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Get ready for one of the most famous hikes in Nepal! On this 15-day journey, you’ll take on the infamous Annapurna and the Himalayan Mountain Range accompanied by an experienced trek guide. Trek across incredible and diverse landscapes, from lush jungles and rice fields to the Thorung La Pass—the highest point of the Annapurna Circuit at 17,770 ft/ 5,416 m. Visit Muktinath, one of the most important Buddhist pilgrimage centers in Nepal, and soak up its culture and customs. Explore Kathmandu and Pokhara, and immerse yourself in Nepal’s culture and architecture, spanning from ancient temples and stupas to the medieval landmarks decorating the streets.
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Arrive at the airport and meet your guides, who will transfer you to your accommodation in Kathmandu. After a short break, you will be transferred for a welcome dinner in one of the typical Nepalese restaurants in the heart of Kathmandu. After dinner and a short brief about your trip, spend the night at your hotel.
Accommodation: Hotel
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Spend your first day in the capital discovering all the heritage sites in Kathmandu valley with a local guide. Visit the Hindu temple of Pashupatinath, the Boudhanath stupa, or the Monkey Temple. After this, meet your guides again for a discussion about the trip and gear check, and meet your local hiking guide. Use the rest of the evening for relaxation in the hotel or keep exploring Kathmandu on your own.
Accommodation: Hotel
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Depart early in the morning for the long drive out of Kathmandu. Your driver will take you along the Kathmandu-Pokhara highway to the small village of Dumre. Once there, follow the narrow and paved road along the Marsyangdi River to the village of Bhulbhule. Spend the night at Tea House Lodge.
Accommodation: Tea House lodge
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After breakfast, take a local Jeep to Dharapani (6375 ft/1943 m). Once there, after lunch, enjoy an easy hike to the small village of Bagarchap. For the first time, you will feel small with the view of the Annapurna II and the Lamjung Himal right in front of you. Spend the night at a tea house lodge.
Accommodation: Tea House lodge
Hiking distance: 2,5 miles/ 4 km
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Rise early in Bagarchap and start the hike along the mule track through a forest and some hot springs. Walk the suspension bridges connecting the different sectors of the trail. During these two days, you’ll get the opportunity to see how the landscape changes from wet rice terraces to dense alpine forests until you get to the town of Pisang. From there, enjoy some amazing views of the Annapurna II and Pisang peak.
Accommodation: Local teahouses
Hiking distance: 8,7 miles/ 14 km per day
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Follow a trail through the beautiful villages of Geru and Ngawal, with excellent views of Nepal’s massive mountains, including Annapurna II, IV, Tilicho, and Pisang peak. Take some time off for a short visit to Braga monastery, the oldest and largest in the region. Continue your trek to the largest Tibetan settlement in the Manang region. Depending on how you feel, you can spend the following day in Manang or finish the hike to the small town of Gunsang.
Accommodation: Local teahouses
Hiking distance: 12 miles/ 19,5 km
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At this point, the colder weather should let you know that you’re getting higher and higher. The trail climbs to Letdar along a riverside, passing a small village and meadows where horses and yak graze. Spend a night in Letdar and continue towards High Camp, the last place you’ll stay before reaching the highest mountain pass of the Annapurna Mountain range. The trail climbs northwest of the tributary Jargeng Khola valley. If you’re lucky, you’ll see herds of blue mountain sheep along the cliffs.
Accommodation: Local mountain hut
Hiking distance: 6,8 miles/ 11 km
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Wake up early in the morning to reach the top of the trail, the highest mountain pass of the Annapurna Range. After many days of hiking, your body will be ready to take on the 17,769 ft (5.416 m) Thorung La mountain pass and you will face this challenge without fear. After reaching the top, continue descending to Muktinath in the legendary Mustang valley.
Accommodation: Local teahouse
Hiking distance: 9,3 miles/ 15 km
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After a hearty breakfast, hike to the picturesque village of Kagbeni, the gateway to the until-recently forbidden Upper Mustang kingdom. Take the opportunity to visit the 500-year-old Buddhist monastery situated in the town. After lunch, continue the trek to Jomsom. The following day, you will take a morning flight to Pokhara, where you get to visit the picturesque valley.
Accommodation: Hotel
Hiking distance: 11,8 miles/ 19 km
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Take an early morning bus back to the capital of Nepal, Kathmandu. Enjoy a 7-8 hour ride with some great vistas.
Accommodation: Hotel
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Your guides will drop you off at the international airport for your final departure. Reminisce about the highlights of this incredible adventure on your flight back home.
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What you get on this adventure:
- An experienced, certified mountain guide with extensive knowledge of the area and a local Nepali certified guide
- Sightseeing tour in Kathmandu
- Transportation from and to the airport
- Transportation for the duration of the tour
- Kathmandu to Besisahar by private car/van
- Besisahar to Jagat by local private Jeep
- Jomsom to Pokhara domestic flight
- Pokhara private car/van for pick up
- Pokhara to Kathmandu domestic flight
- Hotel accommodations with breakfast in Kathmandu and Pokhara
- Teahouse and mountain hut accommodations with all meals for the duration of the hike with unlimited tea & coffee
- Government taxes
What’s not included:
- International flight to/from Kathmandu
- Lunches and dinners in Kathmandu
- Luggage transportation for the duration of the hike
- Sleeping bag and personal mountain gear
- Trip insurance
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Hiking the Annapurna Circuit is a challenging undertaking, and it requires excellent physical fitness. If you want to fully enjoy your trip to Nepal, you should be able to hike for up to 9 miles (14,5 km) a day on steep, rocky, and slippery terrain with over 3,200 ft (1,000 m) of elevation gain. A lot of the hiking will be done in high altitudes, so some experience dealing with high elevation is recommended. Keep in mind that you’ll also be carrying a relatively packed backpack for 15 days and that the weather in the Annapurna Circuit can be unpredictable.
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Suitcases or duffel bags are not allowed on this tour as you will be hiking with the backpack. If you want to bring extra clothing and luggage in a suitcase or duffel bag, you will have to leave them in the city. There will be no porter service on trek.
Ensure that all items fit securely within your backpack without anything protruding, keeping everything dry during the hike. The recommended maximum weight for your backpack is 12 kg/ 26 lbs, with an optimal limit around 8kg/17.6lbs. The quantities listed for specific items are indicative and based on guides’ recommendations.
Here’s a list of personal equipment you need to bring:
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- Backpack large enough to carry all the items listed (around a 35-50L bag)
- Valid passport & passport scanned photocopies
- Visa (easy to obtain on arrival)
- 2 passport-sized photos for your permits
- Sleeping bag with comfort temperature of -15°C
to -20°C / 5°F to -4°F - Waterproof bag for your clothes
- Swimsuit and towel
- Personal toiletries
- Personal first-aid kit (make sure to take all you need with you)
- Sunscreen and sunglasses
- Headlamp + batteries
- Camera — optional
- Power bank
- Hiking poles — highly recommended
- Water bottle and thermos
- Ear plugs
- Small personal first-aid kit (simple and light) — first-aid tape, Band-Aids, alcohol-free wipes for cuts, personal medications, etc.
- Skin blister repair kit
- Anti-diarrhea pills (Imodium) — one pack
- One small bottle cough and/or cold medicine
- One course antibiotics for chest infection
- One course antibiotics for stomach infection
- One small bottle of anti-altitude sickness medication: Diamox (Acetazolamide)
- One small bottle of water purification tablets (needs to contain silver-ions & chlorine) or a water filter or UV sterilizer
- Prescription glasses/contact lenses
Here’s a list of clothing you need to bring:
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- Waterproof hiking boots with a sturdy sole
- Warm clothes
- First layer: bottom / upper base layer (Merino wool recommended, 1-2 units)
- Second layer: fleece jacket (1-2)
- Third layer: down jacket (1)
- Waterproof jacket & pants (GoreTex recommended, 1)
- Hiking pants (1-2)
- Short sleeve t-shirts (3-5)
- Long sleeve t-shirts (1-2)
- Underwear and hiking socks
- Warm beanie
- Gloves / mittens
- Hiking buff
- Sandals or crocs (for river crossing)
Due to the difficult terrain, it’s highly recommended to bring good quality mountain gear.
Your guides will contact you about any additional equipment at the time of contracting the trip.
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In Nepal it is mandatory to travel with a local certified guide. Amarok Adventure has partnered with a local travel agency for many years, and since the beginning, they have been paying the local guides a salary that goes beyond the regular Nepali salary. This salary is used by the travel agency and the guides to have an official and professional mountain guiding education, gear, as well as a normal daylife.
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From the moment you step on the trail, you won’t have to worry about food, as all meals, tea and coffee are included—no matter how many cups or how many pots you want to drink! Your guide’s goal is to keep you hydrated at all costs to avoid the altitude sickness and (of course) to have the tranquility of not needing to pay extra money for something as basic as an extra cup of tea.
The accommodation used is always the best possible. In Kathmandu, you will stay at one of the best hotels in town (Kathmandu Guesthouse), a small oasis in the middle of the city. During the trail, you won’t stay in the biggest teahouses, but the smallest, local ones with the best services (rooms, food & facilities) so you can really rest and enjoy after the daily treks.
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In Nepal it is mandatory to travel with a local certified guide. Amarok Adventure has partnered with a local travel agency for many years, and since the beginning, they have been paying the local guides a salary that goes beyond the regular Nepali salary. This salary is used by the travel agency and the guides to have an official and professional mountain guiding education, gear, as well as a normal daylife.
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Group sizes and prices:
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- For this adventure, the max client-to-guide ratio is 12:1. The cost does not decrease as the group grows.
- It takes a minimum of 7 people for the tour to operate.
Annapurna Circuit trek can be arranged for larger groups. Contact us to make arrangements.
Min. age requirements:
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- If you are older than 18, you’re good to go.
- Minors older than 16 may be permitted to join the hike on a case-by-case basis, but must be in the presence of a parent or legal guardian.
- This tour isn’t appropriate for children and minors under 16 years old.
If your group has hikers under the age of 18, contact us prior to booking to make arrangements.
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To get to the Annapurna Circuit in Nepal, most people fly into Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu.
Once you and your guide agree on the details of your itinerary, they will arrange for your pickup at the airport and transfer you to your accommodation in Kathmandu. After that, all you have to do is stay safe and have fun on this Nepal trekking tour!
Your guide provides transfers with local vans from Kathmandu to the beginning to the trail, and the last day for going back to the capital. Transportation also include two domestic flights for coming back to Kathmandu, so the group spend less time on the road and more time enjoying and resting once the hike is over. Your guide also offer private transfer from/to the airport in case you arrive by yourself so you do not need to share the transfer with someone that it’s not in your group.
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57hours is committed to providing safe outdoor adventure experiences. We require all guides using our platform to have a COVID-19 safety plan and to make the details of that plan accessible to travelers. In most cases, group sizes will be reduced, guides will avoid overcrowded locations, and other safety measures will be met depending on the location and activity.
We also expect clients to respect local regulations and take measures to protect themselves, their guides, and the communities they’re traveling to. For more information on COVID-19 measures in the Annapurna Circuit, Nepal, please refer to the US Embassy’s foreign travel advice for Nepal.
Please contact us if you have any questions or require further information. We are happy to provide you with the most up-to-date information!
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