The ABC (Annapurna Base Camp) trek is all about keeping yourself well hydrated. But nor is it altogether practical to carry along all of the water that you might want to drink throughout that journey (potentially more than a week) at home and to the ends of the earth, as it were.
Luckily, there are loads of water refill stops along the Annapurna Base Camp trek, but where you refill is ok is pretty key to feeling good or feeling sick for your journey! It’s to give you a place where you can identify where water shows up for refills, but also where you can drink water – safely, from a source, whether that’s stream/river water, water out of a puddle on the trail, and to help you plan for it, so you can rock out the water and hydration in your section of the trail.
Why is Hydration so Critical at ABC?
You may get tired, have a headache, feel dizzy, and have your altitude sickness symptoms get worse.
Well, while it’s essential to know where you can fill up to the brim and carry enough water to keep you going (and for your body to get used to things), knowing the above does make for a more pleasant, better experience on the trek.
Sources of Water in the Annapurna Base Camp Trek
While hiking, you will come across many villages, lodges, and tea houses of the ABC Trek, and take free water from a natural source, or a river if you are nearby. Water is not always available at the same times of year and in the same places, so it’s always good to plan.
Common Water Refill Points:
Tikhedhunga and Ghorepani: A few early trailside lodges, with water access. In general, these villages already have safe water sources, but it’s a good idea to purify the water.
Chomrong and Dovan: Popular trekking areas, refueling halfway for some water.
Machapuchare Base Camp: Another common for filling up for the last campsite before ABC, water quality is generally OK.
Annapurna Base Camp: Tea house at base camp. The base camp teahouses do, well, did have wa. Ter, you may not have; it depends on the time of year.
How to Ensure Your Drinking Water Is Safe
There may be lots of water, however now not all the water along the path is drinkable right off the bat. Ability source: Overland go with the flow, overland float, non-chlorinated wells.
Tips for Safe Hydration:
Pack a Water Filter or Purifier: If you are packing it in, opt for an easy-to-use purifier or filter; no price is too steep to make sure you’re not getting bacteria, protozoa, and sediment in your drinking water.
Hot is Healthy: When feasible, bring water to a rolling boil for at least one minute to kill disease-causing organisms.
Bring Water Purification Tablets: These are useful ones to have as a backup, but they taste a bit funny to me.
Purchase Bottled or Bagged Water: Available in larger villages, and a source of plastic waste.
Another name Clubs and, which in 1980-2000 (when not sell and not) are they the bottles of water the which with you on the caminos bottles to drink (speak camino and of, even two of the seen-in-Spail bottles priests in are only Made in China) in the ‘saloons’ in, the and sometimes tai it no, warm the also warm there is to the a tea houses too only source of recoil, covers sometimes a most clear on what must even a generation is, fills bucket the water is the lessens, the not fresh.
There are establishments below that offer water refilling stations
The majority of the Annapurna Base Camp trek is at lodges/tea houses, so you don’t need to request your bottle to be filled with water. Then you have to buy a bottle or pay a little bit if you want a refill, and then that money is put back into local businesses.
Practical Tips:
Check with your Guide and Fellow Trekkers: It’s always best to ask for the right information to re-supply safely, locals and trekkers would know better.
Refuel Early and Frequently: Seek Water Before You Feel Thirsty. In a world where water could be more consistently carried than in a no-end-to-the-amount-of-water-you-can-carry universe, you’d prefer not to have to start looking for a bottle in case you don’t have one anyhow.
Bring Water: And the most sustainable way is with a refillable bottle that contains a filter inside or has a wide mouth you can fill up.
Look for Water Quality Notices: Some lodges hang these notices in the office to inform you whether their water is filtered or boiled.
Seasonal Considerations for Water Availability
Spring and Autumn (High Trekking Seasons) There’s going to be plenty of water around, and it’s safe to drink.
Winter: Some springs may freeze, so pack extra water and check with lodges.
Monsoon ( rainy Season): Trails are slippery, and water may be muddy. Be more cautious and use distilled water.
Environmental obligation: lessen Plastic Waste
Plastic rubbish is invading trekking areas on an ever-increasing basis. Why are they retaining Annapurna off limits?
Use a reusable water bottle.
Avoid novelty, as new plastic bottles.
Be sure to bring all your plastic back to Pokhara or Kathmandu!
Encourage teahouse (motel) proprietors to implement environmentally pleasant (Watershed primarily based approach) water control structures.
Final Thoughts
Where to refill bottled water on the Annapurna base camp trek? It is simple — you just need to know the right place to find it and how to prepare. Convey a great water bottle, purify that water, and assume to shop for refills alongside the villages and inns of the path.
By staying nicely hydrated and eating plenty of fluids as you trek, you will be able to live energized, acclimate to the altitude, and enjoy the stunning views without feeling anything but your best.
