Annapurna Circuit Gear List
Packing for the Annapurna Circuit is a unique and exciting challenge. Relative to the trail’s 220 kilometre distance, the variety of terrain and weather along its length is incredibly varied. In peak season, hikers will start and finish sweating it out in 30 degrees Celsius walking through tropical rain forests, but in the middle section near Thorung-La they might wake up early in the morning to frozen socks. That means that a good gear list for the Circuit needs to prepare the hiker for a range of conditions, but not overdo it on the cold-weather gear that will remain in your pack for all but a couple days.
One of the most important considerations in packing for a hike around the Annapurnas is that you’ll be eating and sleeping in hotels (or tea houses, as they’re sometimes called in rural Nepal) every day. That means that unlike packing for most long-distance hikes, you don’t need to bring a shelter, sleep system, or any food (except snacks for between meals). For people that don’t enjoy carrying a heavy pack, this is great news.
With those two points in mind, here’s the gear I brought on my 2018 hike of the Annapurna Circuit. Overall, I was very happy with the way I packed for this hike, with some thoughts on how I would change it up a bit at the end of this post.
Pack and Sleep System
Clothing
Accessories
Photography
Thoughts on Gear
As I mentioned at the top of this post, I was pretty happy with the gear I brought on the Annapurna Circuit. However if I were to do a tea house trek in Nepal again, these are the changes I would make:
I wouldn’t bring a sleeping bag. Despite warnings that I read online before my trip about tea houses being too cold and a shortage of blankets, everywhere I stayed on the Circuit provided more than enough blankets to stay warm in October. However, I think a sleeping bag or quilt would be valuable for those doing this trek in winter. I would also advise bringing a liner to keep yourself off of the provided bedding which was not always clean
I would bring sandals or “camp shoes”. On most of my backpacking trips, I only bring one pair of running shoes. But while trekking in Nepal, I ended up sitting in the hotel dining areas for long periods of time, and it would have been nice to not always wear my stinky, sometimes wet runners while eating and socializing.
I would bring better sun protection for my head and face. I wasn’t really prepared for how brutal the sun exposure would be on this trek, and a baseball cap didn’t really cut it. Because of the strong wind in the area, I wouldn’t suggest a full-brim hat either. I think wearing a cap combined with a sun hoody, neck drape, or Buff would be the best solution.