha.
Day 17. Marpha to Kalopani or Ghasa, returning along wide flat riverside flanked by Annapurna 1 and Dhaulagiri.
Day 18. Kalopani to Tatopani, via the steep Kali Gandaki gorge. Part day rest at hot springs camp.
Day 19. Tatopani to Galeshor, last trek night in lodge.
Day 20. Walk to Beni and drive to Pokhara, PM rest at Lake House.
Day 21. Rest day in Pokhara, optional visits to refugee camps to finish Trek Aid projects.
Day 22. Drive to Kathmandu. Lhasa Guest house.
Day 23. Free in Kathmandu for souvenir shopping and personal trips around the bazaar and the old city. PM flight.
Day 24. Morning arrival at London Heathrow.

Group leaders may have to adapt day by day itineraries during an expedition to allow for bad weather, group members preferences, keeping the trip flexible to suit the needs of the party.