Annapurna Base Camp Trek is an experience of a lifetime; however, it is a strenuous trek you need to feed your body with the right fuel. From your first trek of the Annapurna Base Camp Hike, to the last step, your food & Drinks will go a long way to determine the reserves you have to draw on, even probably how well you acclimatize to the altitudes. Whether you’re venturing out alone or with a guide, the more you know about what you can eat and drink as you walk, the healthier, stronger, and more enjoyable your ABC Trekking Trip will be!
Further down, I’ll also shoot you in the right direction on what to eat and drink while trekking the Annapurna sanctuary (without photoshopping the bugs out of the pictures).
Traditional Dal Bhat Power
One meal you’ll never cease eating while trekking to Annapurna Base Camp is dal bhat. At its best, this is Nepali comfort food: rice, lentil soup (dal), seasonally selected organic vegetables, and sometimes even a little bit of pickle. It’s warm, it’s very comforting, and it couldn’t be better for you. The best part? Free refills on dal bhat are common in teahouses. It’s the “I just got back from a day’s hike” recovery meal.
The locals have a phrase for this: “Dal Bhat Power, 24 Hour!” —and it’s true. And it keeps you going, and you just keep going, fueled by more and more energy.
Breakfast on the Trail and Other Morning Fuel
Breakfast- the most important meal before a long day ahead on the Annapurna Base Camp Trek. Most teahouses will have both a Western breakfast and a Nepalese breakfast. For breakfast, you can have porridge, Tibetan bread with jam or honey, pancakes, boiled eggs, omelets, muesli with milk, and toast. These dishes aren’t glamorous; however, they may be hot, hearty, and will come up with an awesome start on a chilly day.
Start with breakfast — don’t pass it, especially at better elevations, where your frame is burning a variety of energy looking to stay heat and in heavier air.
Snacks and Trekking Treats
Teahouses serve meals in every village, but you will still want to bring snacks for the trail, especially on longer sections. The trick is to take some energy bars, dried fruits, chocolate, and nuts, which you will have purchased in Pokhara or Kathmandu before starting the ABC Trek. Some general stores on the trail sell these items, but prices tend to be high and supplies low.
Excessive-power snacks are something that won’t allow you to down whilst you need them on that steep climb, or if you’re on a chilly, windy portion of the Annapurna Sanctuary Trek.
Staying Hydrated: What to Drink
Whilst consuming nicely is vital while you’re touring and running out, staying hydrated is likewise vital, even greater so at high altitude. You drink around 3 – four liters of water in keeping with day in the course of the Annapurna Base Camp Trek. But buying plastic water bottles on the trail is not recommended (for environmental reasons, plus they’re overpriced).
Instead, most trekkers bring their reusable bottles and purify water with filtered straws, iodine drops, chlorine-based tablets, or ultraviolet light. Many teahouses will also sell you boiled water for a small fee, which is a great, safe, and environmentally friendly solution.
Tea can be found in every teahouse, as can ginger-lemon-honey infusion, and hot water. They warm in the cold, but they also help digestion, and schlep and altitude sickness.
Avoiding Alcohol and Caffeine
Good as that celebratory drink may sound after a hard day on the trekking route, you’re also advised to pack the alcohol away (along with coffee in too high doses) during the ABC Trek (especially when passing 2,500 meters). And alcohol dehydrates you, so it enhances those symptoms of altitude sickness. Some teahouses may offer beer, or you might notice a local spirit, raksi, for sale, but save drinking until you are finished with the trek.
And if you are a coffee drinker, restrict it, as you won’t have it during the Annapurna Base Camp Hike. What to pack fothe r the Annapurna Base Camp Trek? Caffeine dehydrates you and might interfere with your sleep, two things you are guaranteed to want to avoid while hiking.
Food Options at Higher Altitudes
Once you head further up, especially past Deurali and into the Annapurna Sanctuary, choices are limited and prices go up. All supplies, of course, have to be thus carried by porters and mules. However, teahouses generally have a fair variety of meals such as fried/ boiled noodles, momos, and the occasional spurt of spaghetti, macaroni, soup, and its bland cousins in the fried rice. They are not gourmet — but they are warm, filling, and exactly what your body wants after a long day of hiking.
Food at Annapurna Base Camp. Camp Annapurna base camp itself is very basic but fulfilling. Most trekkers end up going for dal bhat here as it is the best fuel per rupee with free refills.
Eating for Acclimatization
The Annapurna Base Camp Trek food is a factor in the strength of your acclimatization. Eating the opposite way around by taking in cold or raw things can put you out of balance energetically in your body. You also need to eat the right number of calories at altitude, since your body has to do more work — even if you’re just sitting around.
Some trekkers also drink garlic soup, a staple menu item for them while on the trail, to prevent symptoms of altitude sickness. “It has no medical proof behind it, but they do say those who believe in it swear by it.
Conclusion on What to Eat and Drink on the ABC Trek
Various delicacies in the Annapurna Base Camp Trek are not food; it’s miles an experience. From the filling warmth of dal bhat to the fresh pleasure of sipping tea with views of snow-dappled mountains, each meal is an opportunity to commune with the trail, the people, and the culture.
The right matters to devour and drink along the way can help preserve your healthful and energized, better able to tackle each zig and zag of the adventure. Whether you are going at it alone or to he base camp with a group, Trekking In Nepal not only offers amazing mountain views but a spread of food that will last you a lifetime.
