Annapurna
Annapurna Circuit
From the rice terraces of the Marsyangdi valley to the high-altitude desert of Mustang, crossing the Thorong La at 5,416 m.
- Walking days 4–20 days
- Highest point 5,416 m
- Level Demanding
- Permits 5,000 NPR (≈ €29)
- Start Besisahar
- Mandatory guide, checks vary
At a glance
The Annapurna Circuit loops around the massif from the east and then the north: you walk up the Marsyangdi valley, acclimatise in Manang, cross the Thorong La (5,416 m), then descend to the Muktinath temple and the Kali Gandaki valley.
A motorable dirt road now runs along much of the route. Most trekkers therefore take a jeep from Besisahar to Dharapani or Chame and finish in Jomsom, from where you get back to Pokhara by bus, jeep or plane. That is the version described here: about ten days of walking.
Highlights
- Crossing the Thorong La, one of the highest passes you can reach without technical skills
- The variety of landscapes: forests, Tibetan villages, then an arid plateau
- Lodges in every village, no need for a tent
- Manang, an acclimatisation stop with superb side hikes (Ice Lake, Gangapurna Lake)
Drawbacks
- The road and its jeeps in the lower valley: dust and noise if you walk on it
- Very busy in October and November (over 30,000 trekkers in 2024)
- Pass day is long and high, and the weather can close it
In pictures
Route
Choose where you start, where you finish and any detours: the profile and the day-by-day details adjust. Two things are non-negotiable: the rest day in Manang and a gradual climb up to the pass.
- Road (bus)
- Track (jeep)
- Airstrip
- Chosen route
- Other possible trails
- Optional side trip
- Possible start or finish
Drag the “Start” and “Finish” labels to another served point, or tap a point. The “+” buttons add a side trip. Zoom with + and − (or Ctrl + scroll wheel), then drag the map to move around.
How do I use it in a hiking app?
The file contains the route you chose on the map (start, finish, side trips), with altitude, and a marker for each night, pass and viewpoint.
- Organic Maps or Maps.me (free, offline): download the Nepal map before you leave, then open the GPX file from your phone and choose the app.
- OsmAnd: menu “My places” → “Tracks” → “Import”.
- Komoot, Gaia GPS, Wikiloc, Garmin: use the app's or website's “Import a GPX file” feature.
With no signal, your phone's GPS still works: you can see your position on the track. The track is indicative: on the ground, waymarks and advice from the lodges come first.
Itinerary
- D 0Dharapani1,860 m
- D 1Chame via Bagarchhap, Danakyu, Timang, Thanchowk, Koto2,670 m+810 m15 km910 m110 m
- D 2Upper Pisang via Bhratang, Lower Pisang3,300 m+630 m16 km690 m110 m
- D 3Ngawal via Ghyaru3,660 m+360 m11 km590 m190 m
- D 4Manang via Humde, Braga3,540 m−120 m12 km210 m320 m
- D 5Manang rest and acclimatisation3,540 m±0 m
- D 6Yak Kharka via Gunsang4,050 m+510 m9 km510 m50 m
- D 7Thorong Phedi4,540 m+490 m7 km500 m0 m
- D 8Muktinath via Thorong La 5,416 m3,760 m−780 m13 km830 m1,650 m
- D 9Jomsom via Jharkot, Kagbeni2,720 m−1,040 m20 km20 m1,000 m
- Dharapani — The most common start: 3 to 5 hrs by shared jeep from Besisahar (15 to 20 USD (≈ €13 to €18)). You skip the lowest, most driven part of the valley.
- Jomsom — One last day on foot via the village of Kagbeni. From Jomsom: direct bus to Pokhara (7 to 9 hrs, about 1,200 NPR (≈ €7)), jeep, or a morning flight (20 min).
Elevation
Variants
- The off-road trails (NATT) avoid the road. The finest section is the high variant Upper Pisang – Ghyaru – Ngawal, with views of Annapurna II.
- Sleeping at High Camp (around 4,900 m) rather than Thorong Phedi shortens pass day, but it is a very high night: only if you feel well.
Permits
Two documents: the Annapurna Conservation Area Permit (ACAP), checked at several posts (Dharapani, Manang…), and the TIMS card, issued by the agency that provides your guide; in practice, the checkpoints in the region only check the ACAP.
Conservation area
ACAP permit (Annapurna)
3,000 NPR (≈ €17)
At the Nepal Tourism Board in Kathmandu (Bhrikutimandap) or Pokhara (Damside), in cash, with your passport and 2 photos. Or online at epermit.ntnc.org.np (card, +2.9%). Bought at the checkpoint, it costs double.
Trekker card
TIMS card
2,000 NPR (≈ €12)
Issued only by a licensed agency since April 2023: it goes hand in hand with hiring a guide. See the Guide and porter page.
Guide
Mandatory guide, checks vary
Since 1st April 2023, the Nepal Tourism Board has required foreigners to trek with a licensed guide, with the TIMS card issued through an agency. This is a Nepal Tourism Board decision, not a law, and no official fine has been published.
On the Annapurna Circuit, enforcement is patchy: some walkers get through without a guide, others are turned back at a checkpoint. Don't rely on luck, and check the situation in Kathmandu or Pokhara just before you set off. Details and rates are on the Guide and porter page.
A guide for this trek? The Guides Nepal directory lists guides, porters and agencies who know this trek, with their licence checked, the languages they speak and traveller reviews.
Transport
Getting to the start
Kathmandu → Besisahar
Local or “tourist” bus from Gongabu bus park (New Bus Park), on the ring road north of Thamel. Buy your ticket at the counter the day before or in the morning, or through your hotel.
Pokhara → Besisahar
Local buses and microbuses from Pokhara, handy if you are coming from there.
Besisahar → Dharapani or Chame
Shared jeeps leave when full, mostly in the morning. A private jeep to Chame costs around 200 USD (≈ €180). Prices vary a lot: ask several drivers.
Getting back
Muktinath → Jomsom
Buses and jeeps several times a day, mostly in the morning. You can also walk down via Kagbeni.
Jomsom → Pokhara by road
Long, bumpy dirt road, sometimes cut off during the monsoon. Tickets at the Jomsom counter, or online (Bussewa).
Jomsom → Pokhara by air
Morning flights only: in the afternoon, the Kali Gandaki wind makes flying impossible. Frequent cancellations, keep a spare day. 10 kg checked baggage allowance.
Pokhara → Kathmandu
Tourist buses every morning, or a 25-minute flight. Details on Transport.
When to go
IdealPossibleNot advised
October–November and March–April are the best periods: clear skies, pass open. Autumn is the safest, but also the busiest.
From June to September, the monsoon brings rain, leeches lower down and landslides on the road. From December to February, the Thorong La is often closed by snow and the nights are very cold.
On the trail
| Accommodation | Lodges in every village. Rooms 3 to 8 USD (≈ €3 to €7) lower down, 5 to 12 USD (≈ €4 to €11) higher up, sometimes almost free after negotiation if you have dinner and breakfast there. |
| Food | Dal bhat (rice, lentils, vegetables, unlimited refills) costs 400 to 600 NPR (≈ €2 to €3) lower down, 800 to 1,200 NPR (≈ €5 to €7) at Yak Kharka or Thorong Phedi. |
| Budget | 30 to 50 USD (≈ €27 to €45) a day excluding guide and transport. Details on Budget. |
| Money | ATMs in Besisahar and Chame, then in Manang and Jomsom, all often empty or out of order in high season: don't count on them. Carry 30,000 to 40,000 NPR (≈ €175 to €230) in cash for the upper section. |
| Phone signal | Nepal Telecom (NTC) works up to Yak Kharka (Chame, Upper Pisang, Manang) and returns at Muktinath: calls and mobile data, often slow; Ncell is less reliable at altitude. No signal at Thorong Phedi or on the pass: let your family know from Manang or Yak Kharka. Wifi in most lodges, often free lower down, paid (about 200 NPR (≈ €1.2)) and increasingly slow as you climb. |
| Rescue | Himalayan Rescue Association post in Manang, with a daily talk on altitude sickness (AMS) during the season. |
Good to know before you go
What about the visa? A two-week trek plus a few days in Kathmandu and Pokhara quickly adds up to more than 15 days: get the 30-day visa. The calculator on our sister site Visa Nepal shows the cheapest length.
Which visa length?Comments
A question, recent news from the trail, your own experience? Share it here.
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