Annapurna Circuit Trek

The Annapurna Circuit Trek is graded strenuous: one very hard day crossing the Thorong La and seven moderate ones. Altitude is the main challenge rather than technical ground. The route climbs gradually over about 8 walking days and covers about 98 km on foot, with 3.5 to 9 hours on the trail each day on stone staircases, river valleys, suspension bridges and the occasional landslide-prone section. The high point is the Thorong La at 5,416 m (17,769 ft), reached only after the body has had days to adjust. You can compare this with our other treks on the trek difficulty grading page.

From Upper Pisang at 3,300 m onward you trek and sleep at high altitude through to Muktinath and Jomsom in Mustang, so acute mountain sickness is a real consideration. The itinerary builds in slow gains and an easier Ngawal-to-Manang day for acclimatisation before the pass. Most fit, healthy trekkers with some hiking experience manage the circuit, and with proper preparation and a guide it is achievable for beginners too. Walking poles and worn-in boots make a large difference.

Spring (March to May) and autumn (September to November) are the two best seasons for the Annapurna Circuit, because both bring stable weather and clear mountain views. Spring adds rhododendron forests in bloom and temperatures that are cold but not severe at altitude, and it is one of the busiest times on the trail. Autumn brings fresh, clear air after the monsoon and the most reliable conditions for crossing the Thorong La.

The summer monsoon (June to early September) brings rain, possible landslides, leeches and cloud over the peaks in the lower valleys, though it means far fewer trekkers. Winter (December to February) offers clear skies and empty trails, but the Thorong La can close with little warning and high teahouses shut as families move downhill, so winter suits only experienced, well-equipped trekkers carrying micro-crampons. The season cards above show the month-by-month picture.

The Annapurna Circuit runs inside the Annapurna Conservation Area, so it needs two documents: the Annapurna Conservation Area Permit (ACAP) and the Trekkers' Information Management System (TIMS) card. The ACAP costs NPR 3,000 (about USD 20 at July 2026 rates) for foreign nationals and funds conservation and community work across the 7,629 sq km conservation area, the largest in Nepal, managed by the National Trust for Nature Conservation. The TIMS card costs NPR 1,000 for trekkers registered through a licensed agency — which is how every Swotah client is booked — and is issued by the Nepal Tourism Board. Fees verified July 2026.

Swotah arranges both permits once you provide a passport copy and passport-size photos, and confirms the current rates before departure. The circuit does not need a restricted-area permit, but you carry the documents with you for checks at posts such as Dharapani and along the trail. A licensed guide has been mandatory for foreign trekkers in Nepal's national parks and conservation areas since 1 April 2023 under rules set by Nepal's Department of Tourism, and enforcement at Annapurna checkpoints has been consistent — your guide is included on every Swotah departure. For entry requirements, see our Nepal visa information page.

Accommodation on the Annapurna Circuit is the teahouse, a family-run mountain guest house, and comfort drops as the altitude rises because supplies are harder to carry up. A typical room is a twin with simple furniture and no heating, with shared showers and toilets often outside the main building, and a warm communal dining room where the owners cook and serve. The Annapurna routes are well established, so lower villages have comfortable lodges and even the odd bakery.

Because the sleeping rooms are unheated, a warm four-season sleeping bag is essential. Swotah lends you both a sleeping bag and a down jacket, each rated to −20°C, at no extra charge — you do not need to buy or hire your own. Wi-Fi and charging are available in most villages for a fee of around USD 2 to 3 per charge, and hot showers cost about the same. Hotels in Kathmandu and Pokhara at the start and end of the trip are comfortable and well equipped; a single supplement is available on request if you would rather not share.

Food on the Annapurna Circuit is teahouse cooking, and dal bhat, the Nepali plate of lentil soup, rice and vegetable curry, is the staple because lodges refill it for free and it fuels long days. Breakfast runs to porridge, Tibetan bread, pancakes, muesli and eggs, while dinner adds vegetable soups, fried rice, noodles, momos, pasta, potato dishes and even pizza in the larger villages. Lunch on the trail is simpler, usually dal bhat, momos or noodles at a teashop.

For water, drink 3 to 4 litres a day to help prevent altitude sickness, and treat it rather than drinking untreated stream water. Boiled and bottled water is sold at lodges, and purification tablets, drops or a filter all work, so carry a reusable bottle. Cold drinks, snacks and beer are sold lower down, though alcohol is best left until after the pass because it reduces oxygen and energy at altitude.

The Annapurna Circuit starts with a long drive from Kathmandu to Jagat, around 9 to 11 hours: a highway run to Besisahar, then a change to a rougher mountain jeep up the Marsyangdi to Jagat. The standard service uses public transport as far as Besisahar; a private vehicle with driver is available for an extra charge, which is worth considering for comfort on the rough section.

At the far end, you cross the pass to Muktinath, drive to Jomsom, and continue by shared jeep down the Kali Gandaki to Pokhara, about 9 to 12 hours depending on road conditions. A scenic 25 to 30 minute Jomsom–Pokhara flight is available as a paid upgrade; it runs mornings only and mountain weather can delay it, so the schedule allows for changes. From Pokhara back to Kathmandu the standard is a tourist bus of about 6 to 9 hours, or a 25 minute flight for an extra ticket.

Acute mountain sickness (AMS) is the main risk on any trek above 3,000 m, and the Annapurna Circuit reaches 5,416 m at the Thorong La, so prevention matters more than anything. The circuit starts low and gains height slowly, which is the best defence, and the aim is to avoid AMS entirely by staying hydrated, keeping a steady pace and not climbing too fast. Early symptoms resemble a cold or flu: headache, unusual fatigue, dizziness, nausea and trouble sleeping.

If symptoms are mild, the rule is to descend to a lower altitude and rest, then continue once you recover. The severe forms, High Altitude Pulmonary Edema (HAPE) and High Altitude Cerebral Edema (HACE), are life-threatening and need immediate descent or evacuation, and HACE in particular can cloud judgement, so tell your guide the moment you feel unwell. Swotah guides are trained to recognise the stages, carry a first-aid kit and a pulse oximeter to monitor blood-oxygen levels, and the itinerary is paced for safe acclimatisation around Manang before the pass.

Travel insurance is mandatory on this trek: it must cover high-altitude trekking and helicopter evacuation to 6,000 m. Policies capped at 5,000 m are routinely refused at the permit stage, so check the altitude limit rather than the words 'trekking cover', and send us a copy before departure so our team can act fast if you ever need a rescue.

The Annapurna Circuit passes through villages of several ethnic groups, each with its own language, religion and architecture. Brahmins and Chhetris, Hindu by tradition, live mostly at lower altitudes such as Bhulbhule; Gurungs, Buddhist and well known for serving in the Gurkha regiments, live higher up; Thakalis, renowned for their cuisine, are concentrated in Mustang; and Magars, the third-largest group in Nepal, follow both Hinduism and Buddhism. Your guide can point out which villages belong to which community.

The landscape of belief changes with altitude. Hindu temples sit lower down, including the much-revered Muktinath, while Buddhist stupas, chortens, mani walls and monasteries dominate higher up, with Tibetan influence growing toward Manang and Mustang. Homes are built of stone and wood with flat roofs. Festivals follow the national calendar, Dashain and Tihar among them, alongside Tibetan New Year (Lhosar) around February and the Gurung new year in late December, while Maha Shivaratri draws Hindu holy men to Muktinath.

The Annapurna massif takes its name from a Hindu goddess of food and nourishment, fitting for a range whose rivers water the fields and pastures below. It holds Annapurna I at 8,091 m, one of the world's fourteen peaks above 8,000 m, along with thirteen peaks over 7,000 m and sixteen over 6,000 m, which is why it draws mountaineers and thousands of trekkers each year. Maurice Herzog's team made the first ascent of Annapurna I in 1950, the first 8,000 m peak ever climbed. The Circuit itself opened to foreign trekkers only in 1977, and the Annapurna Conservation Area was gazetted in 1986.

The whole range sits within the Annapurna Conservation Area, at 7,629 sq km the largest protected area in Nepal and home to wildlife including the elusive snow leopard. Manang, at 3,540 m, is the largest permanent settlement on the circuit — with bakeries, a health post and an afternoon altitude briefing from the Himalayan Rescue Association — and now lives largely from tourism, while seasonal places like Yak Kharka (4,050 m) and Thorong Phedi (4,540 m) serve trekkers heading for the pass. Side trips and neighbouring routes reach deeper into the range: the Annapurna Circuit with Tilicho Lake adds one of the world's highest lakes at 4,919 m, while Upper Mustang continues north into the old walled kingdom beyond Kagbeni. The Kali Gandaki gorge, running between Dhaulagiri and Annapurna, is among the deepest river gorges on earth.

Group departures run with 2 to 8 trekkers and a licensed, English-speaking guide who knows the route and the villages along it; private groups of any size are quoted separately. A licensed guide has been mandatory for foreign trekkers in Nepal's national parks and conservation areas since 1 April 2023, and enforcement at Annapurna checkpoints has been consistent. Swotah's guides are licensed by Nepal's Department of Tourism, know the trail and the pass, and watch the whole group for signs of altitude illness. A porter is optional but takes the strain: one porter is shared between two trekkers and carries a maximum of 20 kg in total, so pack no more than 10 kg in your duffel and walk with a light daypack.

Tipping is customary though not mandatory, and a common guideline is around 10 percent of the trip cost for the guide, divided by the number of trekkers in the group, with a similar gesture for the porter. You can tip the guide in US dollars or other currencies, but Nepali rupees are more useful for the porter, and tips go directly to the mountain workforce.

Good preparation makes the Annapurna Circuit far more enjoyable, so build your fitness several months before you arrive. Add time to your gym, hiking, swimming or usual routine, and practise day hikes with a loaded daypack to simulate the trail; if you have hills nearby, use them, or set gym equipment to mimic climbing.

Prepare mentally as well as physically. Bring the right gear so you are not caught cold or burnt by the strong high-altitude sun, and accept that delays and changes are part of mountain travel. Keep a couple of spare days in your plan so a weather hold on the trail or a minor accident does not threaten your international flight, and travel with insurance that covers trekking and helicopter evacuation at altitude.

Responsible trekking keeps the Annapurna Conservation Area healthy for the communities and wildlife that depend on it. Carry a reusable bottle and treat your own water rather than buying plastic, pack out what you bring in, stay on the trail, and ask before photographing people or monastery interiors. Walk clockwise around mani walls and chortens, and follow your guide's lead at temples such as Muktinath.

On the trail, give way safely to yak and mule trains by stepping to the inside, never the drop side, or by letting them pass before a narrow section. Booking with a registered operator like Swotah means the permits, fair porter loads, staff insurance and local wages are handled properly, so your trek supports the region rather than straining it. Read our full responsible travel policy.

The trek starts from USD 1,230 per person. The table shows what that covers and the extras to budget for; local prices are indicative and verified July 2026.

Deposit, balance and refund terms are set out in our booking and cancellation policy.

How the Annapurna Circuit compares with Nepal's other classic long treks.

Shorter options in the same region include the four-day Poon Hill trek for a first taste of the Annapurnas.

The Annapurna Circuit's defining modern change is the jeep road that now runs up much of the Marsyangdi and down the Kali Gandaki. It is a fair question whether the classic trek is still worth walking, and the honest answer is yes — provided the route is planned to stay off the road.

This itinerary makes three deliberate decisions to do that. We start walking at Jagat rather than Besisahar, skipping the lowest roaded section by vehicle. Between Pisang and Manang we take the high Upper Pisang–Ngawal trail on the north side of the valley, well above the road and through the most traditional Tibetan-Buddhist villages on the circuit, rather than the valley-floor track. And beyond the pass we drive the roaded Kali Gandaki from Jomsom rather than walk beside traffic and dust. The result is that most of your roughly 98 km on foot is on trail, including the whole high, wild heart of the route from Chame to Muktinath. Where footpaths and the old NATT (New Annapurna Trekking Trails) alternatives exist, your guide uses them.

If you want more time away from any road, the Tilicho Lake extension adds three days on a high side-valley trail that no vehicle reaches.

Money and ATMs. There are ATMs in Chame and Manang, but they are limited and frequently offline, and none between Manang and Muktinath. Carry enough Nepali rupees in small notes (100s, 500s) for the whole trek — budget roughly USD 15–25 a day for showers, charging, Wi-Fi, drinks and snacks. Teahouses do not take cards.

Phone signal and Wi-Fi. Your included local SIM gives usable coverage through most of the Marsyangdi valley and around Manang; NTC generally reaches further up-valley than Ncell. Signal is patchy above Yak Kharka and drops out at the pass. Most lodges sell Wi-Fi for about USD 2 to 5 a day, and it slows as you climb.

The Jomsom flight (optional upgrade). Jomsom–Pokhara flights operate in the morning only, because the Kali Gandaki wind builds through the day and closes the strip. The baggage allowance is small — typically 10 kg checked plus 5 kg hand luggage. If you have booked the flight and weather cancels it, we refund the fare and you travel on the standard shared jeep, so the itinerary itself is never at risk.

Gear we lend you. A four-season sleeping bag and a down jacket, both rated to −20°C, are loaned free of charge and returned in Kathmandu. Bring your own worn-in boots, layers, sun protection and a daypack; the full list is in the packing section below.

Deposits and cancellation. A deposit from 10% confirms your place, with the balance due before departure, and dates can be rescheduled up to 30 days before you travel. The full terms, including the refund scale by notice period, are on our booking and cancellation page.