For decades the Annapurna Circuit was the trek in Nepal, a three-week horseshoe around the massif that passed from rice terraces to a 5,416 m pass and back down through the deepest gorge on earth. Roads have since been pushed up both sides of the loop, and the circuit has become a trek with a question attached: how much of it is still worth walking? Our answer is that the heart of the route, from the upper Marsyangdi to the Kali Gandaki, remains one of the finest walks in the Himalaya, and that the road is a reason to plan carefully rather than a reason to stay away.
The shape of the loop
The classic circuit starts at Besisahar, 760 m, follows the Marsyangdi river north and west around the Annapurna range, crosses Thorong La and descends to Muktinath at 3,800 m, then follows the Kali Gandaki south through Jomsom to the lowlands near Pokhara. Walked in full it is around 230 km and takes 16 to 21 days. The pass is crossed from east to west because the eastern approach rises gently over several days, which gives the body time to adjust, while the western side climbs 1,600 m from Muktinath in a single brutal step.
The counter-clockwise direction is also why most people now begin walking somewhere above Besisahar. The road reaches Chame at 2,670 m and continues, unpaved and rough, to Manang at 3,540 m. From the west, a road runs up the Kali Gandaki through Jomsom to Muktinath. What is left between the two roadheads, the section from Manang over the pass to Muktinath, is only three or four days. That would be a thin trek. The circuit is still worth two weeks because of what lies on either side of that core.
Where the road matters and where it does not
Below Chame the road and the old trail share the narrow valley floor, and dust from passing jeeps is real. This is the section to skip or shorten, and most itineraries now drive to Dharapani, 1,860 m, or to Chame and start there. From Chame to Manang the picture changes. A network of marked side trails climbs away from the road on the opposite bank of the river, through pine forest and the villages of Upper Pisang, Ghyaru and Ngawal, with the north faces of Annapurna II, 7,937 m, and Annapurna IV across the valley. On this high route the road is out of sight for most of the day. It is more strenuous than the valley trail and much better.
West of the pass, the Jomsom road is unavoidable in places, but the old trail still exists on the far bank in most sections, through Kagbeni, Marpha and Tukuche. The wind that funnels up the Kali Gandaki every afternoon is the real discomfort here, not the vehicles. Many trekkers end at Jomsom and fly or drive to Pokhara, which is reasonable. Others continue to Tatopani and cross to Ghorepani and Poon Hill, 3,210 m, for the dawn view of Dhaulagiri and the Annapurnas, which restores the sense of a full loop.
Manang and the acclimatization days
Manang is the pivot of the trek. At 3,540 m it is the last large village before the pass, and spending two nights here is standard. The day walks are excellent: up to the ice lake at about 4,600 m, or across the river to a small glacier viewpoint under Gangapurna, 7,455 m. There is a seasonal medical post that gives daily talks on altitude. This is also where the Tilicho Lake side trip begins, a two or three day detour to a lake at 4,919 m that is often described as one of the highest of its size in the world. It adds a serious high day and is worth it only for those already well acclimatized.
Thorong La itself
From Manang the trail climbs through Yak Kharka at 4,050 m to Thorong Phedi at 4,450 m, the foot of the pass. Some go on the same afternoon to High Camp at 4,850 m, which shortens the pass day but means a colder, higher night. The crossing starts before dawn. The climb to the pass is a long series of false crests over rubble and, in season, snow, gaining about 1,000 m from Phedi in four to six hours. The pass is a broad saddle marked with cairns, flags and a tea hut, with Yakawa Kang and Khatung Kang on either side. The descent to Muktinath drops 1,600 m on loose ground and takes another three to four hours. It is a long day, often ten hours, and the wind rises by late morning, which is why early starts are non-negotiable.
The pass has a serious side. In October 2014 a storm from a cyclone in the Bay of Bengal brought heavy snow to the Thorong La area in a single day and dozens of trekkers and guides died. Conditions in the main seasons are usually fine, but the lesson stands: check the forecast in Manang, do not cross in falling snow, and carry a real jacket, gloves and eye protection whatever the sky looks like at four in the morning.
Seasons and permits in general terms
October and November are the busiest and clearest months. March to April brings rhododendron forest in bloom lower down and more snow on the pass. December to February is quiet and cold, and the pass can be closed by snow for days at a time. The monsoon fills the Marsyangdi valley with cloud, although the Kali Gandaki lies in a rain shadow and stays surprisingly dry.
The whole circuit lies within the Annapurna Conservation Area, and an entry permit is required, checked at posts along the way. The standard trekker registration applies as well. Independent trekking has been possible here for decades and the lodge network is the densest in Nepal, but rules on guides for independent walkers have changed in recent years, so check the current position before you arrive.
A workable itinerary
A balanced two-week version looks like this, with the road avoided where it matters most:
- Drive to Dharapani or Chame, then walk to Upper Pisang via the high trail, about three days.
- Ghyaru and Ngawal to Manang, then two nights in Manang with day walks.
- Yak Kharka, Thorong Phedi, and the pass crossing to Muktinath, three days.
- Kagbeni and Marpha on the old trail, then Jomsom, two days.
- Optional: Tatopani, Ghorepani and Poon Hill, three more days to Nayapul.
Twelve to fifteen days on foot, one high pass, and a route that still does what it always did: carries you from the subtropics to the Tibetan plateau on foot, one valley at a time.