Compare · Nepal · 2026

Annapurna Circuit vs Manaslu Circuit

A comparison of the two Nepal circuit treks in our catalog — Annapurna Circuit and Manaslu Circuit. Not a ranking of all Nepal treks, and not a fee table. Country: Nepal.

Attribute	Annapurna Circuit	Manaslu Circuit
Type / length	point-to-point; OSM 334.1 km* osm:relation:1187310 · 2026-08-20 · osm · provisional	point-to-point; OSM 146.9 km* osm:relation:1328173 · 2026-08-25 · osm · provisional
Max altitude	5,385 m (record high) copernicus-dem:glo-30 · 2026-08-20 · dem · provisional	5,151 m (record high) copernicus-dem:glo-30 · 2026-08-25 · dem · provisional
Difficulty	SAC T3 · YDS 2	SAC T2 · YDS 1
Permits	Required: ACAP (NTNC entry permit)	Required: RAP (Manaslu) + MCAP + ACAP
Typical days (catalog)	28	14
Best season	Mar-May and Sep-Nov (Wikipedia Thorong La; safest months to cross the pass, checked 2026-08-24)	unverified
Key hazard (public)	Altitude illness at Thorong La (5,416 m). Wikipedia Thorong La, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thorong_La, checked 2026-08-24.	Altitude / AMS at Larkya La (published ~5,106 m; GLO-30 high 5,151 m on this line). Surface as a safety fact. Restricted-area access: RAP is issued by the Department of Immigration through a registered agency, not self-issued (https://ntb.gov.np/en/plan-your-trip/before-you-come/trekking-permit, checked 2026-08-25). This is a safety/logistics rule, not a fee.
Access	KTM → Pokhara (PKR) → Pokhara → Besisahar road head (OSM line start)	KTM → Machha Khola / Soti Khola

Which suits you

A comparison of the two Nepal circuit treks in this catalog — not a ranking, and not “the harder Himalayan trek.”

Annapurna Circuit is the longer OSM line of the pair: stored 2-D 334.1 km (relation 1187310), DEM high 5,385 m against a cited Thorong La of 5,416 m on that record, catalog typicalDays 28. Manaslu Circuit is the shorter mapped corridor: stored 2-D 146.9 km (relation 1328173), DEM high 5,151 m in the Larkya La band (published pass ~5,106 m is a cross-check, not this DataPoint), catalog typicalDays 14. Typical-days figures are catalog fields, not a duration statute.

Stored SAC on the Circuit is T3 (altitude at Thorong La). Stored SAC on Manaslu is T2 from ingest — operator “Manaslu is harder” copy is not this grade. Permits at public level: the Circuit lists ACAP; Manaslu lists RAP (Manaslu) + MCAP + ACAP. RAP is a different NTB row from Nar-Phu. Cost and booking stay on each trail page and on the Nepal permits guide.

Seasons on the records: Circuit Mar-May and Sep-Nov (Wikipedia Thorong La; safest months to cross the pass, checked 2026-08-24). Manaslu unverified. Altitude / AMS at the pass is the headline public hazard on both.

Also in this desk: Nepal trekking permits · EBC vs Annapurna Base Camp · Nepal · Compare index.

Questions

Is Manaslu harder than the Annapurna Circuit?

This desk does not rank them. Annapurna Circuit is listed as SAC T3 · YDS 2. Manaslu Circuit is listed as SAC T2 · YDS 1. Operator blogs often call Manaslu the harder walk on remoteness; that is not this catalog’s SAC field. Different stored grades, highs, and permit stacks — not a single difficulty winner.

Which circuit needs a restricted-area permit?

Annapurna Circuit: a permit is required (ACAP (NTNC entry permit)). Cost and booking stay behind the login gate on each trail page. Manaslu Circuit: a permit is required (RAP (Manaslu) + MCAP + ACAP). Cost and booking stay behind the login gate on each trail page. RAP on Manaslu is a different NTB row from Nar-Phu. This page does not quote fees.

Which is longer?

Annapurna Circuit’s stored OSM 2-D length is 334.1 km (relation 1187310). Manaslu Circuit’s is 146.9 km (relation 1328173). Catalog typicalDays are 28 and 14 respectively — stored fields, not a duration statute. This is a data contrast, not a recommendation.