Am I fit enough for the Annapurna Circuit?

Acclimatisation for the Annapurna Circuit starts as soon as you touch down in Kathmandu. Nepal’s capital city is a frenetic mixture of trekking tourists, traffic, ancient and intricately-carved stone temples, busy street markets and crazy overhead electrical wiring – all scented by heady incense and the fumes of almost two million motorcycles. But while a day or so exploring Kathmandu can acclimatise you to the culture shock of Nepali life, toughen up your tummy to local food and help you get over your jet lag, at only 1,400m it won’t help with the altitude in the Himalayas. And therein lies the Annapurna’s big challenge; crossing the Thorong La pass at 5,400m.

No matter how fit you are, the Thorong La pass is not easy, but the rest of the Annapurna Circuit trek is at a moderate altitude which most people will find comfortable, albeit with the odd mild headache or two. So how fit do you really need to be to complete this – up to three-week long – hike?

The Annapurna eases its trekkers in gently – with no long or steep climbs for the first few days, and a gradual ascent to a challenging, but moderate, altitude. The Thorong La pass, however, is a toughie. Expect to spend at around three days at an altitude above 4,000m (topping out at 5,416m) and a 10 to 12 hour day getting up and over the pass itself.

Bearing all the above in mind, we do still have to stress that this is by no means a young person’s trek, there’s no upper age limit and hikers in their 60s have had as much success as their more youthful counterparts. If you’re at all unsure schedule a check up with your GP to discuss your physical fitness and be honest with yourself about your stamina. Knees and ankles are going to feel the strain – particularly as you head downhill – so get any existing injuries, or chronic conditions, assessed before you sign up. Hiking poles can be a godsend.

On a trek of this duration mental toughness becomes as important as your physical fitness– and getting some experience of long-distance hillwalking before you leave can help you learn more about yourself, and what will keep you motivated and moving in Nepal.

Somewhat annoyingly there’s no correlation between altitude sickness and cardiac fitness – you can be an Olympic athlete and still succumb to the mountain air – so all the preparation in the world, unless it’s spent gently easing your way up high, won’t eliminate the risk. There’s also no guarantee that even if you’ve trekked at high-altitudes before you won’t suffer this time around.

The key is to take things slowly and your trekking specialist will ensure your route builds in plenty of time for acclimatisation. Even if you feel physically able to hike further, faster and harder remember a gentler pace will aid your acclimatisation for the Thorong La pass. And with spectacular mountain view after spectacular mountain view what’s the rush? Enjoy the opportunity to simply ‘be’ in the heart of the world’s highest peaks.