Day 13: Kagbeni to Marpha

I hiked the Annapurna Circuit with Michelle from Full Time Explorer. She did a great write-up of our trek which she kindly let me borrow, so what you see below is Michelle's text and my photos. You can find her original article at Annapurna Circuit Itinerary.

We originally planned to walk to Jomsom, but upon arriving, opted to keep moving on to Marpha. The road from Kagbeni to Jomsom is a dusty construction zone mess that crosses an empty river bed. It wasn’t especially scenic, and it was insanely windy, which I hear is common in this section of the trek. The side route that we didn’t take went up in elevation quite a bit, and I was still sore from coming down from the pass, so I wanted an easy day.

Jomsom is a large village with very little charm. We had intended to spend two nights there to rest, but it lacked any personality. We made a stop at the ATM because we were all desperate for cash, grabbed lunch, and quickly exited the town which felt cold and distant compared to beautiful Kagbeni. The road to Marpha was much of the same. We walked through gravel and dust along the road until we entered the city gate.

Marpha is full of old world charm and beautiful quaint tea houses. After checking out a few, we ended up at Tanpopo. The rooms have ensuite bathrooms with hot showers and western toilets. The WiFi works better than any other place on the trek. The food is amazing (but a little spicy). Overall, the ambience sold us with its beautiful views and common areas.

If you’re ending your trek here, you can exchange extra clothes for beautiful souvenirs made by Tibetan refugees in town.