Annapurna Base Camp Trek in October: Clear Skies and the Mountain Amphitheatre

Last updated 3 October 2026. I rewrote this post around the 9-day Annapurna Base Camp itinerary we actually run, which goes up through Ghandruk and Chomrong. The old version described a Ghorepani route that is not ours. The weather figures are from a weather model, not from lodge thermometers.

Is October a good month for the Annapurna Base Camp trek?

Yes, but not all of October is the same. The second half is the better half. In the model data below, late October at Deurali has about half the rain of the first two weeks and clearly less than the monsoon months before it, and the nights at Annapurna Base Camp (ABC), at 4,130 m, are already well below freezing. October is also the busiest month on the trail, and the trail itself had a rough summer: a flood in July and a landslide-dammed stream in September, both on the Ghandruk and Chomrong side. The trails were reported open again on 13 September and still open on 29 September, so October 2026 is runnable, with one road check I describe in the status section.

What is the weather really like in October?

There is no weather station at the lodges, so the figures come from a weather model for ten Octobers, 2015 to 2024, with the model height set to each village's altitude. A reanalysis is a model of the atmosphere on a grid. It is good for comparing one fortnight with another and poor for predicting a single day. It also tends to count light drizzle as a wet day, so read the wet-day figures as a ranking, not a promise. The village positions are approximate map points.

A wet day here means 1 mm or more in the model. At ABC, the same model gives 350 mm for the whole of September and 513 mm for August, and at Deurali 403 mm in September, so early October is the tail of the monsoon rather than a clean break from it. In Pokhara, where you start and end, October averages 24 / 16 °C with 111 mm of rain, and November 21 / 12 °C with 22 mm.

As a sanity check on the cold: a published snow and rain record from near Annapurna (Putkonen, 2004) measured winter air temperatures of about -4.7 to -6.1 °C at 4,400 m. The model's early November night figure at ABC, -5 °C, sits in that range, which gives me some confidence in the cold end of the table. Related: Annapurna Base Camp in November, December and Winter: Cold, Snow and Honest Odds.

Is early or late October better?

For weather, late. The model drops from about 99 mm to 48 mm of rain at Deurali between the two halves of October, and the number of wet days falls at every village. The price is cold: ABC nights go from around freezing to about -4 °C. The Annapurna Sanctuary is a bowl with peaks on every side, and it gets only about seven hours of sunlight a day even at the height of summer, so October days there are shorter still. Once the sun leaves the amphitheatre, the temperature falls fast.

If your dates are fixed in the first half of October, you can still trek. Expect afternoon cloud, pack a proper waterproof, and accept that some mornings the peaks will be hidden. If your dates are flexible, aim for the middle of the month or later. If you can go in early November, the same model gives roughly half to a third of late-October rain, with colder nights. Our autumn guide covers the wider October to November picture.

Is the Annapurna Base Camp trail open in October 2026?

The trail, yes. The summer was hard on this corridor. In my 8 September post I reported that the flood on the Kimrong and Modi Khola on 11 and 12 July washed away the suspension bridge at Ghurjung and cut the road between Nayapul and Ghandruk, and that a landslide blocked the Kimrong Khola on 8 September. I updated that post on 13 September: the blockage cleared and Annapurna Base Camp reopened with us (the full account). On 29 September the trails were still reported open.

The road is the open question. The Pokhara to Baglung road lost about 150 m at Sahasradhara on 27 September (Kathmandu Post, 28 September), and it has not been reported reopened since repair began on 29 September. Our route starts from Pokhara and the Nayapul trailhead, and our itinerary has a short jeep ride from Nayapul up to Kimche. Don't assume the Nayapul to Ghandruk road is fully open: the last report, from 4 September, said it was not. We confirm the road to the trailhead 48 hours before you go, and if it is shut we find you an alternative route or starting point and tell you before you travel.

How cold do the nights get, and what do you need to pack?

The nights at Chomrong are mild (10 to 13 °C in the model), Deurali is near freezing in late October, and ABC is below it. The walk spans about 3,300 m of altitude from Pokhara, so at Nayapul you are in shorts and at ABC you are in your down jacket. The package page says that if you do not have your own sleeping bag or down jacket, you tell us at the online briefing or after the arrival briefing in Kathmandu, and we provide one. It also lists a duffel bag, one for every two trekkers.

Pack thermal base layers, a fleece, a waterproof shell, warm hat and gloves, a headtorch, and trekking poles. Our itinerary says poles are strongly recommended on the descent from ABC, where the stone steps are harder going down, especially when wet. Your guide checks your oxygen saturation with a pulse oximeter at night from Deurali, which is useful but a guide only, not a diagnosis.

How crowded is the trail in October?

October is the peak month, so expect more people than in March or in December. There is no official count of trekkers per month on this trail, so I won't give you a figure. What I can say from running the trek is where the pressure falls: not on the trail itself, which is wide in the lower valley, but on the few lodges at Machhapuchhre Base Camp (MBC) and ABC. Arriving without rooms arranged can mean sleeping in a dining room, so our guides arrange the nights in advance. Above Deurali the trail thins out, and the amphitheatre has plenty of room.

What route do you walk in October?

Our only ABC itinerary is nine days: drive to Pokhara, walk from Nayapul to Ghandruk (1,940 m), then Chomrong (2,170 m), Deurali (3,174 m), up via MBC to ABC (4,130 m), down to Bamboo (2,310 m) and Jhinu Danda (1,780 m), then Nayapul and the drive back to Kathmandu. The distances are in the distance guide, and the honest account of how hard it is, including the two big sleeping-altitude gains on days 4 and 5, is in the difficulty guide. A 4,130 m summit with no spare day is the part to think about before you pick dates. The two large gains, and what to do about them, are set out there.

What does it cost in October?

The 9-day trek is USD 499 on Budget, USD 799 on Standard and USD 1,400 on Luxury, per person for one traveller; larger groups pay less each. The price is the same in October as in any other month. The tier decides what is included. Budget has no porter and meals are not included, so you carry your own bag and pay for food as you go. Standard includes all meals and one porter for every two trekkers (a solo trekker on Standard has no porter, and the guide carries up to 10 kg). Luxury gives you your own porter and private deluxe rooms with attached bathrooms where available. Both permits are included on every tier: the Annapurna Conservation Area fee (NPR 3,000) and the TIMS card (NPR 2,000), NPR 5,000 together. Kathmandu hotels are not included; the two Pokhara hotel nights are part of the itinerary. See our Nepal trekking cost guide and the Annapurna Base Camp cost breakdown.

A 10 per cent deposit holds your dates and the balance is paid in Kathmandu. If you must move, you can reschedule free with at least 72 hours' notice to any date within one year. The deposit itself is not refunded if you cancel. If we cannot run the trip, we refund what you paid less taxes, bank and card charges and money already spent.

Can you add Poon Hill or Mardi Himal?

Not inside our 9-day itinerary, which does not go through Ghorepani. Poon Hill is its own 6-day trek (Poon Hill in October), and Mardi Himal is a separate 7-day trek on a different ridge (complete guide, and ABC against Mardi Himal). If you want a combination, tell me your dates on WhatsApp and I will quote it as a custom trip.

When is October the wrong choice?

If you hate crowds, choose a month outside the autumn peak; our spring guide covers March to May. If you dislike cold nights at altitude, October is milder than winter but the nights at ABC are already below freezing. If your dates fall in the first two weeks of October and a rainy afternoon would spoil the trip for you, consider late October or November. And if you cannot spare a spare day, think about whether the 9-day plan suits you; our difficulty guide explains why. If you are planning ahead, see trekking in Nepal in November 2026 for the current route position.

Sources: Nepal Tourism Board (permit fees). Temperatures, rain and wet days come from a weather model (2015 to 2024) at point heights 2,170, 3,174, 4,130 and 820 m; it is a model, not station data, and it over-counts light rain. Winter cold cross-check: Putkonen (2004), Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research. Road report: Kathmandu Post (28 September) and ekantipur (29 September).

About The Everest Holiday

We are a family company in Kathmandu, three generations of Himalayan guides, registered in 2016 and a member of the Trekking Agencies' Association of Nepal, number 1586. When you book with us you deal with the family, not a call centre.

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Written by Shreejan Simkhada, CEO of The Everest Holiday and third-generation Himalayan guide. TAAN Member #1586.