Annapurna Circuit Trek - 18 Days

A representative from Adventure Treks Nepal will be waiting for you outside Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu according to your flight time with a board mentioning your Name. One you meet our expert team member you will be accompanied by him to the hotel and help you with check in procedures.

Once you have settled down, a trip briefing will be done where all your queries will be answered by a member from our Managing Team. Rest of the day is at leisure and you may explore around Thamel or visit some of the World Heritage Sites. We can arrange these tours for you upon your request.

With the intention of introducing Nepal's rich history and cultural display Adventure Treks Nepal has planned this day with Cultural Tour of three of the World Heritage Sites and important religious sites.

Breakfast will be served at the Hotel after which we proceed towards the ancient palace of Bhaktapur now commonly known as Bhaktapur Durbar Square. This 15 km drive from Kathmandu will take you away from the main city and onto the old settlement inhabited by the Newar community where you can still see the palace from 17th century. Our professional tour guide will accompany you as you wander into the surrounding area while he explains each and every tiny detail about this artistic town.

The second half of the day consists of a visit to two religious pilgrimage sites for Hindu and Buddhist religion. Pashupatinath temple, a Hindu shrine is the most important Shiva temple in the world where during your visit you will see many burning bodies as a part of Hindu cremation process and you get the opportunity to learn about many rituals that people follow in Nepal.

Bouddhanath Stupa, the biggest stupa of South Asia is the last destination for Today. This Stupa is believed to hold remains of Buddha and is a holy place for people following Buddhism. After completing all three destinations you will be dropped at your hotel for refreshment and free time.

Today we will leave the busy Kathmandu and begin the real adventure. We have a long drive ahead which will be done by private transport just for our group. The drive takes us along the Trishuli River and provides amazing views of the Himalayas. As the high mountains appear in front of us the excitement begins to kick in. After 110 km of drive we meet Marshyangdi River and we follow this river further north towards Besisahar.

From Besisahar we hop on to a 4WD Jeep to experience a thrilling Road trip to Chyamche. As we follow Marshyangdi River on the mountain road many waterfalls appear on our sites and we stop in these waterfalls to capture some good pictures. The Jeep ride will be around 2-3 hours before arriving at Chyamche and spending the night there.

Today will be our first day of our trekking. We will have breakfast at the Tea House in Chyamche from where we set our footsteps on the Annapurna Circuit Trek. The walk today will be following Marshyangdi River into the dense forests surrounded by gigantic rocky cliffs. We pass an overhanging rock and climb a steep staircase into the village of Sattale. Along the trail we cross a bridge and enter into another large settlement of the region, Dharapani. Crossing several pine, spruce, maple and oak forests we make our way towards Bagarchhap.

After a good sleep in Bagarchap our destination for this day is situated approximately 14 km away at an elevation of 2,630 meters above sea level. Chame is a popular hub and headquarter of Manang District and is quite a big town that we may come across in the trail.

During today's hike you will get further close to the Pisang Peak, Lamjung Himal, Annapurna II and provide you the feeling of entering the Himalayas. The culture of people begins to change and the Aryan Face people will gradually be replaced by Mongolian faced natives.

The vegetation now also will turn completely into forest filled with pine trees and many waterfalls flowing down the mountains come into view while we hike today.

Another day in the Annapurna region with nothing but the wonderful scenery waiting to welcome you. After breakfast in Chame we head in the direction of Pisang. As we approach north, people mostly follow Buddhism because of which several prayer flags, chortens, and prayer wheels appear on the trail. The treeline becomes thinner as we approach close towards Pisang following the Marshyangdi River. Even Marshyangdi River will seem smaller as we gain altitude. From Pisang you will catch amazing vistas of the Annapurna II, Pisang Peak, Lamjung Himal, and many more.

On the trail today you will have the opportunity to visit an apple farm in Bhartang and try some of their apples and other products like apple pie, apple juice which they prepare themselves.

Since we are above 3000 meters on this day we request everyone to intake a minimum of 3 liters of water, helping you to stay hydrated and avoid Acute Mountain Sickness.

We stay on the southern edge of Marshyangdi River and cross several streams and local villages as we approach the desert of Annapurna. We will see an airport at Hungde, which is not operating currently and many apple fields along the trail. Proceeding north the valley widens up in Manang surrounded by the Annapurna Range.

There is another option of taking the upper route to Manang via Nagwal and Ghyaru which has some steep uphill sections and is challenging compared to the lower trail. However, all your hard work will be paid off with brilliant views of the mountains and valley.

There is an ancient monastery in Braga which is a must visit place during this day of hiking. Our guides will take you to the monastery and help you interact with the monks there if you are interested.

From Braga, it's a 30 min walk to Manang, a big village with many Tea Sops, Bakery and Retail Shops.

Today is the leisure day in our Annapurna Circuit Trek 18 Days plan. As we are now heading into the dry, rocky terrain high into the Himalayas, it is very important for our body to acclimatize. This day is not completely for rest though. There are many side trip options around Manang which you can visit during the day.

Mila Repa Cave, situated near the glaciers of Annapurna is one of the holy and important caves of this region which is approximately 2hrs 30 min away from Manang.

Ice Lake is another popular side trip around Manang, a lake which is 4 hours away from Manang. The trail to Ice Lake is mostly uphill as we gain almost 1,100 meters of altitude and reach 4,600 meters. This lake has some of the outstanding views of the Annapurna and Chulu range with the mountains reflecting on the lake.

If you don’t wanna have a big hiking day, you can visit the Gangapurna Lake which is just 20-30 min away from Manang village. This glacier lake is just across the main village and has some of the thrilling views of overhanging glaciers of Mt. Gangapurna.

From this day we will be heading into the desert of Annapurna Region. The vegetation changes completely and turns into a short patch of juniper and rocky surrounding. No trees will be in sight which means there will be a lack of oxygen in the air.

After crossing a stream and climbing to Tenki we head towards Yak Kharka via Gunsang. Yak Kharka has some Tea Houses where we plan to have our Lunch. After spending some time and enjoying the views we leave Yak Kharka and head towards Letdar which is another 1.5 hrs away.

Following the Jharsang Khola we head close upto the Thorang La Pass. Today will be a short day for you as we prepare for the big day tomorrow. We descend down and cross the bridge over Jharsang River and ascend the narrow trail until Thorang Phedi.

Travellers also have an option to trek to High Camp which is at an altitude of 4,800 meters with only one Tea House. Many travelers have faced difficulties while sleeping and many issues with less number of rooms. To avoid all these issues Adventure Treks Nepal prefers to stay at Thorang Phedi.

Finally the day we all have been waiting for. Today is the highlight of the trek as we will be reaching the highest point of Annapurna Circuit Trek and crossing the Thorang La Pass. The hike from Phedi to Thorang La is challenging as we enter above 5,000 meters of altitude and it will take around 4 hours.

We start very early with the aim of crossing the Pass before 10 A.M. As we look behind on today's hike, the panoramic view of Chu Lu range provides us energy to continue further ahead.

Upon reaching the top we will stop for some pictures and Tea, Coffee in the Tea Shop. After a few moments we began our descent towards Muktinath. The trail after the pass is all rocky which may cause you to slip, so please be extra careful.

With a heart full of happy emotions we visit the holy Muktinath Temple. This is a very religious Hindu Temple and people from all over the world visit this temple with a belief of eliminating all their sins by bathing in the temple. You may give it a try if you want where you need to walk across 108 water taps and dip in 2 pools in front of the temple.

After a long and demanding trek we get to the Tea House in Muktinath and rest.

This day can serve you as a rest or relaxing day after that strenuous climb to Thorang La Pass. Today we will be driving to Tatopani, where there are natural hot springs which will give you a healing experience as you take a dip.

In between the drive we will have a stop at Marpha and explore the Buddhist monastery of the area. After exploration we will continue ahead to Tatopani via Tukuche, Lete and many other villages inhabited by the Thakali community. Thakali people are believed to prepare the best Dal Bhat, so while in this area you should give it a try.

On this day we will enter another popular trekking destination of Nepal, Ghorepani. The trail which we will be walking today was once used as a trade route to Tibet. You will see wide roads because of modernization during today's hike. In some sections of the trail we will be walking on the ancient trail as well. This is a short day and we would suggest you take it slow.

Another easy day in the Annapurna Circuit Trek as we gradually climb up to Ghorepani. This village has people from the Poon and Magar community living in the region whose hospitality is unmatched. The trail passes through Chitre and offers an amazing scene of Rhododendron during the Spring Season. This trail doesn’t receive many tourists because of which the Rhododendron are untouched which will leave you awe struck.

Once you arrive at Ghorepani, the remainder of the day is at leisure. You have the option to explore and buy some Himalayan souvenirs for your loved ones or play some basketball/ volleyball with locals.

Our day begins very early in the morning as we climb up to Poonhill gaining almost 350 meters of altitude. The sunrise from Poonhill is believed to be one of the best sunrises with Dhaulagiri range and Annapurna range providing panoramic views. After spending some moments at the top we return back to Ghorepani for breakfast.

The trail after breakfast is easy as we gradually descend wandering into the Rhododendron forests. You will notice many travelers coming towards Ghorepani as this is a very popular short trekking destination in Annapurna. We cross many bridges both cemented and suspended before arriving at Tikhedhunga through Nangethanti, Banthanti and Ulleri.

Today is our last day in the Annapurna Conservation Area. We begin our trek after breakfast following the Burungdi Khola until Birethanti where Modi Khola appears in our sight. We will have exit stamps on our permit in Birethanti and in Nayapul our car will be waiting for us. Once you arrive in Pokhara the rest of the day is at leisure.

After breakfast in Pokhara, we have a mountain flight to Kathmandu; it is a thrilling, exciting flight over forests, fields and villages with the Himalayas in the background. On arrival, we transfer to the hotel. The remainder of the day is at leisure for any last minute shopping for your loved ones.

Suggestion: Be on the left side of the aircraft to catch great views of the mountains.

A representative from Adventure Treks Nepal will drop you to the airport. Return back home with the memories for lifetime.