Annapurna Base Camp Trek in March

The rhododendron is the reason people book March, and the timing is worth understanding because it moves with elevation. The lower forest above Tikhedhunga colours first, then Ghorepani and Tadhapani at 2,650 to 2,800m through the second half of the month, then the highest stands above Chhomrong into April. A trek in the last week of March usually catches the Ghorepani canopy at full strength, which is a tunnel of red and pink for most of a day.

Above Chhomrong the snowline lifts steadily. By mid-March the gorge below Deurali is usually walkable on bare trail with icy patches rather than continuous snow, and the avalanche question that dominates January and February eases considerably. Inside the Sanctuary there is still snow underfoot, and the last stretch to base camp holds it longest.

One genuine March annoyance: the stone staircase between Chhomrong and Sinuwa becomes the first crowded pinch point of the season. Everybody descends it at the same hour because everybody keeps the same itinerary. Leaving Chhomrong 45 minutes early buys you a quiet descent and a table at Bamboo.

Traffic builds through the month and the shape of it is uneven. The Poon Hill section of the route carries day-trekkers and short-itinerary groups from the start of March, so Ghorepani feels busy well before the Sanctuary does. Above Chhomrong you are still in a quiet trek for the first two weeks.

By the last week of March, Machhapuchhre Base Camp and Annapurna Base Camp start filling. These two lodges are the bottleneck of the entire route, because the Sanctuary has nowhere else to sleep. From late March onward it pays to have a guide who phones ahead a day in advance rather than arriving and hoping.

Roads are dry and reliable. Pokhara gets busy from mid-March as the spring season starts, so hotels and the Pokhara to trailhead vehicles want booking a few days out rather than on the morning. No flights are involved anywhere on this trek, which keeps March logistics simple compared with the Everest region in the same weeks.