Last updated 4 October 2026. Heights, times and distances come from the 12-day itinerary on our live package page. Trail and road news changes week to week, so check the status section near the end before you rely on it.
The Annapurna Circuit is graded Strenuous on our scale, the same grade as Everest Base Camp. It is a twelve-day trip on our itinerary, with eight days on foot, and most of the difficulty sits in three places: the long walk in, the two short but steep days up to Thorong High Camp, and the pass day itself, which crosses Thorong La at 5,416 metres and drops about 1,600 metres to Muktinath. Nothing on the route is technical. You do not need ropes, crampons or climbing skill. What you need is fitness for long days, patience with the altitude, and a guide who is willing to slow you down or turn you round. I also have to tell you something the usual difficulty guides leave out: on our own route, two of the sleeping-height gains are bigger than the medical guidance recommends, and I explain exactly where below.
How hard is the Annapurna Circuit, and what grade do we give it?
We grade every trek on a five-step scale: Easy, Moderate, Strenuous, Very Strenuous and Technically Challenging. Our 12-day Annapurna Circuit trek is Strenuous, which our grade definition describes as long, demanding days at high altitude, often above 4,500 metres, with steep climbs, where good fitness and some previous hiking experience are needed. The 16-day version that adds Tilicho Lake is also Strenuous.
Three things set the Circuit apart from an easier trek.
- Length. Eight walking days, most of them five to seven hours, with distances of 13 to 16 kilometres on the longer ones.
- Altitude. Six nights are spent above 3,000 metres, and you sleep as high as 4,925 metres on the night before the pass.
- One very hard day. The pass day is a long, cold, early start at the highest point of the route, followed by a knee-testing descent.
It is a shorter, less steady climb than Everest Base Camp, and it has one acclimatisation day in Manang instead of two. Our comparison of Everest Base Camp and the Annapurna Circuit sets the two side by side.
What does each day of the Annapurna Circuit look like?
The table uses the heights, times and distances on our live 12-day itinerary. The last column is plain subtraction from the previous night's sleeping height, so you can see where the climbing falls. Our package sheet prints its own ascent figures, which differ from this subtraction by up to 60 metres on days 2, 4 and 5, so read the last column to the nearest 50 metres.
| Day | From and to | Sleep at | Time | Distance | Change in sleeping height |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Drive Kathmandu to Bhulbhule | Bhulbhule, 845 m | 7 to 8 hours by road | Not printed | Down from Kathmandu at 1,400 m |
| 2 | Bhulbhule to Jagat | Jagat, 1,300 m | 5 to 6 hours | 16 km | Up about 450 m |
| 3 | Jagat to Dharapani | Dharapani, 1,860 m | 5 to 6 hours | 13 km | Up 560 m |
| 4 | Dharapani to Chame | Chame, 2,670 m | 5 to 6 hours | 15.5 km | Up about 800 m |
| 5 | Chame to Upper Pisang (Pisang guide) | Upper Pisang, 3,300 m | 5 to 6 hours | 13.2 km | Up about 650 m |
| 6 | Upper Pisang to Manang | Manang, 3,540 m | 6 to 7 hours | 16 km | Up 240 m |
| 7 | Acclimatisation day in Manang | Manang, 3,540 m | Optional hike | None | No change |
| 8 | Manang to Ledar | Ledar, 4,250 m | 5 to 6 hours | 9.1 km | Up 710 m |
| 9 | Ledar to Thorong High Camp | High Camp, 4,925 m | 7 to 8 hours on the sheet | 7.3 km | Up 675 m |
| 10 | Cross Thorong La, 5,416 m, down to Muktinath | Muktinath, 3,800 m | 5 to 6 hours on the sheet; see below | 15.6 km | Up 491 m to the pass, then down about 1,600 m |
| 11 | Drive Muktinath via Jomsom to Pokhara | Pokhara, 820 m | 8 to 9 hours by road | 174 km | Down 2,980 m |
| 12 | Drive Pokhara to Kathmandu | Kathmandu, 1,400 m | 7 to 8 hours by road | 200 km | Up 580 m |
Two small notes on the table. First, day 9: the sheet prints seven to eight hours, but the itinerary text for the same day says three to four hours of walking for the 675-metre gain. I would plan for somewhere between four and eight hours and an unhurried pace. Second, our own posts round some heights differently, for example Thorong Phedi and High Camp. I use the itinerary figures throughout, and our Thorong Phedi guide explains where the two lodges sit.
Which days on the Annapurna Circuit are the hardest?
Days 2 to 5, the long walk in. Nothing here is steep for its own sake, but these are five to six hours a day for four days in a row, and you sleep about 800 metres higher on day 4 and about 650 metres higher on day 5. This is where blisters, sore knees and bad boots show up. A road now runs up parts of this valley, which our road construction guide explains.
Day 6, Upper Pisang to Manang. It is only 240 metres of sleeping gain, but at 16 kilometres it is joint-longest by distance with day 2, and you start it at 3,300 metres. Our Ngawal guide describes the higher path between Pisang and Manang, which our road guide says adds about half a day.
Day 8, Manang to Ledar. The shortest of the hard days on paper, at 9.1 kilometres, but you sleep 710 metres higher than the night before, and the pine forests are behind you. The air is thin, the wind is cold, and the pace that felt easy at 2,000 metres needs conscious effort.
Day 9, Ledar to Thorong High Camp. Another 675 metres of sleeping gain in a short walk. The itinerary notes that sleep is difficult at this height, and it notes that nights at Ledar often drop below minus ten degrees Celsius, so you will wear most of what you carry.
Day 10, the pass. This is the hardest day, and I cover it in its own section next.
How hard is the Thorong La crossing day?
On our itinerary you wake in the dark, at about four or five o'clock, and walk up from High Camp by headlamp. The pass at 5,416 metres is reached in about three to four hours, which is a climb of 491 metres. You cannot stay long in the cold and wind, so the descent starts soon after, dropping about 1,600 metres to Muktinath at 3,800 metres in roughly four hours. The sheet says five to six hours for the day. The itinerary text adds up to seven or eight hours on the move, and our Thorong La guide says eight to ten with stops. I would plan for a whole day and treat the five-to-six figure as too optimistic.
The terrain is steep switchbacks over loose rock, frozen scree in the dark, and sometimes snow. It is not technical. What makes it hard is the altitude, the cold, the early start and the length. Then the descent is hard in a different way: 1,600 metres of downhill is demanding on knees and toes, and trekking poles help. One of our guests described the day on our package page as "very tough, but also rewarding" (Joran, TripAdvisor, October 2019).
High Camp or Thorong Phedi? Our standard 12-day itinerary sleeps at High Camp, 4,925 metres, because it shortens the pass day to a climb of 491 metres instead of about 890 metres from Phedi at 4,525 metres (my subtraction from our own figures). The cost is sleeping 400 metres higher the night before. Our Thorong Phedi guide argues the other way for people who sleep badly at height. The honest position is that both are used and neither is wrong, and the right choice depends on how you are feeling at Ledar. Tell me on WhatsApp if you want to discuss it for your dates.
Is the altitude on the Annapurna Circuit dangerous?
Altitude illness is the real risk on this trek, and it does not depend on how fit you are. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Yellow Book says that altitude illness is a risk for anyone going to sleep at 2,450 metres or higher, and sometimes lower. Once you are above 3,000 metres, it advises gaining no more than 500 metres of sleeping height per night, and allowing an extra night for every 1,000 metres of sleeping height you gain. It also says that descending 300 metres or more helps altitude sickness improve quickly.
Here is how our route compares with that figure. From Upper Pisang onward the sleeping gains are 240 metres to Manang, then a rest day, then 710 metres to Ledar and 675 metres to High Camp. That is 210 metres and 175 metres more than the 500-metre guideline on those two nights. The rest day in Manang, the climb-high-sleep-low walk on that day, and the guide's daily checks are our answer, and this is the schedule our guides run. But it is not the slowest schedule available, and if you have had altitude trouble before, or you are slow to adjust, a slower one is worth asking for.
What we do about it:
- The Manang rest day. It is part of the itinerary. We use it for a short hike high and a return to sleep low, which our acclimatisation day guide explains. The itinerary also mentions the free altitude talk at the Himalayan Rescue Association post in Manang during the season, which is worth going to.
- Pace. Your guide sets a deliberately slow pace on days 8 to 10 and stops often. Drink water all day and eat even when you are not hungry.
- Checks. Our guides use a pulse oximeter on the high nights. It is a guide to how you are doing and not a diagnosis, so the guide also asks how you slept, whether you have a headache, and whether you are eating.
- The guide decides. On every trek we run, the guide has the final say on safety, over the itinerary and over what you want. If you are not well enough to cross, you wait or you go down, and that is not negotiable.
The CDC says confusion, loss of balance, or breathlessness at rest are signs of the dangerous forms of altitude illness, and that you go down at once. Do not wait for morning. Our altitude sickness guide and our guide to acclimatisation on Nepal treks go into the symptoms in more detail, and you should talk to your own doctor about Diamox before you travel. Buy travel insurance at home before you fly, and check that it covers trekking to 5,500 metres and helicopter evacuation.
Does the Tilicho Lake version make the Annapurna Circuit easier or harder?
It is longer and it is also graded Strenuous, but its profile is different. The 16-day Annapurna Circuit with Tilicho Lake keeps the same Manang rest day, then goes to Siri Kharka at 4,060 metres (up 520 metres from Manang), then Tilicho Base Camp at 4,150 metres, then a day to the lake at 4,919 metres and back to Siri Kharka. After that it returns to Ledar at 4,250 metres and goes on to High Camp, so it sleeps three nights between 4,060 and 4,150 metres before Ledar. That gives your body more time at height before the pass, though that is my reading of the itinerary and not a medical promise. The lake day is hard in its own right, with a narrow path and loose rock in places, which our Tilicho Lake guide describes. After the lake the route is the same as the standard Circuit: High Camp, then the pass.
How fit do you need to be for the Annapurna Circuit?
You need to walk five to seven hours a day for several days in a row, on hills, carrying a daypack, and then do a longer day at altitude. That is a level of fitness you build over months, not weeks. If you can walk or hike for most of a day, climb stairs or hills without stopping often, and recover well the next morning, you are in the right range. Our guides' advice is to train on hills with the boots and daypack you will use, and to practise long downhill walks, because the descent from the pass is the part many people forget.
Our 12-week training plan was written for a 5,500-metre trek, so most of it carries over. Fitness helps with the walking, but it is not the thing that decides how you cope with altitude, so patience matters as much as training. I would rather you arrive in Manang a little undertrained and patient than very fit and in a hurry.
Can a beginner do the Annapurna Circuit?
A fit beginner can, if the trek is your first and you are honest about your limits. It is a much bigger first trek than Poon Hill or Mardi Himal, and a harder one than Annapurna Base Camp. If you have never hiked for more than a day, I would suggest starting with a shorter trek. Our Annapurna Circuit against Annapurna Base Camp comparison helps you choose between them. The Circuit may not be right for you if:
- You cannot manage a five-to-seven-hour walk on consecutive days, or a day of eight hours or more on the pass.
- You have knee or ankle trouble. The descent from the pass drops about 1,600 metres and is harder on joints than the climb.
- You have had altitude sickness before, or you have a heart or lung condition. See a doctor first, and tell us before you book.
- You want to cut the schedule and still sleep at 4,925 metres. I would rather add a day than remove one.
- You cannot cope with cold, basic lodges and early starts. High Camp is a stone lodge with a metal roof, and the wind can be relentless.
How does the Annapurna Circuit compare with other treks?
These are our own grades and durations from our live package pages. The grade is our judgement of the whole trek, and altitude is only part of it.
| Trek | Days | Our grade |
|---|---|---|
| Ghorepani Poon Hill | 6 | Easy |
| Mardi Himal Base Camp | 7 | Moderate |
| Langtang | 8 | Moderate |
| Annapurna Base Camp | 9 | Moderate |
| Upper Mustang | 10 | Moderate |
| Annapurna Circuit | 12 | Strenuous |
| Annapurna Circuit with Tilicho Lake | 16 | Strenuous |
| Everest Base Camp | 12 | Strenuous |
| Manaslu Circuit | 12 | Very Strenuous |
The high point of the Circuit is Thorong La at 5,416 metres. Everest Base Camp tops out at 5,545 metres on Kala Patthar, and Annapurna Base Camp at 4,130 metres. The Circuit asks for one genuinely hard day, where Everest asks for a week of steady altitude, and that is why I often recommend the Circuit to people who already have a big trek behind them. Our Manaslu against Annapurna Circuit comparison covers the harder alternative.
Do you carry your own bag on the Annapurna Circuit?
It depends on the tier. On Budget you carry your own bag. On Standard, one porter carries for every two trekkers. On Luxury, each trekker has a porter of their own. Kathmandu hotels are not included in any trek tier. A single trekker on Standard gets no porter, because porters are shared one between two, so the guide carries up to 10 kilograms instead. Prices for the 12-day trek start at USD 720 on Budget, USD 999 on Standard and USD 1,499 on Luxury per person for one to four trekkers, and our Annapurna Circuit cost guide breaks the total down. The day-by-day lodges are described in our guide to the best teahouses on the Annapurna Circuit, and our packing list covers the cold-weather gear.
When is the Annapurna Circuit easiest, and what is the trail status now?
October and November are the most settled months for the pass, and spring is also good. Our guides for October, autumn, spring and winter cover each season, and the monsoon guide explains what June to August is like. Heavy snow can close the pass for days in winter, and strong wind can delay a crossing in any season.
For the current position, our road against trail update, last checked on 29 September 2026, says the walking trail of the Annapurna region is reported open, that a flood on 27 September disrupted Chame, and that several roads were damaged. A road block is not the same as a trail closure, but things change. If your dates are close, message me and I will give you the position for your exact route.
The short version
The Annapurna Circuit is graded Strenuous. It takes twelve days on our itinerary, with eight days on foot, and tops out at 5,416 metres on Thorong La. The hard parts are the long walk in on days 2 to 5, the 710-metre and 675-metre sleeping gains on days 8 and 9, and the pass day itself, which is a long, cold day with a descent of about 1,600 metres. Those two sleeping gains are bigger than the 500-metre CDC guideline, so we build in the Manang rest day and the guide watches you closely. A fit beginner can do it, but it is a serious trek, and a slower schedule is worth asking for if you are unsure. To talk through your dates, message me on WhatsApp on +977 9810351300.
Sources
Our own live package pages for the 12-day Annapurna Circuit and the 16-day Annapurna Circuit with Tilicho Lake (altitudes, walking times, distances, grade, tiers, group-size prices, read 4 October 2026). Our own grade definitions from our booking system. The CDC Yellow Book chapter on high-altitude travel and altitude illness (cdc.gov). Our own guides to Thorong La, Thorong Phedi, Ledar, Tilicho Lake, Pisang, Ngawal and Chame, our October and seasonal guides, and our road against trail update of 29 September 2026.
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Written by Shreejan Simkhada, CEO of The Everest Holiday and third-generation family guide. TAAN Member #1586.
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