Annapurna Circuit Trek
Trip Overview
Trip Facts
- Country: Nepal
- Trip grade: Strenuous
- Destination: Annapurna
- Activities: Trekking
- Accommodation: Hotel and Guesthouses
- Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
- Maximum altitude: 5416 meter
- Group size: 1+
- Best Season: Mar-May / Sep-Nov
Trekking in the Annapurna region of the Himalayas is an adventure that many people dream of. Annapurna Circuit Trek is one of the most beautiful treks of several trekking adventures in the Annapurna region. As you can guess from the name, the trek goes around the massive Annapurna range of the Himalayas.
Some people alternately call this adventure Round Annapurna Trek. This adventure trekking has a total of nine days of walking in the mountains. You trek through the lower river valley to the top of a high mountain pass at 5,416 meters. Annapurna Circuit Trek requires you to be at a good level of fitness as it gets challenging as you walk to the higher elevation. This trek is certainly the most challenging and one of the popular treks in the Annapurna region.
Annapurna Circuit Trek: An Excellent Blend of Culture and Adventure
When you are walking around the Annapurna, you will experience the incredible culture and adventure of the region. As you walk past several beautiful villages along the trail, you can enjoy the lifestyle and culture of the people living there. From the lower river valley lifestyle to the high mountain cultures, you will experience diverse cultural riches.
The trek also takes you to the highest elevation of all the treks in the region. A high mountain pass – Thorong La – that stands at the elevation of 5416 meters above sea level is a challenging pass to cross. But the most adventurous highlight of the trip is the early morning walk towards the pass to cross it. The walk that starts in the Marshyangdi River valley ends in the Kali Gandaki River valley. And the trekking experience in between is simply unearthly. You will also visit and explore the famous pilgrimage of Muktinath. Our Jomsom Muktinath Trek also takes you there from a different route.
Fresh mountain air, beautiful natural surroundings, and views of the mountains also add to the beauty of this trek. You can enjoy the view of massive mountains like Annapurna, Dhaulagiri, Manaslu, Tukuche, Fishtail, etc.
You can also check our Annapurna Sanctuary Trek if you are looking for multiple options to choose from.
Reasons this trip becomes an Experience
Nepal Climbing Adventure always strives to offer an adventure traveling experience that you can cherish. While the Annapurna Circuit Trek is beautiful in its all essence, your experience of trekking there becomes even more beautiful with us.
By the time we take you to the base camp and bring you back, we take one step ahead to offer you a beautiful experience. We keep your safety and happiness as our top priority and you will experience the same during the trip.
This 15-day Trekking trip around the Annapurna with us is traveling in safe hands.
Detail Itinerary
Day 01: Arrival Day in Kathmandu (1400m)
Normally, your arrival in Kathmandu is the day one of this trip. We will come to pick you up at the airport as per your flight time and transfer you to the hotel. There are no activities today apart from a trip briefing meeting. The information about the meeting time will be available upon your arrival at the hotel.
You have time to relax and go for any last-minute preparation for the trip. Welcome to Kathmandu!
Accommodation: Hotel
Day 02: Sightseeing Tour Kathmandu
We have a full day in Kathmandu to explore around the heritage sites in the valley. If we have not met for the meeting yesterday, we will meet today after breakfast. If we have met yesterday, we will continue on a full-day sightseeing tour.
Your entire afternoon will be busy going around different ancient and medieval heritage monuments in the Kathmandu valley. We will take you to Swoyambhunath, Kathmandu Durbar Square, Boudhanath, and Pashupatinath to explore the ancient and medieval magnificence of the valley.
The tour will show you a lot about the culture, spiritual practice, history, and lifestyle of people in the valley. You will have an awesome cultural tour day today. Our city tour guide will make it easier for you to understand what you are looking at to make your experience even better.
Accommodation: Hotel
Meal: Breakfast
Day 03: Kathmandu – Chamje (1410m)
After a full day in Kathmandu exploring the heritage sites, it is now time to leave for the trek. We will start our long day drive to Chamje early in the morning. Chamje is the starting point of our Annapurna Circuit Trek. It will take us a long day's drive to reach Chamje.
We will take a bus ride to Besisahar that will take us around five hours to reach. And from Besisahar, we will catch a jeep to drive to Chamje. From Besisahar onwards, it is a dirt road drive, which will make the drive slow. After a bumpy dirt road drive, we reach Chamje to stay overnight. We settle into a teahouse and relax after the long day drive.
Accommodation: Guesthouse
Meal: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 04: Chamje – Dharapani (1860m)
It is our first day of the trek in the Annapurna Circuit Trek. Excited, we begin our walking adventure after breakfast. The destination of our walk today is Dharapani in Manang. We follow the Marshyangdi river valley and head towards the destination. We descend and ascend the trail that winds through the mountains.
As we walk the trail, we will come across beautiful scenery of nature, villages, and the mountains. Walking towards the destination, we go past beautiful places like Tal, Koto, etc. before reaching Dharapani. Amazing views of the surroundings as we walk through the trail will make our first day of walk beautiful.
Accommodation: Guesthouse
Meal: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 05: Dharapani – Chame (2650m)
We continue the trek around the Annapurna. Our destination for the day is Chame, the district headquarters of Manang. It is a lovely walking day along the river valley that brings incredibly beautiful views of the surroundings. Peaceful natural surroundings and breathtaking mountains on the Annapurna massif make our day's walk a beautiful adventure.
We eventually reach Chame and settle into a guesthouse to stay overnight.
Accommodation: Guesthouse
Meal: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 06: Chame – Pisang (3250m)
It is another great day in the Annapurna and we are ready to traverse the trail to Pisang today. The walk will take us past several beautiful places with wonderful surroundings. We will reach the elevation over 3000 meters from sea level for the first time on the trek today. Our overnight destination, Pisang, stands at 3250 meters above sea level. We will have to go easy and at a pace to help ourselves adjust with the increasing elevation in the mountains.
Once we reach Pisang, we will check into a teahouse and relax the tiredness of the day.
Accommodation: Guesthouse
Meal: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 07: Pisang – Manang (3519m)
Our walk for the day in the Annapurna Circuit Trek takes us to another beautiful place in the region – Manang. Manang is a beautiful ethnic town in the region. We proceed on our adventure walk of the day to Manang. As we traverse the trail, we will enjoy the natural surroundings of the mountains. The walk will take us past places like Humde, Bhakra, etc. The trail turns into a dry path as we have entered the high mountain region. We will have two trail options to reach Manang – one is shorter of about four hours and the other is longer and challenging of about seven hours.
We will decide on which route to take but we will eventually reach Manang to stay overnight.
Accommodation: Guesthouse
Meal: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 08: Acclimatization day at Manang
As we have already come to the elevation of 3,500 meters above sea level, we will require a day to acclimatize before we head further towards the higher elevation. We take the day today to explore around in the surroundings of Manang and stay overnight here. Exploring Manang and its surroundings will give us an experience of lifestyle in the region.
Accommodation: Guesthouse
Meal: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 09: Manang – Yak Kharka (4035m)
Walking to Yak Kharka from Manang is a short adventure. It will take us around four hours to reach Yak Kharka to stay overnight. Although it is almost 500 meters climb in elevation, we will make it earlier there. Once we reach Yak Kharka and settle into a teahouse, we will have the rest of the day to relax and exploit the beauty of the surroundings.
Accommodation: Guesthouse
Meal: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 10: Yak Kharka – Thorong Phedi (4540m)
We are on another short day trekking on the adventure. Walking to Thorong Phedi from Yak Kharka will take us around four hours. The trail that takes us to our destination winds through the high mountain landscape with a breathtaking view of the mountains. Although a short trek, the walk certainly challenges us as we are traversing the trail at high elevation. Once we reach Thorong Phedi and settle into a guesthouse, we will relax and rest as much as we can since we need to save the energy to walk over the pass tomorrow.
Accommodation: Guesthouse
Meal: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 11: Thorong Phedi – Thorong La (5416m) – Muktinath (3800m)
Today is the most adventurous and challenging day of the trek. We are going to cross a high mountain pass on our walk today. Our day starts early in the morning, much earlier than the break of the dawn. With our breakfast packed, we begin the adventure with our flashlights on towards the top of the Thorong pass. As the elevation increases on the steep trail up towards the pass, our body will struggle to find the pace. But we keep walking slowly and steadily up and will make it to the top of the pass eventually. As the sunrises over the mountains, we will reach the pass and feel the searing happiness.
It will feel like conquering the whole world to reach the pass after that challenging walk through the winding trail up the mountain. We will spend a good time at the top of the pass before descending to Muktinath to stay overnight.
Accommodation: Guesthouse
Meal: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 12: Muktinath – Jomsom (2743m)
We are on the final day of the trekking adventure around the Annapurna massif. Our walk today heads towards Jomsom along the Kali Gandaki river valley. Since it is a downhill walk, we will find the day easier than other days of the trek. But the trail along the river valley will get windy as the day progresses to the afternoon.
We will reach Jomsom eventually and check into a guesthouse. We will have a relaxing day at Jomsom as the trek has come to an end.
Accommodation: Guesthouse
Meal: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 13: Jomsom – Pokhara (900m)
We have an early morning flight to Pokhara. The flight is a short one of just 20 minutes but it takes us along the river valley and past the massive mountains. Even during this short flight to Pokhara, we can see the breathtaking view of the mountains.
Once we reach Pokhara and check into a hotel, we will have the day to relax. The Lakeside in Pokhara is a beautiful place to hang around and relax after the trek. We can just take a leisurely stroll on the Lakeside or find some relaxing massage or just sit at a restaurant eating and drinking. There are lots of options to spend the day at leisure in Pokhara.
Accommodation: Hotel
Meal: Breakfast
Day 14: Pokhara – Kathmandu
As we have completed our trekking journey, it’s time now to return back to Kathmandu. We will get ready for the early morning bus ride back to Kathmandu. It will take another seven hours to reach Kathmandu.
Accommodation: Hotel
Meal: Breakfast
Day 15: Departure Day
The trip has come to an end today. We have to bid farewell for this time hoping to meet again for another adventure soon. We will drive you to the airport for your departure flight as scheduled.
Meal: Breakfast
Cost Details
What is included?
- All airport and hotel transfers
- Welcome and farewell dinner
- Accommodation and meals during the whole of the trek
- 3 nights in a 3 star hotel in Kathmandu and 1 night in Pokhara
- All necessary paper works and permits
- All ground transportation to/from trekking by bus / shared jeep / tourist bus
- Flight Jomsom - Pokhara
- Government and local taxes
- An experienced English speaking trekking guide, assistant trek guide(4 trekkers: 1 assistant guide), porters(2 trekkers: 1 porter) including their salary, insurance, food, lodging and all equipment.
- A comprehensive medical kit
What is not included?
- Nepal Visa fee (bring small denomination cash USD and two passport photographs)
- International airfare
- Excess baggage charges
- Extra night accommodation apart from the schedule due to any reasons
- Lunch and evening meals in Kathmandu and Pokhara and in case of early return than the scheduled itinerary
- Private vehicle from Kathmandu-Besishahar-Chyamje, Pokhara - Kathmandu if required
- Travel and rescue insurance
- Personal expenses
- Tips for travel guides or porters
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions - Trekking in Nepal
Are you a licensed trekking agency?
Do the guides speak English and have first aid training?
How big are the groups?
Are permits included in the price of the trek?
Do you arrange private treks?
Do you provide any equipment while trekking?
How difficult are the treks?
How long do we walk each day?
What is exactly 'teahouse' trekking?
What do we mean by FOT trek?
What is security like during trekking?
Security for our clients is always a foremost priority for us. All our guides and other support crew are carefully chosen for your trips. Our guides hold licenses issued by the Nepal Government. They are very honest and reliable. But we would also advise you to take care of your own personal belongings. If you are on ‘camping treks’ please do not leave your bags unattended at any time for your own safety. Take your main bag inside the tent once you reach the campsite. At night, all bags and belongings are kept in the middle of the tent. Your guide assigns a Sherpa on a rotation basis to guard the campsite throughout the night. If you are on a ‘Tea house or GAP trek’ arrangement, you will be sleeping in local teahouses. You need to take sensible precautions yourself at all times. Never leave your baggage unattended and keep your lodge room locked when you go out.
What happens if I fall ill during the trek?
What type of food is served during a trek?
Do I need to carry my own gear?
How much could porters carry?
What is the overnight accommodation like?
Can we change the itinerary?
Depending on the prevailing situation, you can modify it to some extent after consulting with your senior guide. However, the date of trek completion should always coincide with the original itinerary. You should keep in mind that this is an adventure trip into some of the most remote regions in the world, where many unforeseen circumstances may contribute to the need for a change in itinerary. In such cases, we or your guide will suggest the best alternative similar to your original itinerary.
Is tipping included and if not, how much should I budget?

Very professional company
“Very professional company, things are fine efficiently. I would request to have more communication to clients on possible confirmation email on pick up times at the airport. Until I got off the plane I had no idea if someone was going to be there to pick me up or where I was going to stay the first night.
Please also consider including the Ice Lake hike in Manang on the itinerary as I did not know about it until after and would have loved to do it. The itinerary already includes an extra night in Manang to acclimatize so having that option for clients may be nice.”
Julie Lim, Canada