Annapurna Base Camp Trek, beyond your visit to the mountains. And while it’s the toothy Himalayan titans stealing the limelight, the trail to the base of Annapurna I (8,091m) has a supporting cast of flora and fauna that’s just as good. From the deep subtropical forest to the alpine meadow and throughout the habitat of rare orchids and endangered wildlife, the trail is a natural living museum of diversity.
When we’re out hiking at various altitudes and in various ecological zones, I love being able to put names and faces to the plants and animals. This guide will help you figure out what, where, and how you can see on the Annapurna Base Camp trail, like the glacial and other natural wonders, without actually being destructive about it.
Bodies in Transit: From Lowlands to Highlands
The ABC trail has an enormous elevation range — anywhere from about 800 meters at its launch point in Nayapul, near outlets of the Phewa Lake, to 4,130 meters at its destination, Base Camp. New Ecosystem! b> Up there it’;s a whole different ecosystem! The lower stretches are fat and subtropical, thick with the gurgle of the bamboo groves and banana trees and pretty flowers. It’s cooler and drier as you ascend; out of them rise the rhododendron zones, toward them scree and alpine tundra, near base camp.
Acquaintance with these natural processes can easily give convenient and elusive details concerning what kinds of vegetation and wildlife can be observed in each level of the trail.
PLANTS AND ANIMALS On your walk, you may see these plants or animals:
The ABC Trek is made up of “Literal mountains with trees” only. Ghandruk, Chhomrong to Bamboo is a lower-mid & lower Real zone. Rhododendron[citation needed] The best known species, rhododendron, the national flower of Ne, is the most commonly associated with the plant; it is also used about other species of flowers and plants; all are “assorted in the group”. Under the blooming forest is Yrhong, the dream world of red, white, and pink rhododendron with covering the side of the mountain and the valley (March to May).
You’ll also pass through oak, chestnut, and bamboo forests, particularly just beyond Sinuwa and the bamboo village. Down here, it’s cool and damp like mosses and ferns like it. Poke around a touch, and you could discover the wild orchids striking from the tree stumps or a couple of shrubby herbs that cross via names like spikenard and jatamansi — treasures of traditional medicine.
Further up the flora will become scarce, ruled by dwarf shrubs, junipers, and grasses at higher altitudes. Tough plants survive when it is below freezing and the soil is poor.
Birds of the Annapurna Region
The ABC trail is a bird-lover’s paradise. The Annapurna Conservation Area alone has more than 450 species of birds. At dawn, the woods echo with the calls of Himalayan bulbul or the wild calls of magpies and minivets, and the sing-song chattering of dozens of warblers. Np, a treegoeso further, but there is a redone there, too, even higher upyou might spot a glint of the bright col, — at the tops of the trees or power lines.
The similarly you climb, the more likely you will see the countrywide chook of Nepal – the Himalayan Monal. The adult males are especially astounding looking with vivid green, blue, and purple feathers. Shy, gregarious birds that favour clearings and alpine meadows.
If you’re really lucky, you may also be treated to some griffon vultures or Lammergeiers (bearded vultures) soaring overhead. They pound the hills daily and never so much as have to work for a meal; all they do is float over valleys and ridges, and they can see well enough to be magnificent carrion spotters.
Mammals: Shy but Present
Of course, most mammals are much more difficult to see than birds – but that doesn’t apply when you are walking ABC. As you walk from Bamboo, Dobhan, and Deurali trek on this green tree trail, you begin to see the langur monkeys descend here, a grey monkey with a long tail. You can see groups of them swinging from one tree to another. Innocent and curious, they’re an infinite satisfaction to observe from a safe distance.
The forest is the habitat for shy animals, just like the marten, barking deer, and the Himalayan musk deer, although they may no longer be effortlessly seen and are quick to run from human-populated areas. You will also spot blue sheep or Himalayan thar around the Machhapuchhre Base Camp (4790m). and Annapurna Base Camp.
The snow leopards. They’re sly and elusive and high and winter time and but there there. And they’re elusive within the mere glimpses that can be had, but their presence transforms each high-elevation stride into an act of alchemy.
Insects, Butterflies, and Smaller Creatures
There is something of a plague of butterflies, dragonflies, and other pollinating insects in warmer seasons, especially spring and very early summer, in Lower Annapurna. But there are butterflies in all the unapologetic colors dancing on flowers in Jhinu Danda and Chhomrong once more. The bitty ones might not cross your mind, but this city wouldn’t be itself without them.
(And okay, you may not care to be surprised along the way by houses of honeybees, forever combatant “till the day we die” or the hives that the honey hunters (males) build within cliffs that get your stomach churning, even — especially — within villages.) Only some of the places in the Annapurna region carry on to this day, Honey hunting.
Tips for Observing Nature Respectfully
Here are some simple tips to help you avoid causing damage to the (usually fragile) mountain habitat while you pass through it to ogle the wildlife and flowers.
Don’t pick any flowers or plants, no matter how pretty or plentiful. Most alpine and forest vegetation requires a long time for stabilization, is intolerant of disturbance, and may even be locally not acceptable in a particular site. Leave them — for your neighbors and the occasional pollinator — to visit.
“Hush, and try to keep up.”Read more. Animals, such as birds and monkeys, can be startled by brief movements or loud voices. If you have them, deliver binoculars and watch it from a secure distance.
Don’t feed wild animals or leave a virtual trail of breadcrumbs. It’s not logical in the natural system, and it can be a problem for people. Please carry all, and we mean all, your rubbish with you and deposit it in villages or designated dumps.
Finally, just go where people have crisscrossed the land over the years. Entering the fragile meadows or alpine zones can harm rare botanicals that will take years to regenerate. Walk carefully and you will not only be one with the beautiful, but also the diverse Anapurna will never leave you once in a lifetime.
When to See the Fauna and Flora
If it is the vegetation and birdlife that you want to exhaust yourself on, then spring it is, March through May that is. Rhododendrons are blooming, the forests are teeming with animals, and migrating birds have arrived to raise their households. The fall (early October to early December) is also ideal for flora and fauna: less haze, cooler temperatures, and greater flora and fauna activity.
Now it’s winter, fewer are on the trail, it gets pitch black midday, the only fauna you might meet is a squirrel, and most of the birds have flown down slope or sunnier climes!
Final Thoughts
The most challenging hardship challenged but on the other hand, you will trek on the most fabulous ecologically diverse route to Nepal. Whether gazing at the outstanding bloom of a scarlet rhododendron, the cry of the Himalayan Monal, or the spring of langurs in the tree, being able to identify the medicines, foods, poisons, and homes that surround you will only serve to enrich your appreciation of this remarkable landscape.
So bide your time, squint real good, move softly and respectfully in the wild world: There is a dragonfly out there for you, too, somewhere. You will not just go home with memories of mountains but with a deeper appreciation for the life-world that teems in their shadow.