It is not surprising that Tent Peak, also known as Tharpu Chuli, is a favorite peak of the Annapurna Region. Tharpu Chuli Peak, 5663m, rises in the middle of the amphitheater, encircled by immense walls of glaciers and mountains over 7000 and 8000 meters in height.
Graded moderate and strenuous, this three-week expedition to Tharpu Chuli can be done by anyone who is physically fit and ready to try basic mountaineering. Professional guides will provide training on climbing equipment and skills needed to climb this peak. Since this is one of the lowest trekking peaks, and the trek is planned to allow gradual acclimatization, there is virtually no risk of altitude sickness.
The trail leading to this stunning peak is an extraordinary trek in itself. The Tharpu Chuli trek starts from Phedi, only a 45 minute drive from Pokhara and traces the classic stone-step trail of the Annapurna Sanctuary Trek all the way to Annapurna Base Camp (ABC). The first few days are spent on the south side of the Himalayas, the area of highest rainfall in Nepal, where there are lush subtropical jungles and rhododendron forests. Cozy lodges provide welcome resting places in the villages which are predominately of the Gurung ethnic group. There are amazing post-card scenes of mountains, glaciers, rock faces, and sharp ridges with the patchwork of terraced fields in the foreground.
Around four days into the trip, you will leave the lush jungles behind and reach rougher terrain, with colder temperatures, and walls of rock that shoot into the sky. The north side of the Annapurnas falls in the rain shadow and has a dry alpine climate with little vegetation. Since the climatic conditions on this trek change over such a short distance, it constantly provides a new environment to explore.
The Annapurna Massif stretches nearly 64 km between the Kali Gandaki and Marsgyangdi river valleys of central Nepal and boasts twelve peaks over 7000m besides endless smaller peaks. The Annapurna Sanctuary refers to an area totally enclosed by a ring of peaks, a natural amphitheater of ice, snow, glacier and moraine. Tent Peak lies in the center of this area on a ridge that stretches south from Tarke Kang.
The stunning 360-degree panoramic view from Tent Peak includes Hiunchuli, 6331m, Annapurna South, 7219m, Baraha Shikar, 7647m, Annapurna I, 8091m, Kangshar Kang, 7485m,Tarke Kang, 7193m, Gangapurna,7455m, Annapurna III,7555m, Gandharba Chuli, 6248m, and Machhapuchhare, 6993m.
After the summit of Tent Peak, we follow an alternative route which leads to Ghorepani and descends into the Kali Gandaki Valley.
Days | Destinations | Hours |
1 | Arrival in Kathmandu | |
2 | Preparation Day in Kathmandu | |
3 | Drive to Pokhara, 900m | |
4 | Trek Pokhara-Dhampus, 1650m | |
5 | Trek to Landruk, 1646m | |
6 | Trek to Chomrong, 1960m | |
7 | Trek to Dovan, 2550m | |
8 | Trek to Machhapuchre Base Camp, 3700m | |
9 | Trek to Annapurna Base Camp, 4130m | |
10 | Acclimatisation at Annapurna Base Camp 4130m | |
11 | Trek to Tharpu Chuli Base Camp 4450m | 5hrs |
12 | Ascend to Tharpu Chuli High Camp, 5000m | 5 hrs |
13 | Summit Tharpu Chuli, 5663m | 6 hrs |
14 | Spare day in case of bad weather | |
15 | Trek to Bamboo | |
16 | Trek to Jhinu Danda, 1780m | |
17 | Trek to Nayapul-Pokhara | |
18 | Free Day in Pokhara | |
19 | Drive back to Kathmandu 1345m | |
20 | Depart Kathmandu |
The Best Time to Climb Tharpu Chuli Peak
The best seasons for Climbing Tharpu Chuli are from mid March to mid May and mid September to late November.
Why Climb Tharpu Chuli with Go Himalayan Adventures?
Go Himalayan Adventures has been running climbing expeditions for over 10 years. Go Himalayan Adventures reaches for the highest ethical business practices. Our team of mountaineering guides is dynamic, professional, and qualified as instructors.
Why Climb with a Sherpa?
Go Himalayan Adventures is here to save your unnecessary expenses going with an expert company and expert guides. Our qualified and experienced guides are competent to guide your expedition safely and can provide an accurate cultural perspective as well.
Our climbing guides are dedicated mountaineers and license-holders who always put your safety first. They use harness and ropes below the every peak whether for crevasse danger or steep slopes. Our Sherpa guides are there to fix the rope as well as teach climbers how to fix the rope or set up a belay for glacier travel.
While some people spend unnecessarily to go with a foreign company, others risk their lives to save money by going without a guide. We encourage you to play it safely, and climb with our experienced guides. Our packages are reasonably priced and we pay attention to your safety sending an experienced guide who is always at your side to take good care of you.
The routes we suggest are almost always the most straightforward. Under good conditions, none of the routes are challenging for skillful technical alpinist. Safety-conscious amateurs have potential to provide satisfaction and experience without much risk.
Sherpa Support Staff:
Go Himalayan Adventures provides you Sherpas for your support
Even our support staff are well experienced, so you can look forward to a well organized trip. The relationship we have developed among us over the years makes for a wonderful exchange of ideas, laughter and assistance. Your personal packs will be carried by the porters, saving you time and energy to fully enjoy the surrounding environment.
Each staff member at Go Himalayan Adventures is insured for their appropriate roles.
Logistics:
You can fully enjoy the world of mountains unfettered by the rigors of food preparation, lodging and logistics. Go Himalayan Adventures provides a wide variety of quality meals to keep climbers healthy and strong. Most of the food is flown in from Kathmandu.
Environmental Responsibility:
Go Himalayan Adventures practices and teaches the Leave-No-Trace principles. Moreover, we are committed to protecting the land and culture of the indigenous people. The mountains are our home and we are unwilling to sacrifice their preservation for human objectives.
Altitude Advice:
It is really difficult to head straight up to high altitude for the first time even if you follow the recommended 400m-a-day-rule. Walking, let alone climbing, uphill at 5000m is harder than you think. The trek in is a means of acclimatization and getting fit. Our itinerary is planned to allow rational acclimatization and avoid altitude sickness.
Tharpu Chuli Trip Accommodation:
Accommodation is included in the cost of your package. Go Himalayan Adventures takes great care to arrange the most comfortable accommodation possible throughout your stay.
In Kathmandu, our clients enjoy four nights in the Standard Hotel before and after heading into the remote regions.
During the trek, the nights will be spent in clean and comfortable tea houses with plenty of character and good food. The simple rooms usually have two narrow beds. The family run lodges are a great place to get to know the Nepalese people. In Nepalese culture, a guest is equal to god, and surely this has become even more of a reality since the tourism industry has improved their meager opportunities to earn. You will be made very welcome!
During the climbing period, Go Himalayan Adventures supply all camping equipment and meals. Three hot meals per day will be served; breakfast, lunch, dinner, tea/coffee and boiled water. The meals will be tasty and hygienic. On summit day we provide a packed lunch of high calorie foods that are easily eaten at high altitude. There will be your Sherpa guide a team of porters to carry the camping gears and set up tents and a well-trained cook as well.
Travel Insurance:
You must be adequately protected in terms of insurance. You will need special travel insurance for participation in hazardous activities. We recommend a complete travel insurance policy that covers cancellation, lost baggage, theft, injury, liability, medical treatment, death and expenses. Make sure the insurance covers all the activities that you will be undertaking during your stay in Nepal including trekking and climbing.
If a client requires medical treatment, all hospital expenses, including doctors’ fees and repatriation costs, are the clients’ responsibility.
If you are injured and unable to walk in a remote area, a helicopter rescue will be arranged. Go Himalayan Adventures has an agreement in Kathmandu that guarantees payment for helicopter evacuations. We will pay a cash deposit to the helicopter operator and collect the money from you once you have been rescued. Before leaving on the expedition, we will make sure your policy specifically covers mountaineering or alpinism otherwise you may have a difficult time settling the large claim.
Safe Drinking Water:
We suggest that you drink boiled water or bring chlorine tablets to purify the normal water available in the guest houses along the way. There is a small fee charged for the boiled water. Several guesthouses have Euro-guard filters. Although mineral water is available in most places, there is no provision to dispose of the plastic bottles, so we encourage the guests to do what they can to protect the environment.
Re-charging Batteries of Electronic Items on the Trek:
You can recharge your digital camera, iPod, batteries etc. with electricity or solar power sources. You may need to buy an adaptor in Kathmandu before the trip since the plugs in Nepal might be different. The lodges charge a small fee per hour for recharging facilities.
Nepal uses 220-240 volts to power your appliances. The sockets fit both round and flat plugs.
Spending Money per Day:
Although it depends on your spending habits, you should allocate US$ 7 – 10 per meal in Kathmandu. On the trek, US$9 – 12 a day should be enough to buy chocolates, Coca Cola and a beer.
Safety for Singu Chuli Climb:
When travelling in remote mountain regions, uncertainties such as weather, health problems and natural disasters require a certain amount of flexibility. While our goal is to follow the itinerary, that is not our first priority; your safety is always our first priority. Go Himalayan Adventures request your cooperation to accept the decisions and advice of our trusted and experienced guides if they deem it necessary to change or cancel any part of the itinerary due to safety concerns.
We should also plan for few extra days as bad weather may affect the designed schedule. This doesnt guarantee the successful ascent but often avoids the disappointment of a cloudy summit day.
How Can I Plan and Confirm My Trip?
Go Himalayan Adventures is a government licensed trekking and touring company in Nepal. On the following terms and conditions, we accept your bookings.
In order to confirm your bookings we request you to deposit a non-refundable amount which is 15% of the total cost which we have to spend to book the flight tickets, hotel bookings and permits from the concerned government authority. Bookings must be done 60 days prior to your planned trekking date, to reserve a place. The booking amount can be sent by bank-to-bank transfer, Western Union, money grams, or credit card (telex transfer or wire transfer). And the rest of the money must be paid to us after arrival.
Tharpu Chuli Peak Climbing Equipment and Packing list
This list is only our suggestion for Tharpu Chuli Peak Climbing. You can adjust the list according to your personal requirements, interests, and season of your trip. Well-seasoned trekkers will surely have their own ideas about what to pack.
Almost all of these items on the list are available in Kathmandu. Kathmandu has a good selection of gear stores where many outdoor brands are available at a reasonable price (eg.North Face, Mountain Hardware, Everest Hardware and Marmot.) It is also possible to save money by renting equipment in Kathmandu.
Please remember that Go Himalayan Adventures provides one porter for every two clients. The weight limit for each porter is 30 kg. That means your duffle bag carried by the porter must not exceed 15 kg (about 33lbs). You will carry a day pack with extra windbreaker, sunscreen, water bottle and items you need on the trail.
Because most items are available in Kathmandu we have marked the items which you should bring from home with an asterisk (*). Some marked items are available, but the exact variety may not be available in Kathmandu.
Clothing
It is important to be equipped to cope with the extremes in temperature as well as unexpected bad weather. At high altitudes it can be very hot when hiking in the sun and very cold when you stop in the shade and when the temperatures dip at night. What is mentioned on the list is the minimum you should bring. A couple extra T-shirts is a good idea. You may get a chance to wash clothes, socks and underwear on rest days but that is not always dependable.
Climbing Gear
Upper Body
Lower Body
Feet
Hands
Head
Accessories:
Personal First Aid kit (we suggest the following items):
Toiletries/hygiene:
Extras/Luxuries: