Annapurna Circuit Trekking Itinerary

A representative from our company will receive you once you arrive in Tribhuwan International Airport in Kathmandu and takes you to your pre-arranged place of accommodation.

Our destination today is Chamje via Beshishar. We start early on a local bus, which stops for breakfast and lunch on the way, and brings us to Beshisahar in about seven hours’ time. We change the bus and drive further to the destination.Along the way, the ride to Chamje Village on a public transport includes the Ghermu and Chamje waterfalls, the Marshyandi River and the sight of the beautiful Mt Manaslu beyond the hillls. This ride comes to a stop after around two and a half hours. For today, this is where we stop for the night. 

From Chamje, our trailhead, the walk to Tal Village lasts for around two hours. Up a gentle uphill and through a dense forest, we arrive in Tal Village, on our walk to Dharapani/Bagarchhap where we stop for lunch, is on a trail along the Marhyandi River all the way. Lasting for around three and a half hours, this mostly a gradual uphill is certainly not a difficult walk. where we stop for the night.

Once leaving Dharapani/Bagarchhap and reaching Danaque Village, the trek walks everyone up a sharp ascent until TimangDanda. The vantage point offers an excellent view of Mt Manaslu and other mountains in its close proximity. On a flat trail and reach Thanchok Village in about an hour and a half. Many choose to stop here for a cup of tea. Along the way, the addition of the mighty Annapurna II beyond the hills to the West is a treat to watch. We walk again, on a similar trail, for the next two and a half hours to Chame, the headquarters of Manang District and our stopover for the night. 

Our walk to DhukurPhokhari, where we stop for lunch, is on a trail that passes through pine forests, crosses several suspension bridges, and is a combination of ups and downs with a steep incline just before we reach the Village on a ridge. After lunch, we walk, with the Pisang Peak and Mt Chulu in sight, for about two and a half hours and reach Lower Pisang. This is where we stop for the night.

A tour to Upper Pisang is often a part of everyone’s itinerary. This traditional village, with monasteries and houses reflecting Tibetan style, also happens to be a vantage point for a panoramic view of the Annapurna range, Gangapurna range and the valley below.

Our stop in Humde Village for lunch comes after around a walk of three hours. The walk to this village, with a short airstrip, is an experience many choose to remember: through a pine forest and with Mt Gangapurna, Mt Tilicho and the gigantic Annapurna II and III in view.

With the trail leveling off and the woods thinning out, the path, from here on, first takes us to Braga, with a centuries-old monastery, and then to Manang Village in roughly two hours. We stop for the night in Manang.

An altitude of around 3,500 meters is an ideal high for an acclimatization. We start our day with a tour of the Village, the biggest in the entire District. With prayer wheels, flags, stones, and mani walls at regular intervals, the faith of the people are clearly visible.

Before lunch, a walk to Ganagpurna Lake and a climb of around 300 meters to a vantage point just above the lake is an experience worth looking forward to. From around 3,800 meters, a big portion of the Annapurna Range is a treat no one should miss out on.

As the thin air in high altitudes comes into play, even our gradual uphill today is exhausting for many. A stop at Gunsang on the way for tea after around two hours or so is a welcome relief. Now that the view also includes the Manaslu Range, the break can often stretch to as long as half an hour. After the break, we walk the next two hours to Yak Kharka and stop for the night. 

On a route that brings Thorang Peak closer with every step forward and Chulu West round a hill, we take a break and stop for tea in one of the two huts on the way. Along the way, a herd of Tahr jumping about does ease the relative uneasiness of the path, due largely to higher altitudes. Our walk of the day finally stops in Thorang Phedi, with two constructions sufficiently serving the passersby that we stop for the lunch and night stay. 

This early morning trek starts at around five after an early tea and packed lunch. The hour-long ascent to Thorang High Camp from here on is arduous. This most demanding of all the ascents so far takes all willing to Thorangla Pass in about three hours and a half. We have our breakfast at this altitude of 5,416 meters, weather permitting. After breakfast, it’s time for a walk downhill, crossing into bordering Mustang District. ThorangPhedi on the other side is where we rest for a while. After this tea break, we hit the road again, walking past Muktinath Temple and reaching Ranipauwa where we stop for the night.

Our walk to Jomsom, where we stop for lunch, starts out a downhill. Kagbeni on the way is an inviting settlement and we stop for a look around. Nestled in the valley of the Kali Gandaki River, Kagbeni boasts of its Red Monastery, which offers a peek into the ways of the practitioners of the belief. The relatively flat path from here on through a barren, almost lifeless, landscape walks everyone against fierce winds from the opposite direction and brings them to Jomsom in about four and a half hours.

After lunch, we leave Jomsom, the administrative as well as the commercial center of the District, and reach Marhpa in roughly two hours. Known for apples, this is where we stop for the night.

We start out along the banks of Kali Gandaki on a gentle descent. The next 4 hours of Jeep/Bus drive leaves few other notable settlements –Tukuche, Largung, Kalopani, and Lete – before reaching Ghasa. RupseChahara (a beautiful waterfall) at least for some time is another attraction before moving on to Tatopani where we stop for lunch, dinner and the night. The hot springs of the area invite many for a relaxing dip.

Today’s trek starts out alright until crossing Kali Gandaki and Ghar Khola. The steep uphill from here on is very demanding for many, with the dense forest around serving as the only relief. Lunch in Ghara Village also comes as that rest for those legs. We trudge on after lunch. Sikha, where we stop for the night, also presents Mt Dhaulagiri and Annapurna South for a view.

Our journey today begins with a two-hour walk to Chitré, where we stop for a bit with the addition of Mt Nilgiri in view to the North. We move on aiming for Ghorepani. A final steep ascent of around half an hour brings us to Ghorepani amidst a forest largely dominated by rhododendrons. This is where we stop for the night. 

Early morning is a time for a walk to Poon Hill for that sunrise view: the brightening of the tops of the Dhaulagiri Range in an array of bright shades with the peaks of the Annapurna Range to the East in shadow. Back in Ghorepani and we leave for Tadapani after breakfast. It starts out up a steep incline for almost two hours before eventually arriving atop a ridge. It’s a downhill from here on through a forest one more time until Banthanti, where we stop for lunch. After a downhill for some time then a sharp uphill, we arrive in Tadapani. This is where we stop for the night. 

With Mt Machhapuchré, Mt Huinchuli and the Annapurna South still magnificently on display, leaving Tadapani is a compulsion; our itinerary suggests we reach Pokhara today. Down a steep descent for nearly three and a half hours, we finally reach Ghandruk and a gently downhill from this point on takes us to Syané. We catch a local bus from here and head off for Pokhara, reaching the place in some two hours and a half.  

Our return to Kathmandu is on a tourist bus, a ride that should last for around six hours. With breakfast and lunch on the highway, the bus stops in Sorhakhutté in Kathmandu. Thamel, the tourist hub, is a stone’s throw from here.

Depending largely on your travel fixture, you will be leaving for Tribhuvan International Airport for your departure from Nepal either in the morning or in the afternoon or in the evening.