Annapurna Circuit Trek

Upon reaching Tribhuwan International Airport, Kathmandu will be received by our staff and guide. With a warm welcome, after that, a short drive to a hotel in the main tourist hub areas of Kathmandu city. As well, our professional guide will also brief you about the Annapurna Circuit Trek program and check all required trekking gear. If you don't have gears, Alpine Treks Nepal will provide us with the trekking gear like sleeping bag, down jacket, trekking poles, and duffle bags.

Our Classic Annapurna Circuit Trek starts with an exciting drive on Nepal’s busy highway to reach Besisahar. It's a large town headquarters of Lamjung district. However, it takes more than 7 to 8 hours to get to Besi Shahar by public vehicle. You will get an opportunity to explore the authentic villages, hills, rivers, and scenic views throughout the drive. Besisahar is a beautiful place to discover the various ethnic cultures with a thrilling valley. You can walk around the town and immerse yourself in a charming culture.

For an overnight stay in Besisahar, we will drive to Chame and it takes a maximum of 5 hours to get there. The road is completely unpaved but you will have scenic views of mountain Manaslu, Lamjung Himal, traditional villages, landscapes, hills, rivers, and beautiful villages. The trail towards through the Bhulbhule, Syange, Jagat, Chamje, Taal, Dharapani, Timang, and Chame. Even though Chame is a headquarters of the Manang district it's one of the remarkable places to connect with nature.

The adventure continues from Chame heading into the cooler zone and closer to the mountainous region, as the morning walk leads into the lovely alpine forest of rhododendron and pine trees, following the Marshyangdi River upstream with short ups and down hills to Bhartang village.
After Bhartang village crossing a bridge over the torrential Marysangdi River heading uphill through alpine woodlands with views of Chulu’s and Pisang peaks, then reach a small settlement around Dukuri Pokhari for the possible lunch stop. Afternoon walks downhill to lower Pisang village for an overnight stop after passing rows of prayer wheels with closest views of Pisang and Annapurna II peaks.

From Pisang village with a nice walk for short while and then a gradual climb into the forest of pines and rhododendrons to reach a small ridge with amazing views of beautiful Manang valley and mountains. After enjoying rest with the views walk downhill to Hongdae village with a small airstrip, from here on tree lines fades to barren and arid dry terrain.
Trek with super views to Manang, on route visit old Braga monastery with old Buddhist relics and then an hour walk, bring at Manang village for an overnight stop. Afternoon at leisure for a short walk or just relax and enjoy the views of close snowcapped peaks. Around Manang, village houses are built in traditional Tibetan style and origin as Manang people with strong Tibetan influence including culture-Buddhist religion and way of life.

A perfect and ideal place with the right attitude for a rest day to get acclimatized before heading towards higher Thorang-la Pass. Today leisure day to explore around Manang village, and hike to Annapurna II and Gangapurna Icefalls and glaciers including Manang's turquoise glacial Lake It. If you feel strong, or not dizziness better to hike up Ice Lake. It would be quite tough to climb up but each step provides marvelous scenarios of the Annapurna Himalayas.

Today the trail is going gradually up to Yak Khara with remarkable views. After a pleasant stop at Manang, a morning walk leads to Ghunsang village with a gradual climb to reach a small settlement at Yak Kharka. It's an interesting high-altitude walk with super views of Gangapurna-A-II with Chulu peaks after a few hours of scenic morning walk reaching the overnight stop at Yak Kharka. Afternoon enjoy the mountain views and hike around Majesty Annapurna Valley.

It is an uphill walk to Thorang Phedi. After walking for some time we cross a suspension bridge and reach Ledar village. We ascend further and pass through towering cliffs before reaching Thorang Phedi, the last village before Thorong La pass. On this trip, we are rewarded with one of the best views of Mt. Gundang, Mt. Syagang, Thorung Peak and Mt. Khatungkan. The word Phedi in Nepalese is referred to as the foot of a mountain. Overnight in Thorong Phedi.

Crossing Thorong La pass is the world's longest pass with a majesty scenario of the Annapurna Himalayas. This Thorong La pass will be our ultimate objective today. We will be crossing the pass from east to west (Manang to Muktinath) which is the easiest and safest direction. We get up around three in the morning and walk up the mountain. When we finally made it to the top, we realized that our journey was worth it. We can take a few photos before heading to Muktinath Valley at the foot of the Thorong La pass.

Muktinath is an important pilgrimage for both Hindus and Buddhists alike. In the morning, we pay our visit to a Vishnu Temple and a Gompa. Descending from Ranipauwa village down the steep and barren hillside, we tumble down toward Kagbeni and then to Jomsom finally arriving at Marpha. The trail today is quite surreal as we trek along a plateau above Kali Gandaki River, the world’s deepest gorge. The barren landscape of this area resembles Tibet. Marpha is also famous as the apple capital of Nepal where one can enjoy different items made from apples. The local apple brandy of Marpha is famous all over Nepal.

Today, take a scenic drive from your previous stop to Tatopani, a village famous for its natural hot springs. After reaching Tatopani, relax and soak in the warm waters—perfect for soothing your muscles after days of trekking. Overnight stay in Tatopani.

We leave the Kali Gandaki and head up the Ghar Khola valley. The trail leads us through a terraced farmland with mountains all around. We pass through the villages of Shikha and Chitre before reaching a beautiful rhododendron forest. When in bloom the rhododendron trees with its average height of up to 100″ will be covered with pink or red flowers. Walking further we reach Ghorepani, a beautiful village located at a ridge top

To catch the sunrise over the Himalayas, we make an early morning climb along the steep trail to the viewpoint of Poon Hill (3,210m/10,529ft) the most popular trekking destination of the Annapurna region. It is also a great viewpoint to enjoy the amazing views of Mustang, Pokhara and more than 20 of the highest mountains including the close-up views of the Annapurna and Dhaulagiri ranges. The snowy peaks of the high mountains loom above and around us glowing in the morning light. After taking photographs, we return back to Ghorepani. After breakfast, we head east and climb a nearby ridge. We descend through rhododendron forests, pass by spectacular waterfalls and reach Tadapani to spend the night.

From Tadapani, we make a steep descent through the dense and dark forest. This part of the trek will be through a thick forest of old rhododendron trees. When the rhododendron trees are in bloom, these forests actually turn into amazing gardens. By afternoon, depending upon the season of travel, we also get to enjoy cherry blossoms in bloom on the slopes on the other side of the ravine. After trekking a few more minutes, we enter the village of Ghandruk, a slope settlement with stone houses mostly inhabited by the Gurung people. Here, we enjoy the stunningly close-up towering views of Fishtail, Annapurna South, and Hiunchuli mountains. We continue our trek to Nayapul from where we drive to Pokhara.

A beautiful staying in Pokhara we will drive or fly back to Kathmandu. You can drive or fly to Kathmandu and by tourist bus takes 8 to 9 hours to get to Kathmandu but by flight just 25 minutes. If you want to back to Kathmandu by tourist bus better to leave in the early morning after breakfast. Usually, all tourist bus leaves at 7:00 am from Pokhara and will stop along the way for lunch and breakfast as well. It would be a long drive but you can see the beautiful multi-scenes throughout the drive and you will create a different bus drive experience.

Our adventure in Nepal comes to an end today! An Alpine Treks Nepal representative will escort us to the airport approximately 3 hours before our scheduled flight. On our way home, we have plenty of time to plan our next adventure in the wonderful country of Nepal.