Annapurna Circuit Trekking

The Annapurna Circuit is suitable for adult trekkers in good health who are adaptable and used to walking in the mountains. No previous experience in the Himalaya or mountaineering skills are required, but you need to be prepared to walk for several consecutive days and reach altitudes above 5,000 meters.

We recommend arriving at the start of the trek already used to 6–8 hour hikes, gradually increasing distance and elevation gain in the weeks beforehand. Treks with 800–1,200 meters of elevation gain and regular cardiovascular training are especially useful. More than speed, what matters is the ability to keep a steady pace for many hours and recover well to set off again the next day.

Most days involve 5–7 hours of walking covering about 10–15 km. Some stages are longer: the climb to Tilicho Lake and the Thorong La day can take 8–9 hours. Elevation gain varies widely from stage to stage and is distributed gradually along the route.

The ascent is progressive. In Manang, we dedicate a day to acclimatization by climbing up to Praken Gompa, at almost 4,000 meters, and then returning to sleep at a lower altitude. Over the following days, we reach Tilicho Lake at 4,919 meters and continue through Yak Kharka and Thorong Phedi. This way, we spend several days at altitude before tackling the Thorong La at 5,416 meters.

The Thorong La doesn’t require any mountaineering techniques or climbing under normal trekking conditions. The difficulty comes mainly from the altitude of 5,416 meters, the length of the day, and the weather conditions. That’s why it’s tackled after several days of acclimatization, and departure is normally very early in the morning.

We recommend spring, especially April and May, and autumn, particularly November. These are usually the most favorable seasons for trekking in the Annapurna region. In winter, snow and ice can make crossing the Thorong La more difficult or temporarily impossible.

For us, Tilicho Lake is one of the most spectacular stages of the entire trip and well worth the detour from the main route. It sits at 4,919 meters and is considered in Nepal to be the highest lake in the world. The climb also allows you to spend more time at high altitude before continuing on toward the Thorong La.

Up to Jomsom, both itineraries share the stages we consider essential: Ghyaru and Ngawal, Manang, Praken Gompa, Tilicho Lake, Thorong La, Muktinath, and Mustang. The two-week version ends at Jomsom and continues on to Pokhara, while the full Circuit carries on along the Kali Gandaki to Tatopani and Poon Hill, ending on the Mardi Himal side. If you have three weeks available, the full Circuit lets you cross through many more of the Annapurna region’s different landscapes.

It depends on what you’re looking for. The Annapurna Base Camp trek is shorter, reaches a maximum altitude of 4,130 meters, and leads into the great natural amphitheater of the Annapurna Sanctuary. The Annapurna Circuit is longer and far more varied: it crosses Manang, reaches Tilicho Lake and the Thorong La at 5,416 meters, enters Mustang, and changes scenery completely several times along the way. If you have the time and high altitude doesn’t worry you, we recommend the Annapurna Circuit.

We’ve chosen not to reduce the Circuit to just the Thorong La crossing. Our full itinerary includes the high route through Ghyaru and Ngawal, acclimatization in Manang with a climb up to Praken Gompa, the detour to Tilicho Lake, and, after Jomsom, the continuation along the Kali Gandaki toward Poon Hill and Mardi Himal. It’s designed for those who want to spend three weeks discovering the many different faces of the Annapurna region.

Yes. The Annapurna Circuit is one of the itineraries for which Nepalese regulations require an authorized guide and the TIMS Card. A permit for the Annapurna Conservation Area (ACAP) is also required. Himalaya Exped arranges the guide and permits directly before the trek begins.

English is always guaranteed. On this itinerary the group is accompanied by Bibi, Nepalese partner of Himalaya Exped and certified local guide, who speaks both Italian and English.
Support in Italian is therefore guaranteed for the entire duration of the trek.

Temperatures vary enormously during the trip because you cross very different environments and altitudes. In the lower valleys and in Kathmandu or Pokhara, days can be mild or even warm, while heading up toward Manang, Tilicho Lake and Thorong La, temperatures drop rapidly.

Above 4,000 meters, it’s normal to find below-freezing temperatures at night and in the early morning hours. The Thorong La day starts very early and can be especially cold, particularly if it’s windy or on departures closer to winter. With the sun out, though, even at altitude during the day the temperature can feel pleasant.

For this reason, your gear should allow you to dress in layers, so you can quickly adapt from relatively warm conditions to cold, wind and possible precipitation.

Yes. Lodge rooms at altitude are not heated, and it can get very cold at night. We recommend a sleeping bag suited to low temperatures, with a comfort rating of -20 °C; if you don’t own one suitable for Himalayan conditions, you can rent one in Kathmandu before departure.

In Kathmandu, we’ll give you a duffel bag to hand over to the porters. We normally arrange one porter for every two participants, with a maximum of 13 kg of personal luggage per person. The duffel bag is carried ahead to the next stage and will be waiting for you once you arrive at the lodge.

During the trek, we stay in tea houses and village lodges, usually in simple double rooms. In more developed villages, rooms with a private bathroom are often available, while higher up it’s more common to have a shared bathroom. Our guides always try to book the best accommodation available, but a private bathroom can’t be guaranteed at every stage.
Rooms are usually unheated; at higher-altitude lodges, a stove is often lit in the shared dining room. In Kathmandu and Pokhara, we stay in 3-star hotels in a double room with private bathroom and breakfast included.

During the trek, you’ll only carry a light backpack, roughly 20–25 liters, with what you might need during the day: water, a waterproof jacket, a warm layer, sunscreen, sunglasses, documents, a camera and small personal items. The rest of your gear travels in the duffel bag entrusted to the porters.

Anything you don’t need during the trek can be safely stored at the hotel in Kathmandu and picked up when you return. On the trail, you’ll only need to carry your trekking duffel bag and a small daypack.

Travelers arriving from Italy are generally not required to have any mandatory vaccinations to enter Nepal, except in specific cases involving travel from or transit through countries at risk of yellow fever. That said, it’s advisable to be up to date with routine vaccinations and to consult your doctor or a travel medicine center about vaccines recommended for Nepal, such as hepatitis A and typhoid, depending on your health status and the type of trip you’re planning.

Every morning, Himalaya Exped provides 2 liters of drinking water per participant, to be poured into your own water bottle or thermos. In the lodges, it’s usually possible to buy extra boiled or bottled water.
Water straight from taps, springs, or streams should never be drunk without first boiling, filtering, or treating it with a purification product.

Yes. Most lodges let you recharge phones, cameras, and other electronic devices. At lower altitudes, charging is often free, while higher up it’s common to be charged a small fee, and electricity may only be available at certain times of day.

We still recommend bringing a high-capacity power bank, especially for the days between Manang, Tilicho Lake, and Thorong La, where power availability is more limited. At high altitude, the cold also drains batteries faster.

Yes, but don’t expect to be connected at all times. In lower villages and main hubs like Chame, Pisang, and Manang, mobile coverage is generally good, and many lodges also offer Wi-Fi, sometimes for a fee. Heading up toward Tilicho Lake, Yak Kharka, and Thorong La, the signal becomes far more unreliable and can disappear completely in some stretches.

We recommend buying a Nepal Telecom (NTC) SIM card at the airport or at one of the shops near your hotel, as it generally offers better coverage than Ncell in the mountains. After Thorong La, the connection gradually becomes more stable again toward Muktinath and Jomsom.

During a trek in the Himalaya, it’s still normal to spend a few hours or even entire days without a reliable connection: before you leave, we recommend downloading anything you might need on your phone for offline use.

It’s a concern we understand, but the issue isn’t using porters — it’s how they’re treated. Working as a porter or guide is, for many families in the mountain regions, one of the few sources of income linked to tourism, and refusing their work on principle doesn’t necessarily help them.

At Himalaya Exped, porters are part of the team. We work with local people, guarantee fair working conditions, provide insurance during the trek, and set clear limits on the weight they carry. We typically assign one porter for every two participants, with a maximum of 13 kg of personal luggage per traveler.

For us, responsible tourism doesn’t mean taking work away from local communities — it means making sure that work is carried out with dignity, safely, and with fair pay.

Lodges offer simple but fairly varied food. The quintessential Nepali dish is Dal Bhat: rice, lentil soup, vegetables and curry — nutritious and perfect for trekking days. Noodles, soups, fried rice, potatoes, pasta, eggs, momo, and various vegetarian dishes are also common.
As you climb higher, the choice becomes more limited. Our guides tend to recommend simple dishes, often vegetarian in the more remote lodges, especially when there’s no guarantee that meat has been properly stored.

They aren’t essential, but it can be helpful to bring along a few bars, dried fruit, or supplements you’re already used to using on hikes. We especially recommend bringing products you know you tolerate well, rather than trying something new for the first time during the trek.