Annapurna Base Camp in November, December and Winter: Cold, Snow and Honest Odds

The short answer: November is a good month for the Annapurna Base Camp trek, early December is possible if you take the cold seriously, and from mid-December to February it is a hard trek that I would not sell to anyone's first winter. The reasons are the night temperatures at 4,130 m, snow above Deurali, and an avalanche-prone stretch of the route. I will give you the numbers, and I will say clearly where I have no source and so cannot tell you.

This post covers the late season only. For October, see ABC in October, and for the autumn guide as a whole, ABC in autumn. For the effort of the walk itself, read how difficult the ABC trek is.

What is the weather at Annapurna Base Camp from November to February?

I pulled ten years of daily data (2015 to 2024) from Open-Meteo, a free weather archive, for Annapurna Base Camp at 4,130 m and Deurali at 3,174 m. This is a computer model, not readings from a thermometer at a lodge, and it counts any day with 1 mm of precipitation as a wet day. So use it to compare months, not to forecast a day. Snowfall is the model's estimate of the month's snowfall in centimetres.

What I read from it. November is dry: four wet days at ABC against sixteen in October, with night lows around -6 °C. December is colder again at about -9 °C. January and February are the extreme months, with nights near -13 °C at ABC and about 40 cm of modelled snowfall a month. The first half of October is still wet in this model; the dry spell starts after it. For the half-month figures, see the October post.

The same archive for the lower villages shows that the cold is a feature of the top section only. Chomrong at 2,170 m has night lows of 7 °C in November, 4 °C in December and about 1 °C in January, with almost no snow. Pokhara at 820 m has night lows of 12 °C in November and 8 °C in December, and it is dry in November (3 wet days) and December (about 4).

How does that compare with other sources?

Our own ABC package page carries a monthly table for 4,130 m with night temperatures of about -5 °C in November, -8 °C in December, -10 °C in January and -8 °C in February. That agrees with the model for November and December and is warmer than the model for January and February (-13.6 and -12.2 °C). I do not know how the package page figures were measured, so I would plan for the colder numbers.

The only outside figure I found is on Wikipedia's page for the Annapurna Conservation Area, which cites a study of snow cover in the winter of 1999 to 2000. It says winter air temperatures at about 4,400 m ranged from -4.65 to -6.06 °C, and that areas above 3,000 m were snow-covered until the end of March, and above 4,400 m until May. The temperature figure is the same order as the model's December average at ABC (about -5 °C, the midpoint of the day high and night low). It does not capture the nights, which are far colder than the mean, so do not read -5 °C as the temperature you will sleep in. And note that the snow cover is for one winter, 25 years ago. I would not treat it as a rule, but it is the reason I say that snow can lie on the upper trail long after December.

Is there an avalanche risk on the trail?

Yes, and I cannot put a number on it. Wikipedia's page on Deurali describes the village as lying in an avalanche-prone region. Its most recent reported casualties there were on 17 January 2020, and The Himalayan Times of 18 January 2020 ran the headline "Six trekkers including 4 Koreans missing in avalanche in Annapurna region". I have not seen the full report, so I cannot give you more detail than the headline.

What I do not have is an official avalanche-risk calendar for the sanctuary, and I would be inventing a "safe window" if I gave you one. The honest position is this. The stretch between Deurali and ABC runs below steep slopes. After fresh heavy snow, the risk goes up, and the right decision is to wait or turn back, whatever the schedule says. If your guide says stop, you stop. That is the rule I would want any guide to follow, and it is one reason winter ABC needs spare days in your plan.

Are the lodges open at Machhapuchhre Base Camp and ABC in winter?

I do not know, and I have found no official source that lists lodge openings by month in the sanctuary. Our own winter trekking guide says that in winter some teahouses close for the season and that those still open offer the basics, but it does not say which ones close in the sanctuary, and I will not guess. Ask us before you book, and ask any other operator the same question in writing. We have no report yet from a guide on a winter ABC trek this year, and we will add it here once we do.

How short are the days?

This is a calculation, not a measurement: the length of daylight at the latitude of Annapurna Base Camp (about 28.5 degrees north), ignoring the mountains.

The change is only an hour from October to the shortest day. The real effect comes from the mountains: the sanctuary is enclosed by high peaks, so direct sun reaches the lodges later in the morning and leaves earlier in the afternoon than this table suggests. That is my own observation of how the valley works, not a figure. Our itinerary has a walking day of about 7 hours (Chomrong to Deurali), so in winter you start at first light and plan to arrive before the cold sets in.

What should you pack for winter ABC?

Pack for nights well below zero. Beyond the normal kit list: a warm hat and liner gloves plus insulated mittens, thermal base layers, a down jacket that you will wear from late afternoon until morning, and a sleeping bag with a comfort rating clearly below the night lows in the table. For January, that means well below -13 °C; this is my own judgement, not a standard. Our package gives sleeping bags and down jackets if you tell us at your briefing that you need them. Our winter guide notes that the trail above Deurali can be icy, so bring microspikes for that section. Trekking poles help on frozen stairs on the way down. For the full gear list, see our December Everest guide, where the cold-weather kit is the same in principle.

Which months work, and which do not?

I would add one point about November. It is the month I would choose over December if you want the sanctuary at its clearest, and it is the better balance of cold and risk. Our November 2026 guide has the position for every route, and our December 2026 guide says plainly that ABC works if you take the cold seriously and is not a first-winter choice.

What about the altitude and the road?

Cold and altitude add together. Our 9-day plan gains about 1,004 m of sleeping altitude on day 4 and about 956 m on day 5, more than three times the 300 m a day that Wikipedia's page on altitude sickness gives as the rule of thumb, and I would add a night in winter. The trails were reported open on 29 September. The Pokhara to Baglung road lost about 150 m at Sahasradhara on 27 September (Kathmandu Post, 28 September), and I found no report that it has reopened. By November the position may be different, and we confirm the road 48 hours before departure. The full trail account is in our difficulty guide.

What does it cost, and are there fixed departures?

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 does not change by month. We have no fixed group departures for ABC in November or December that I can promise you; contact us for dates, and we will run a private departure for even one person. Budget has no porter and no meals, which in snow means carrying your own bag. Standard has all meals and one porter for every two trekkers, and a solo Standard trekker has no porter, as the guide carries up to 10 kg. Luxury has your own porter and private deluxe rooms where available. The Annapurna Conservation Area permit and TIMS card are included; Kathmandu hotels are not, though the two Pokhara nights are.

A 10 per cent deposit holds your dates and the balance is paid in Kathmandu. The deposit is non-refundable. You can reschedule free of charge with at least 72 hours' notice to any date within one year, and if we cannot run the trip we refund what you paid less taxes, bank and card charges and money already spent. That matters in winter, when snow can change a plan.

When should you not choose winter ABC?

Do not choose it if this is your first trek, or if you have never slept in temperatures below freezing. Do not choose it if you cannot spare a few extra days for a snow delay. Do not choose it on Budget if you mind carrying a pack on icy stairs. And do not choose it if you dislike the cold, because there is no way around it at 4,130 m in January. The alternatives are the 6-day Poon Hill trek in December and January, which stays below 3,300 m, and, for experienced winter trekkers, the Annapurna Circuit in winter. Both are written up on our site, and our winter trekking guide compares them.

Notes and sources

Prices, tiers, porter rules, inclusions, itinerary altitudes and times, deposit and refund wording: our live ABC package and itinerary, 3 October 2026. Weather: Open-Meteo historical archive, ERA5 reanalysis, daily data 2015 to 2024, for ABC (4,130 m), Deurali (3,174 m), Chomrong (2,170 m) and Pokhara (820 m); a model, with snowfall an estimate. Winter air temperature and snow cover in 1999 to 2000: Wikipedia, Annapurna Conservation Area, which cites a snow-cover study. Avalanche-prone Deurali and the 17 January 2020 date: Wikipedia, Deurali. Headline of 18 January 2020: The Himalayan Times. Altitude rule of thumb: Wikipedia, Altitude sickness. Day length: my own calculation from the sunrise equation at 28.5 degrees north, without terrain. Road status: Kathmandu Post, 28 September 2026 and ekantipur, 29 September 2026. Statements that some teahouses close in winter and that the trail above Deurali can be icy: our own winter trekking guide. Night temperatures on the package page: our live ABC package page. No official source found for avalanche windows or for which lodges close at Machhapuchhre Base Camp and ABC.

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