Classic Annapurna Circuit Trek

You'll be met at the airport with a representative from Altitude Experts Trips & Expedition who will escort you to the hotel room which has been booked in advance for you.
You'll be staying in Thamel, a tourist hub in Kathmandu. Thamel is bounded by outdoor shops (ranging from local to brand name shops such as Mountain Hard wear, The North Face, Sherpa Gear), hotels, bar & restaurants, spa, a few pharmacies and music shops. Enjoy your evening in Kathmandu strolling the streets of Thamel and shop for some souvenirs if you like.

After a delectable breakfast, embark on a captivating sightseeing tour of Kathmandu's ancient city. A licensed and expert tour guide will be at your service, and a comfortable private vehicle will be at your disposal. The day's itinerary includes visits to the grand Boudhanath Stupa, a UNESCO World Heritage site, the sacred Pashupatinath Temple, the iconic Swambhunath Stupa, also known as the monkey temple, the historical Kathmandu Durbar Square with its ancient King's palace, and the enlightening Narayanhiti King's palace Museum. The evening concludes as you are safely transported back to your hotel. Enjoy your evening in Kathmandu strolling the streets of Thamel and shopping for some souvenirs if you like. 

7-8 hours’ drive ahead takes us to Bulbule. Early in the morning, our guide and driver will pick you from the hotel. Leaving Kathmandu behind we drive along the Trisuli River of Prithvi Highway. From Dumre, we leave highway and drive along the Marshyangdi River leading us to Besisahar. We stop for lunch in Besisahar.

After lunch we drive further to Bulbule where we stay overnight.

After breakfast, we cross the suspension bridge and half an hour walk leads us to the beautiful Ngadi village where you can observe Marshyangdi Hydropower dam. We then climb steep through the light forest to Bahundanda. We then descend gradually to Germu through the forest, along the trail we have to cross two suspension bridges. We stop for lunch in Germu from where you can observe beautiful waterfall on the opposite site. 

After lunch we descend down the river and soon after cross the suspension bridge. The undulating walk along the river takes us to Siri Chaur. We then finally ascend up to Jagat through the winding trail. Jagat is a small village surrounded by forest located above the Marshyangdi River. Overnight at Jagat. 

As compared to previous day, the trail today is rather easy. Leaving Jagat behind, we gradually descend down to narrow gorge where breathtaking water falls lies to the opposite site. We then gradually ascend to Chyamje. We take narrow trail dropping down to Marshyangdi River and cross the suspension bridge. Half an hour steep climb along the cliff leads us to Sattale, surrounded by paddy fields. We then descend down slowly and climb steep through the rocky trail to Tal, a beautiful village located on the bank of river. We stop for lunch in Tal.

After lunch, we walk along the bank of the river for about an hour and then cross the bridge over the Marshyangdi. Further undulating walk through the gorge takes us to Dharapani, which is the meeting point of Annapurna Circuit trek and Manaslu Circuit trek. You can capture the magnificent views of Mt. Manaslu from Dharapani. We then hike to Danaque through the winding forest of pine and oak. Overnight at Danaque. It is a mix village of Tibetan and Gurung people and can observe Mt. Manaslu and Peak 29.

After breakfast, we cross the bridge above Danaque and soon after enter into the pine and fir forest. About two hours ascend through the zig-zag trail into the forest takes us to Timang. Then undulating trail through the winding forest leads us to Thanchowk. Few minutes’ walk leads us to lower Chame where police check point is located. We then continue to ascend to Chame, a beautiful village located at the lap of Annapurna II. Overnight at Chame.

You can observe Lamjung Himal and Annapurna II from here. There is a small and cozy hot spring in Chame. The monastery is at the top of the village.

Today, we walk for 6-7 hours. Leaving Chame behind, we cross the metal bridge and walk along the Marshyangdi River into the pine forest. After walking about one and half hour we come across Brathang village surrounded by apple tree. You can buy fresh apples in Brathang. Few minutes’ walk through narrow valley takes us to another suspension bridge. We hike steep through jungle to Dukur Pokhari, from where you can see the huge rock face, called Paung Danda. We stop for lunch in Dukur Pokhari.

An easy afternoon walk for about an hour finally takes us to Upper Pisang. The monastery is located at the top of the village. You can have breathtaking views of Annapurna range from Upper Pisang. Overnight at Upper Pisang.

Having an early breakfast, we take the path along the long mani walls to go to Geru. We begin to feel the differences of landscape and vegetation from today. The first one hour walk up to the mani walls (located at the base of Geru, nearby suspension bridge) is easy as we gradually descend into the forest and walk straight. We then climb steep up through narrow and zig-zag trail to Geru. We stop in Geru to enjoy the mesmerizing views of Annapurna II, Annapurna IV, Gangapurna, Tilicho Peak, Pisang peak to name a few. About two hours walk along the open and winding trail leads us to beautiful Nawal village where we stop for lunch.

After lunch we descend down the valley and walk through open pine forest to Mungi. Few minutes’ walk leads us to the picturesque Braga. It takes about an hour to Manang from here. Overnight at Manang.

Manang is one of the major village of Tibetan descendant people. Most of the houses are flat roofed. It is occupied by lodges, bakeries, tea houses and some trekking shops. You can attend the lecture class regarding the Acute Mountain Sickness at Himalayan Rescue Association clinic.

Proper Acclimatization is mandatory for trekking in high altitude areas. So, today we take acclimatization rest in Manang. After breakfast, we hike to Gangapurna ridge. We ascend from the ridge above the Gangapurna Lake through the open pine forest for about two and half hour to gain altitude. We then return to hotel following the same trail. After lunch you can have free time to hang around.

Today we can enjoy the views of the Annapurna range, Gangapurna, Tilicho, and Chulu West. Leaving the lodge behind, we walk through narrow trail between Manangi houses, come across lots of stone fenced fields and soon after we reach in Tengi Manang. Leaving Marshyangdi village, about an hour steady hike through juniper shrub leads us to Ghunsa hamlet. The trail goes easy as it goes kind of straight along the meadow from here. Usually, we can see yaks and horses around the hills. After one and half hour brief walk we come across Yak Kharka. We then continue walking for about forty minutes to Ledar. At the end we cross suspension bridge and overnight at Ledar. 

Today, we have short hike but physically more challenging as air becomes thinner.  After walking an hour we descend down to river and climb up to Thorong Phedi where we stop for tea. We then climb steep up through narrow zig-zag trail to Thorong High Camp. There is only one tea house in High Camp. After having lunch we climb to the view point behind the lodge for photographs. Overnight at Thorong high camp.

Today is the most challenging day of the trek as we have to pass Thorongla and descend to Muktinath. We have to leave early in the morning and cross the pass before 9-10 am to avoid strong winds.

After having breakfast around 4 am, we ascend up through narrow and zig-zag trail to the Thorongla top where prayer flags are hung. You can have breathtaking sunrise view over the surrounding mountains. It takes 3-4 hours to get to the top. Thorongla offers magnificent views of Mt. Dhaulagiri, Thorong Peak, Tukuche range and Mustang valley. There is a tea shop on the top so you can have hot tea. We then descend steep down for about 3 hours to Chirabu where we stop for hot soup. We then continue to walk to Muktinath for another hour where we stay overnight.

Muktinath is derived from Nepali word “Mukti” meaning Nirvana and “Nath” meaning place. So, it is believed that Muktinath is a place of Nirvana and it is home of Muktinath temple along with few Buddhist monasteries and nunnery. It is a sacred pilgrimage site of Hindu and Buddhist. There are 108 water spout around the temple from which holy water pours. Jwala Mai Monastery which contains spring and eternal blue flame.

We can get to Jomsom via two trails: the normal trail which goes straight to Jomsom following the jeep road and another trail via Lupra. Lupra is also known as Bon town (shamanist town) which is more interesting and offers better views of Mt. Dhaulagiri and Nilgiri range. From Jeep station, we take upper narrow trail intersecting Kagbeni and Lupra. It takes around 4 hours from Muktinath to Lupra. We visit Bon monastery before lunch.

After lunch we descend down to Kali Gandaki River following Lupra River and join the main trail to Jomsom, known as the windiest valley of Nepal. We then trek further one hour to Marpha. Marpha is famous for apple brandy and known as apple garden of Nepal.

Another long day about 7-8 hours walk lies ahead of us today. The trail goes through the beautiful and winding pine forest along the Kaligandaki River leading us to traditional Thakali villages of Tukuche, Kobang, Larjung, and Kokethanti to reach Kalopani. We cross some bridges en route to Kalopani. The surrounding mountains such as Dhaulagiri, Nilgiri range and Annapurna captivate your eyes throughout the trail. We stop for lunch in Larjung and overnight at Kalopani.

Leaving Kalopani behind, we come across Lette and then descend down through the pine forest to Ghasa where ACAP checkpoint is located. We then further descend through the gorge to Rupsechahara. It is the most beautiful waterfall of Nepal. We come across the deepest gorge of the world between Annapurna I (8091 m) and Dhaulagiri (8167 m) before to get Rupse. We stop for lunch in Rupse.

The undulating descend for about 3 hours finally takes us to Tatopani. There is hot spring in Tatopani. As soon as we arrive in hotel, we get ready to go the nearby hot spring.

Today, the trail is all the way steep to Gorepani except few minutes’ walk along the Budi Gandaki Valley at the beginning. We walk through the tropical forest of oak and rhododendron. We come across some traditional Gurung villages such as Dhara, Sikha and Chitre en route to Gorepani. We enjoy massif Dhaulagiri face standing above lower Kali Gandaki Valley. We stop at Sikha for lunch and overnight at Gorepani.

Gorepani is located at the ridge at an elevation of 2870 meter above the sea level. It is village of Magar people and especially of Poon clan. You can visit Gurung museum. You can enjoy sunrise and sunset views over the Dhaulagiri and Annapurna range from the hotel.

Today, early in the morning, we hike to Poonhill located at an elevation of 3200 meter. It offers one of the best panoramic views of Dhaulagiri (8167m), Annapurna I(8091m), Annapurna II (7937m), Annapurna III (7855m), Annapurna IV (7525m), Annapurna South(729m), Nilgiri(6940m), Tukuche peak (6920m), Lamjung Himal (6931m),  Machhapuchhre (Fishtail) to name a few. It takes one and half walk from Gorepani to Poonhill. After capturing the scenic views of Himalayas we return to hotel and have breakfast.

We then descend through the variable forest of oak and rhododendron to Banthanti. Then further descend over 3000 stone stairs takes us to Tikhedunga. We cross the suspension bridge and get to main village where we stop for lunch. After lunch, we walk along the Modi River, we come across few Gurung villages such as Hile, Sudame and Birethanti. We exit our permit at Birethanti and then continue to walk to Nayapul. At the end, we cross the old and rusty suspension bridge and final ascend to bus stop where our driver will be waiting for us. We then drive to Pokhara subsequently for about two hours. Overnight at Pokhara.

Today is our last day of the trek, so we will have a farewell dinner together with the Nepali staff. It is customary to leave a tip for the staff at the end of the trip. The guide and trip leader will collect the tip on the last night and will distribute it to the staff.

You can travel to Kathmandu from Pokhara by land way or airway. It takes 7-8 hours’ drive depending upon the traffic and it takes 25 minutes by airplane. Overnight at Kathmandu.

Depending upon your flight schedule, our staff will pick you up from the hotel and transfer to the airport for final departure.