Ghandruk

Ghandruk (1,940m) is one of the largest and most prosperous Gurung villages in the Annapurna region, with a Gurung culture museum and stone-paved lanes set against Annapurna South (7,219m), Hiunchuli (6,441m) and Machhapuchhre (6,993m). It's used both as a standalone short-trek destination and as an alternate approach route into the Annapurna Sanctuary via Kimrung and Chhomrong.

A road now reaches Ghandruk, so it can be visited from Pokhara in a day, and that has changed the village: it is as much a destination in itself as a stage on a trek. The Annapurna Conservation Area Project keeps an office here. ACAP was established in 1986 as the first protected area in Nepal designed to keep its resident population in place rather than move them out. Many households have Gurkha service behind them, and the stone lanes are steep, with the lower village a long way below the upper.