Besisahar to Jomsom over a 5,416 m pass, with Muktinath on the far side
In short
The Annapurna Circuit is not the trek it was in 1990, and pretending otherwise does nobody any favours. A road now runs up the Marsyangdi as far as Manang and down the Kali Gandaki from Muktinath, so the classic 21-day walk has been cut to about 11 walking days, with jeeps covering the sections where you would otherwise share the trail with cargo trucks. What survives is the part that made the route famous: the climb from Chame's pine forest to the arid Tibetan-plateau landscape at Manang, the acclimatisation days under Gangapurna, and the pre-dawn crossing of the Thorong La at 5,416 m — six to eight hours from Thorong Phedi in temperatures that routinely sit below minus 15. On the far side, Muktinath is a working pilgrimage site sacred to both Hindus and Buddhists, with 108 water spouts and an eternal flame in the Jwala Mai temple.
Permits arranged for you
Thorong La, 5,416 m is the high point of this route. Annapurna Conservation Area Permit (ACAP), NPR 3,000 (about USD 22), TIMS card, NPR 2,000 (about USD 15). We file these on your behalf; the cost is inside your package price unless the exclusions say otherwise.
Where you sleep each night, day one to day 15. This is the chart worth reading before the itinerary — it is what determines whether you enjoy the trek.
15 days planned in full. Drive times and walking hours are stated so you can judge the pace before you book.
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Chame hot spring ·Marsyangdi gorge
Day 4
Paungda Danda ·Upper Pisang Gompa
Day 5
Ghyaru ·Ngawal ·Braga Monastery
Day 6
Gangapurna Lake ·HRA Manang aid post ·Manang old village
Day 7
Gunsang ·Yak pastures
Day 8
Day 9
Thorong La ·Chabarbu
Day 10
Muktinath Temple ·Jwala Mai ·Jharkot ·Kagbeni Gompa
Day 11
Kali Gandaki riverbed ·Jomsom Mountaineering Museum
Day 12
Day 13
Sarangkot ·International Mountain Museum ·Phewa Lake
Day 14
Day 15
Small group, maximum 10 trekkers. Seat counts are live at the last catalogue update; we confirm availability in writing before taking any payment.
Departs Kathmandu
Available10 left
Departs Kathmandu
Last few seats4 left
Departs Kathmandu
Filling fast7 left
Departs Kathmandu
Available9 left
Departs Kathmandu
Filling fast5 left
Departs Kathmandu
Available10 left
It has changed it, substantially. Jeeps now reach Manang and the road runs down the Kali Gandaki from Muktinath, so about four of the original walking days are gone. What remains — Chame to Manang, the acclimatisation days, the Thorong La and the descent to Muktinath — is still among the best trekking in Nepal. We drive the road sections rather than pretend they are walkable.
Heavy snow closes the pass some years, occasionally for a week at a time, most often in late October storms and in winter. If it is shut we wait a day at Manang or Yak Kharka, and if it stays shut we return the way we came and drive round to Muktinath via Pokhara and Jomsom. You still see Muktinath; you do not cross the pass.
Leaving Thorong Phedi at 4am in November, air temperature is commonly minus 15 to minus 20 Celsius, with a wind that makes it feel worse. You want an insulated jacket, a windproof shell, liner plus outer gloves, a balaclava, and boots roomy enough for two sock layers. It warms quickly once the sun clears the ridge at around 7.30am.
Yes, though the reason changes. For Hindu and Buddhist pilgrims it is one of the most significant sites in the Himalaya, with 108 water spouts and a natural gas flame burning above a spring. For everyone else it is a functioning place of worship at 3,760 m in a trans-Himalayan landscape, busy with Indian and Nepali visitors and quite unlike the rest of the trek.
Not automatically. The itinerary is built to acclimatise you without it, with a Manang rest day and short stages to Yak Kharka and Thorong Phedi. Some trekkers take a prophylactic dose from Manang on their doctor's advice, and our guides carry it for emergency use. Discuss it with your own doctor before you fly, not with a lodge owner.
You might also consider
Four nights, a 3,210 m sunrise, and the stone steps to Ulleri
From, per person
$580
$115/day
Tilicho Lake
From, per person
$7000
$60/day
Ridge walking above the cloud to a 4,500 m viewpoint below Machhapuchhre
From, per person
$720
$105/day
Into the Annapurna Sanctuary at 4,130 m, finishing at the Jhinu hot springs
From, per person
$1,050$1,240
$95/day
