Considered as one of the Ten most popular trekking routes in the world, there will be no denying once you have finished with the trek. The course starts at Beshisahar and eventually winds up either in Phedi or Nayapul a few hours drive from Pokhara. Generally known as the Marshyangdi trail this journey follows the Marshyangdi River. The journey is an enriching event when you are exposed to a mixed population of Mongolian and Aryan backgrounds with distinctive culture. Thatched roofed mud houses are suddenly replaced by stone flat roofed stone houses as elevation increases. Even the landscape undergoes a spellbinding transformation. Terraced fields cover the lower lying region and as we go up the farmlands give way to forests. And higher still the land suddenly turns barren with very little vegetation. Inhabited by Buddhists of Mongoloid origin, the houses and monasteries seem to cling on to the rocky mountains, in villages along the trail. Apart from the spectacular mountain views, the Thorong Pass (5416 m) crossing and the temple of Muktinath, sacred to Hindus, are other focal points of the trek. The reason for us calling this the Annapurna cultural is that on this single trek you are exposed to four different cultures. How many treks can boast of this?