Lonely Planet features Annapurna circuit in its list

 Lonely Planet has featured the Annapurna Circuit among the top 10 most incredible travel experiences in the world.

The world's number one travel guide publisher said in its latest ‘Ultimate Travel List’ that the Covid-19 has resulted in travel restrictions around the world and have clipped traveller’s wings through 2020. But now is the perfect time to plan ahead so you’re ready for your next adventure when it’s safe to hit the road again, the guide writes. “We’ve all got a list of places that we want to see for ourselves: places friends have enthused about, places we’ve read about, dreamed about.” 

This is our list, the guide writes, adding that it’s the 500 most thrilling, memorable, downright interesting places on this planet ranked in order of their brilliance.

“The walk around Nepal’s Annapurna massif, which has long been considered one of the world’s great treks is incredible,” the publisher of world-renowned guidebooks further writes. “For scenery and cultural diversity, this has long been considered the best trek in Nepal and one of the world’s classic walks.”

It follows the Marsyangdi Valley to the north of the main Himalayan range and crosses a 5,416 metre pass to descend into the dramatic desert-like, Tibetan-style scenery of the upper Kali Gandaki Valley, it adds, “The scenery is mesmerising and the sense of journey is psychologically satisfying, starting in rice paddies and climbing through yak pastures before crossing the mighty snow-bound Thorung La pass. It’s everything a good trek should be – challenging, majestic and inspirational.”

The Annapurna Conservation Area is the Nepal’s first conservation area and the largest protected area that covers an area of 7,629 sq-km, making it the most popular trekking destination in the country. There are several features that make the Annapurna region a unique place in the world. It has the world’s deepest river gorge – Kali Gandaki Gorge – which is 3 miles deep and 1.5 miles wide and is a valley with fossils from the Tethys Sea dating back to 60 million years. The region contains among the world’s largest rhododendron forests in Ghorepani. Tilicho lake, located in Manang, north of Annapurna massif, is the world’s highest altitude fresh water lake.

“And at the end of the day some of Nepal’s best lodges offer hot meals, apple pie and pots of milky tea,” the guidebook writes, adding that it’s however the side trips that make this a truly great trek, notably up to high-altitude Tilicho Lake or to the village of Ngawal, where terraces offer views of snow-capped peaks just across the valley. “Build in a couple of extra days, shake off the crowds, and take your time – this is not scenery to rush through.”