Annapurna Base Camp Trek Accommodation and Food: Where to Stay and Eat

The Annapurna Base Camp Trek accommodation and food not only describe the trekking culture in Nepal, but also exhibit the warm hospitality people carry in the Himalayan region. Whether it is a room with wooden beds and a shared bathroom or cozy beds with steaming bowls of Dal Bhat and warm cups of ginger tea, the food and accommodation in the ABC trek are comforting, warm, and energizing. 

Be it your first trek or your fifth, knowing where to stay and what to eat will keep you well fed, well rested, and in a position to enjoy the magic of the Himalayas fully. So, are you ready to go for a full sensory adventure in the mountains?

Accommodation on Annapurna Base Camp Trek

During your Annapurna Base Camp Trek, you will stay in the teahouses and lodges alongside the trail. You may wonder what teahouses are. Basically, teahouses are locally family-run guesthouses that provide accommodation and meal facilities to the trekkers. After a long day of continuously walking on the difficult terrain, teahouses are a small luxury in the mountains. These small lodges and guesthouses are not fancy with opulent amenities and facilities, but they are definitely full of warm and welcoming character.

One of the most fascinating things about trekking is that it can turn even the simplest thing into a luxury. After crossing several suspension bridges, walking many stone staircases, and traversing the forested trail, resting on the wooden bed will give you sound sleep that no other comfort mattress can give you. Now, you know about the charm of local teahouses, let's learn how it works:

Rooms

Most of the teahouses offer standard room in a twin-sharing basis, where your rooms will be equipped with two single beds. The beds will be provided with mattresses, pillow and blankets. In lower regions like Jhinu, you may find private rooms, but in the higher elevation areas, the rooms will be mostly on the twin sharing basis.

In the peak season, like the Annapurna Base Camp Trek in October or April, teahouses can accommodate more than two trekkers in a room due to the lack of availability of rooms for trekkers. The rooms will be simple with thin walls and limited insulation. So, it is recommended to carry the sleeping bags, especially if you are trekking the ABC during winter.

Dinning Hall

The communal dining hall is the lively part of the entire teahouse. During morning and evening, trekkers gather in the dining hall for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Even though during the day, the rows of chairs and tables may feel empty. Yet in the evening and morning, these quiet spaces fill in no time with the big wave of trekkers, filling the dining hall with countless chatters, trail tales, and comforting meals.

Wifi, Hot Shower, Electricity, and Other Amenities

In these cozy teahouses, you can get facilities like wifi, charging electronics, and a hot shower, but at an extra cost. Each additional amenity may cost you anywhere from NRS 100 to 500 per person. At higher elevations like MBC and ABC, you need to stay in line at the communal dining hall for charging your electronics. So, we recommend that you bring a power bank to avoid such a hassle. Likewise, you may have access to WIFi but it can get sketchy and unstable as you incline toward the higher elevations.

Bathroom

A big part of the Annapurna Base Camp Trek accommodation is the bathroom. In the lower elevation, like Jhinu Danda, you can get private rooms with attached bathrooms. You can find western style bathrooms in these guesthouses. However, as you walk further to higher altitudes, the amenities get limited. The bathrooms will be traditional squat style within the shared vicinity of the teahouses.

Meals on Annapurna Base Camp Trek

Along the ABC trail, meals are made in the kitchen of every teahouse, usually a small and cozy kitchen managed by the family owning the lodge or teahouse. Whether you are en route and craving for some light snacks, tired after trekking and looking for a heavy meal, or an early breakfast before you set off for the trek, the meals at the teahouses have your back.

The ingredients are either transported by the porters, mules, or obtained locally in the surrounding villages. During your trek, you can witness how porters are carrying vegetables like tomatoes, potatoes, etc., on their backs and walking uphill. Likewise, you can see mules carrying the cylinders and logs.

After watching all these hardships, every plate of food you eat feels like an achievement. On top of that, what could be more invigorating after walking many hours through the woods, rocky walks, and snowy roads, than a hot meal that awaits you at the teahouse?

Common Meals Available Along the Trail

Breakfast

Since breakfast is the first meal before setting off for the long day, it will usually be light yet comforting. Most of the teahouses will serve you gurung bread alongside egg and some vegetable curry. If you are not into eating these breakfasts, then you can go for toast bread and butter, muesli, oats, porridge, etc.

Lunch and Dinner

Generally, lunch and dinner are heavy and balanced diet meals with carbs, vitamins, proteins, and fat too. Every tehaouses serve you Daal Bhaat Tarkari, which is a standard Nepali staple diet. You can have rice, lentil, and curry with various vegetable variations with pickle and salad in side. This food is ideal for trekkers as it keeps you warm, full, and energized. You must have heard of Daal Bhaat Power 24 hours.

So, make sure you try this Nepali staple food during your next trekking in Nepal. Apart from this, the teahouses serve various other traditional,  regional, and western cuisines.  The food options include momo, thukpa, pasta, roti tarkari, dhindo, fried rice, pizza, noodles, etc.

Drinks and Hydration on the Trail

When trekking to Annapurna Base Camp, what you drink is just as important as what you eat. Since you’re continuously walking for hours, your body will be dehydrated even if you don’t sweat or feel thirsty. So, hydration plays a vital role in the ABC trek. When you are leaving from the teahouses, you can fill your water bottles from there. Next, when you’re stopping for lunch or snacks, you can fill water en route at the teahouses. On the trail, you can find many taps to fill the water. Make sure you carry the water purification tablet before drinking the water directly from the taps.

The teahouses offer various hot drinks, cold drinks, and even hard drinks too. You can have a variety of tea, such as milk tea, lemon tea, ginger tea, etc. Even at the high altitude, the teahouses complete your coffee craving with various coffee drinks such as Americanos, cappuccinos, etc. You can get hard drinks like wine, vodka, and beer, but the consumption of alcohol can hamper acclimatization. So, it's better to avoid drinking alcohol during the treks.

Cost of Accommodation and Food

Accommodation and meals make a big part of the Annapurna Base Camp Trek cost. It can cost about $10 to $15 for average accommodation per day. Likewise, the cost for a hearty meal will cost you $4 to $7. Extra facilities such as hot water, WiFi, and charging electronic devices can cost you around $2-$5, respectively.

What Each Day Looks Like on the ABC Trek

Every day of the Annapurna Base Camp trek is a pattern of walking, resting, and replenishing, and teahouses are the foundation of both the accommodation and food. The mornings are usually filled with a good breakfast, either porridge, pancakes, eggs, or toast, which provides the trekkers with the energy to carry them throughout the day while hiking. You can stop by the teahouses for a hearty lunch.

Light snacks like biscuits, chocolate, or energy bars are usually taken during the day. Trekkers reach a teahouse by evening with simple, but comfortable, rooms usually of twin sharing, though with blankets and pillows, and common bathrooms. The shared eating hall turns out to be the center of the teahouse, where hot and fresh foods such as Dal Bhat, soups, noodles, and momos are served to give one strength and a home after spending hours on the path.

Lower-altitude halts have a few more facilities attached to them, such as Wi-Fi, hot showers, and a selection of food, whereas higher-altitude lodges are more focused on the basics: warmth, a bed, and healthy food. All these walking, eating, and resting make this process complete and help the trekkers to be fed, hydrated, and prepared to go through the next stretch without missing the distinct Himalayan hospitality.

Best Tips for Choosing Where to Stay and Eat

• Since peak seasons like autumn and spring will be pretty crowded, make sure to book your accommodations in advance.
• If you have any dietary restrictions, make sure to tell the teahouse staff in advance.
• Try budgeting for food and accommodation so that you don't spend extra. Meals and stay can be expensive as you ascend higher.
• Guides, fellow trekkers, and local staff can point you to the best teahouses along the trail. So, try taking help from them.

Annapurna Base Camp trek accommodation and meal is far more than a basic necessity. It becomes part of the adventure itself. The key is to embrace simplicity, eat well, stay hydrated, and respect both your body and the mountain environment. In the end, it is these humble accommodations and nourishing meals, combined with the breathtaking Himalayan backdrop, that make the ABC journey truly unforgettable. With Mountain Adventure Trekking Pvt Ltd, you don't have to worry about anything where to stay. So, contact us today.