Annapurna Circuit Trek

Annapurna Circuit Trek is one of the most rewarding treks in Nepal, circling around the Annapurna massif and passing through the famous Thorung La Pass. Annapurna Circuit Trek has always been famous for excellent mountain sceneries, which include varying angled views of Annapurna, Dhaulagiri, and the magnificent Nilgiri.

The trek is mainly known for the way the landscapes, flora, culture, and climate zones change as the trek progresses. Fertile villages with Hindu inhabitants and terraced fields at the start are slowly replaced by arid valleys full of Buddhist stupas and mane walls during the trek. The trek also has parts with totally isolated moraines at an altitude of 5000 meters with a stunning backdrop of high cliffs and mountains.

Once, this trekking trail was one of the most popular trekking destinations in the world, with diverse landscapes, vegetation, weather, and culture. A newly constructed road has shortened the trek, resulting in the trek losing its previously held charm to people visiting the region. Because of the road, instead of starting at Besisahar, people can easily drive to Chame, the administrative headquarters of Manang. However, trekking through the local villages of Upper Pisang, Gyaru, and Ngawal villages untouched by the driving road, still makes it an exciting trek. Hiking through this village also provides an opportunity to experience the Manang people's culture and lifestyle.

One of the most amazing experiences (it is a strenuous climb at an altitude above 5000 meters) of the trek is crossing the 5416 meters high Thorung La Pass. This eventful and scenic day perfectly sums up the trek as well. In a day, the trek goes from the arid valleys of the upper Manang, home of Tibetan Buddhists, down to the Hindu pilgrimage site of Muktinath, in the windy Kali Gandaki valley. Annapurna Circuit Trek also offers a side trip to Tilicho Lake, the highest lake in the world located at 4949 meters with towering Tilicho Peak (7134 meters) standing right beside the lake. Milarepa Cave and Ice Lake are the other exciting prospects available on this trek.

Annapurna Circuit Trek also has a natural hot spring at Tatopani. Here, a couple of days of the trek of old days is replaced by a day's bumpy ride. But this also has added a different edge to this already exciting trek. The striking views of the Annapurna and Dhaulagiri Ranges from Poon Hill provide a fitting climax to Annapurna Circuit Trek.

Annapurna Circuit Trek itinerary,
Day 01:
Arrive in Kathmandu (1350 Meters).
Day 02: Drive to Dharapani (1860 Meters) Via Besisahar.
Day 03: Trek to Chame (2670 Meters).
Day 04: Trek to Pisang (3200 Meters). 
Day 05: Trek to Ngawal Via Gyaru (3660 Meters).
Day 06: Trek to Manang (3540 Meters).
Day 07: Acclimatization Day at Manang (3540 Meters).
Day 08: Trek to Tilicho Base Camp (4150 Meters).
Day 09: Trek to Tilicho Lake (4920 Meters) And Trek Back to Khangsar (3734 Meters).
Day10: Trek to Yak Kharka (4018 Meters).
Day 11: Trek to Thorung Phedi (4450 Meters).
Day 12: Cross Thorung La (5416 Meters) And Trek to Muktinath (3800 Meters).
Day 13: Trek to Kagbeni (2800 Meters).
Day 14: Trek to Jomsom (2720 Meters).
Day 15: Drive to Tatopani Nature Hot Spring (1190 Meters).
Day 16: Trek to Ghorepani (2850 Meters).
Day 17: Climb Poon Hill (3210 Meters) And Trek to Tadapani (2600 Meters)
Day 18: Trek to Ghandruk (1940 Meters) And Drive to Pokhara (900 Meters).
Day 19: Morning Sightseeing at Pokhara and Late Afternoon Fly to Kathmandu.
Day 20: Sightseeing at Kathmandu.
Day 21: Departure.

 

Annapurna Circuit Trek Detail Itinerary

DAY
  • 1

    A representative from Visit Himalaya Treks with the company’s display board will greet you outside the arrival terminal and transfer you to your Hotel. The trek leader will meet the group for a meeting and provide a detailed briefing on the trek. All the required information regarding the trek would be provided. 

    Altitude 1350 m
    Meals Breakfast
    Accommodation Hotel
  • 2

    After breakfast, a private vehicle (car/bus) will pick you at your hotel. We drive to Besisahar via the Prithvi Highway, following Trishuli River for most part of the drive. It takes around 6 hours to reach Besisahar about 5 hours. After lunch now take a local jeep and drive to Dharapani on a secondary road. The road at times passes through the settlements of the old Annapurna Circuit Trail. It keeps following the Marshyangdi River for the whole day. This bumpy and exciting ride will take around 4 hours. 

    Altitude 1860 m
    Meals Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
    Accommodation Tea House
  • 3

    The trek starts on the secondary road and does so for the most part of trek until the trek reaches Manang. The road passes the villages of Bagarchap and Danaque. The trail gets briefly off the road and starts to climb through the woods to Temang. Stunning view of Manaslu (8136 meters) opens up at Temang. The trek returns back to the road and goes through the small villages of Thanchok, Koto and finally reaches Chame. Chame is one of the big settlements of Manang region and is also the administrative headquarter. A nearby hot spring just a few minute away from the town can be enjoyed in the afternoon. (6 hours) 

    Altitude 2670 m
    Meals Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
    Accommodation Tea House
  • 4

    The trek continues on the road by the Marshyangdi River and goes through small ancient looking houses at Bhratang. The road passes under an interesting huge rock face and continues to move into the valley following the river. After crossing the river, a brief climb leads to Dhikur Pokhari and offers an amazing view of the rock face of the Paungda Danda, standing more than 1000 meters from the river. An easy walk with the picturesque views of the valley ends at Pisang. (6 hours) 

    Altitude 3200 m
    Meals Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
    Accommodation Tea House
  • 5

    The trail leaves the road, crosses the river, and moves on the alternative route. This less travelled route undulates through a thin forest, a small pond with the reflection of Annapurna II (7937 meters) and Annapurna IV (7525 meters), some mane walls and crosses a suspension bridge in the morning. A good steep climb leads to the Gyaru Village, one of the two medieval villages on the day’s route. The views of the valleys and Annapurna II (7937 meters), Annapurna IV (7525 meters) can be thoroughly enjoyed during the whole day on this route. More undulating trail follows as the trail also passes by some ruins of forts and reaches the second medieval village, Ngawal. (6 hours) 

    Altitude 3660 m
    Meals Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
    Accommodation Tea House
  • 6

    A descend down to the valley and an easy terrain joins the trail back with the road near Mugje. After passing through Mugje, the road leads to the village of Braga. Braga has two contrasting parts, an ancient looking village with a monastery a few minutes away from the road and new modern facilitated teahouses at the other side of the road. An easy walk on the road and a final brief climb ends the day at Manang. The road also ends at Manang and the trek will only get back on road after the Thorang La. (4 hours) 

    Altitude 3540 m
    Meals Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
    Accommodation Tea House
  • 7

    There are few options for the acclimatization day at Manang. If one wishes to have a full day of good trekking, Ice Lake and Milarepa Cave are the best options. If one wishes to do both in a day, it will take a very long day. A short hike near towards Gangapurna Glacier is another easier option. 

    Altitude 3540 m
    Meals Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
    Accommodation Tea House
  • 8

    The trail now separates from the regular Annapurna Circuit and heads into a different valley. A descent leads into the river and turns into an ascent for the next few hours until Khangsar. After the Khangsar the trail gets narrower and crosses through a scree in the latter part of the day. A flat grassy area with a small stream finally leads to the Tilicho Base Camp. (6-7 hours) 

    Altitude 4150 m
    Meals Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
    Accommodation Tea House
  • 9

    The day starts with a steep climb and then turns into an easier ascent. More majestic views of mountains start to appear in every direction as the trek slowly and continuously keep on climbing. Gangapurna (7455 meters), Annapurna III (7555 meters) and several unnamed peaks starts to show themselves as the climb continues. The huge lake finally starts to appear as the terrain slowly starts to turn easy. Tilicho Lake is highest lake in the world located at an altitude of 4920 meters. We return back to Tilicho Base Camp and continue to return towards Khangsar via the same route taken a day ago. (6-7 hours) 

    Altitude 4920 m
    Meals Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
    Accommodation Tea House
  • 10

    The route again changes as the trail now heads towards the Thorung La. A steep climb crosses a ridge and the trek now starts to descend down to a small stream at the bottom of the valley. Another climb follows at the other side of the river leading to the Yak pasturelands of Yak Kharka. (6 hours) 

    Altitude 4018 m
    Meals Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
    Accommodation Tea House
  • 11

    The day begins with a gradual uphill as the valley starts to get narrower with each passing hour. The trail passes through some teahouses at Ledar and drops into the river only again to climb at the other side of the river. The trek continues to undulate and enters into a rocky moraine. The valley gets narrower and finally ends at Thorung Phedi. Thorung Phedi is enclosed by huge rock faces and is located on a sloped rocky moraine. (4 hours) 

    Altitude 4450 m
    Meals Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
    Accommodation Tea House
  • 12

    An early start to the day leads to a steep climb that continues to the top of the pass. The top offers views panoramic views of Annapurna IV (7525 meters), Annapurna III (7555 meters), Chulu West (6419 meters), Chulu East (6584 meters), Tilicho (7134 meters) and many more. A steep descent starts from the top and continues to the very bottom of the pass. Couple of teashops at the bottom finally marks the end of the steep drop. The terrain is now more easier but still continues to go steadily downhill. The day finally ends at Muktinath, one of the most sacred pilgrimage sites of Hindus. This is also one of the longest day of the trek. (7-8 hours) 

    Altitude 5416 m
    Meals Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
    Accommodation Tea House
  • 13

    After a late breakfast, the trek once again continues to go down in the valley. The descent leads down to Kali Gandaki Valley and only ends at Kagbeni. The Kali Gandaki Valley is also famous by the name of the windy valley as strong gusts travels through the valley every afternoon. Kagbeni is located on the banks of the Kali Gandaki River and is also the entry point to Mustang, the forbidden kingdom. (3 hours) 

    Altitude 2800 m
    Meals Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
    Accommodation Tea House
  • 14

    The trek now returns back to the road and follows the river towards Jomsom. The trail closely follows the river for the whole day, staying on the road and passes through Ekle Bhatti. The day ends at Jomsom, the biggest town and also the administrative headquarter of Mustang. Jomsom is also famous for apples and is also known as the apple capital of the country. The apple and apricot brandy from the region is also very popular. A visit to Marpha Village is also an interesting option for the afternoon. (3 hours) 

    Altitude 2720 m
    Meals Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
    Accommodation Tea House
  • 15

    We drive to Tatopani on a local bus passing through many settlements that used to be the part of old Annapurna Circuit. A long and bumpy drive of around 5 hours in the newly built secondary road finally ends at Tatopani. Afternoon can be enjoyed in the famous hot spring of Tatopani. 

    Altitude 1190 m
    Meals Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
    Accommodation Tea House
  • 16

    A long day’s ascent of nearly 2000 meters through the villages of Ghara, Shika, Chitre and rhododendron forests (towards the end of the day) keeps the adventure intact. The day begins with a steep climb and passes through terraced fields and villages throughout the morning. The terrain becomes more easier but still remain steep for the whole day till the day’s trek finally ends at Ghorepani. (8-9 hours) 

    Altitude 2850 m
    Meals Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
    Accommodation Tea House
  • 17

    An early morning uphill hike to Poon Hill (1 hour), one of the best viewpoint of the region to enjoy the sunrise above the spectacular mountain ranges of Annapurna and Dhaulagiri. We return for breakfast at Ghorepani and then trek towards Tadapani, climbing a gentle ridge of yet another Rhododendron forest with the views of the Annapurna and Dhaulagiri Ranges still delighting us. The trail leaves the ridge after Deurali and starts to descend down steeply to Nange Thati. A steady and easy walk is soon followed again by another descend down to a small stream with a final climb in the afternoon finally ending the day at Tadapani. (5 hours) 

    Altitude 2600 m
    Meals Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
    Accommodation Tea House
  • 18

    The day starts with a descent through the jungles passing through couple of teashops at Bhaisi Kharka and continues to drop steeply to the famous Gurung village of Ghandruk. We will have lunch at Ghandruk and after lunch drive to Pokhara about 3 hours.

     

     

     

    Altitude 822 m
    Meals Breakfast & Lunch
    Accommodation Hotel
  • 19

    A half day guided tour to the most popular and historical sites of Pokhara and a late afternoon flight back to Kathmandu. 

    Altitude 1335 m
    Meals Breakfast
    Accommodation Hotel
  • 20

    A full day guided tour to several of historical and spiritual attractions enlisted under the World Heritage Sites. 

    Altitude 1335 m
    Meals Breakfast
    Accommodation Hotel
  • 21

    A representative from Visit Himalaya Treks Pvt. Ltd. will check your flight tickets and transfer you to the airport before two hours from your flight with a hope of seeing you again in the future. 

    Altitude 1350 m
    Meals Breakfast
    Accommodation No

Cost Includes

    • Arrivals and departure transport by car (We will collect you from the Kathmandu international airport) and transfer to Hotel.
    • A full day sightseeing in Kathmandu (Boudhanath and Pashupatinath) with a city guide and necessary transport.
    • 4 nights accommodation (2 persons per room) in Kathmandu and Pokhara in a 3* standard Hotel with breakfast.
    • Kathmandu - Dharapani land transportation in a private Jeep. 
    • Pokhara - Kathmandu airfare including airport taxes.
    • Accommodation and all meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner) while on trek in normal teahouses.
    • Salary, insurance, food, and accommodation for guides and porters.
    • A porter to carry your luggage on treks (Per person 15-kilogram luggage).
    • National Park entry fee and Trekkers Information Management System (TIMS).
    • Group First Aid Kit.
    • Government taxes and service charges.

Cost Excludes

    • Nepal entry Visa Fee.
    • Personal Travel Insurance (Compulsory).
    • Lunch and dinner in Kathmandu and Pokhara.
    • Entry fee at the sightseeing sites.
    • Personal expenses like beverages (mineral water, alcohol, soft drinks), telephone bills, laundry, bar bills, personal tips, etc.

Cost & Date

Start Dates are your arrival date in Nepal and End Dates are the returning date from Nepal.

The set departure dates listed are specially quoted and specified for group joining option. Let us know if the set departure dates are not suitable for you- another dates which are suitable for you can certainly be added by us.

Upcoming Trip Departure

  • Guaranteed - Trip is Guaranteed to run
  • Available - Trip is available to run if minimum group size is filled
  • Limited - Only few space available
  • Booking Closed - Maximum group size is filled

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Reviews ( 11 Reviews For This Package )

Toko Komagata & Nicholas Alexander, From Australia

Amazing Annapurna Circuit Guided Tour.

My partner and I just completed the Annapurna Circuit with Visit Himalaya and they were absolutely fantastic. From the lead-up to the trek, throughout and afterward, Himal and Aila our guide were incredibly professional, safe, fun, and knowledgeable.

Himal provided a dedicated and personable approach to organizing the trip from the start and was always able to answer our questions and provide itinerary suggestions and options.

During the trek, Aila was incredibly safe, and experienced and efficiently managed the logistics to make for a very smooth trek. On a personal level, Aila quickly became our close friend and made it super easy for us to get to know him and have a lot of fun. Aila always made an effort to pass on his knowledge of culture, food, the wilderness, and Nepal in general.

Overall, we will be highly recommending Visit Himalaya to our friends back home and hope to be back very soon to do a trip with them and Aila. We had such a special time with them!

Toko Komagata & Nicholas Alexander.
From Australia.
October -25 to November 15 - 2023.

Henk Van Norden, From - The Netherlands

After two years of Covid break: the Annapurna Circuit trek!
In October 2021 I booked the Annapurna Circuit trek with Visit Himalaya Treks. As on my previous treks, the company made all arrangements to perfection. The company provided my preferred guide, Shambu Tamang, who provided excellent guidance during the trek. He made sure that the trip went as planned and I had a most comfortable trek! Because of the Covid-related travel restrictions, there were only a few trekkers on this otherwise busy route. It was nice to see many domestic travellers: a change from just a few years back when Nepalis rarely trekked to see the Himalayas. Well done, Himal and the Visit Himalaya Treks team! October -2021

Diane & Hayley Rogerson, From - Australia

Unforgettable and amazing experience

We had a brilliant time with Visit Himalaya Treks tour company on our recent trip to Nepal. They are professional, well organised and very experienced. Our initial contact was via email with the owner Himal and we knew instantly we had made the right decision to select this company. Himal was prompt in his replies, offered suggestions and made amendments to our itinerary as requested. We completed a 14 day trek of the Annapurna Circuit. Our guide Ishwa was fantastic and his knowledge of Nepal and the Himalayas was outstanding. We learnt so much about this wonderful country. We also had the pleasure of another guide Raj who organised our Everest sightseeing flight on our return to Kathmandu. We highly recommend Visit Himalaya Treks and have great memories of our time in Nepal thanks to them. May – 2019.

Hanneke Vulto & Monique Vulto, From - The Netherlands

Annapurna Circuit Trek

Semi November 2012 we ran with Raj (guide) and Ball (carrier) on the recommendation of a friend the Annapurna Circuit. The e-mail went very smoothly. It felt like a private tour, because there were no people in our group were sitting and the team seemed to do everything to make us happy. Himal (owner of Visit Himalaya Treks) personally picked us up from the airport pick up and invited us to his home for the festival. The tour was last minute specially adapted for the birthday of one of us, so we are right on that day the pass crossing. The guide had a little extra budget bothered buying presents in Kathmandu and the whole mountain to lift. On the day he made that cake was baked at high altitude. Due to the time savings for the same price we could have a trip to Poon Hill to our program. We could at his own request Kathmandu and Pokhara independently explore and exchanged it lubricated with a visit to Chitwan tours. We recommend Visit Himalaya Treks wholeheartedly to anyone and are sure that Himal in concert is the perfect product for a good price knows to offer. November – 2012.

PHILIP Raymond & Family, From - New Zealand

Amazing experiance for me and my kids, briiliant trip! Annapurna Circuit and other areas.

Brilliant trip with Himalaya Treks, there was four of us so they set up a trip specifically for us, great staff, beautiful location, amazing porter and guide as well we had a heap of flexibility if we wanted to change things at the last minute, nothing was too hard, our porters and guide were our link to the local people, really helped us to get a feel for the culture, the local people and the history etc Our guide and porters were always focused on doing everything they could to make sure that we had a wonderful experience and were safe as well.

Also really easy to work with to set up our trip, nothing was too hard, really good recommendations from Himal on what we should do and for how long etc It felt like our porters and guides sort of became part of our family for the trip, really helpful when you are travelling with teen agers, kids learnt local card games in the evening, as well there was always time for local excursions at the end of each days trek. Brilliant trip, will always be remembered! November -2017

FAQs

We always try to be flexible to design the trip itinerary for our client’s needs. However, if you are not convinced as our suggested itinerary then off-course you are always welcome to customize or change the trip itinerary.

Holiday should never be about making it to the final point quickly. Along your trek, we can add days at your request with additional costs to cover guides, porters, accommodation, and food.

An average physical fitness should be maintained prior to booking a trek. Any sort of illness or recent medical problems should be mentioned while booking a trip. Most of our itineraries are prepared to give you maximum time to acclimatize and pace-setting on the treks would be done according to your convenience. If you are having regular medication then tell us before the trip started which would be better for us to give you the physical feedback.

Our main concern is your safety. We never compromised on your safety during the Trekking and all our guides are properly trained and well equipped to take care of our client's safety even in remote areas as well.

There would be always back support in case of an emergency situation like severe high-altitude sickness or accident (which is least expected), you will be sent to the nearest hospital, if possible, otherwise rescued by a helicopter and sent you to the hospital as soon as possible. Since you are entirely liable for all the expenses incurred for the use of such emergency services, please make sure that your travel insurance covers both- medical and emergency evacuation costs.

It is not a problem at all because in a mountain most of the tea houses/lodges serve vegetarian food as well and our guide will take care at the time of cooking and on a camping trek, our cook and staffs will care all about the food section.

Most of the lodges in the mountains are basic like a guest house or tea house style. In a few major settlements Lodges are upgraded, where are the possibilities we provide you with the best accommodation! Also, it depends upon the service packages. 

Lately, most of the teahouses have electricity supply even with solar panels. So, charging your gadgets is not a problem at all. But charging your battery you should have to pay an additional fee (US$ 1 to 3 approx. per hour.), in order to get your gadgets to be charged.

Now a day’s most of the major village has a cell phone network connection. However, in a remote area where cell phone does not work, and even if there is not any other communication access then we send satellite phone along with our guide so you can easily be in touch with your family.

Yes, either you can store at the same hotel as you stayed or we can store your goods with us safely in our office free of cost.

The luggage must not exceed up to 20 kilograms. A trekking helper (porter) carries the baggage of fewer than 20 kilograms. This bag can be received at the end of each day’s trek and you should carry the rest of the weight as a day bag with all your money and valuables inside it.

This is a difficult thing to gauge. We have seen everything from USD 25 to USD 900 per person for guides and porters. Tipping is not required, but a small gesture of thanks to your guides and local porters. The level of the tip should reflect the level of satisfaction from and personal involvement with your guide. However, we recommend you to spend a minimum of 10% of your total trip cost for tipping the entire local staff.

$ 1800 / Person
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21 Days Nepal
TRIP OVERVIEW
Annapurna Circuit Trek
Altitude 5416 m
Annapurna Circuit Trek
Region Annapurna Region
Annapurna Circuit Trek
Difficulty Demanding
Annapurna Circuit Trek
Group size 1+ Peoples
Annapurna Circuit Trek
Best Season September - December Autumn season & March - June Spring season.

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