Annapurna Circuit
अन्नपूर्ण पदमार्ग · Трек вокруг Аннапурны · Трек навколо Аннапурни · tour des Annapurna · Αναπούρνα (πεζοπορική κυκλική διαδρομή) · 安纳布尔纳环线 · アンナプルナ往還 · Circuito de Annapurna · szlak wokół Annapurny · Krožna pot Anapurna · Circuit Annapurna · טרק סובב אנאפורנה
Annapurna Circuit Trekking Route, permit required
Last verified 2026-08-20 vs NTNC-ACAP / Nepal Tourism Board
Cite this record
The Hiking World, Annapurna Circuit, verified 2026-08-20, https://www.thehikingworld.com/trails/annapurna-circuit
How we verify · last checked 2026-08-20
Byline
- The Hiking World editorial · author
Desk byline for seed records. Named surveying editors replace this once a trail is verified.
Figures marked provisional are seed data and still need verification. Source and last-checked date sit under each cited value.
Permits and fees
| Permit | Cost | Quota / restriction | Issuer | Source | Verified |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ACAP entryOfficial source | NPR 3,000 foreign (tax included)≈ US$21.28 on the first figure, rate as of 2026-09-24 | — | NTNC | Issuer page | Verified 2026-09-24 vs NTNC |
| TIMS cardReported (secondary) — confirm before travel | NPR 2,000 individual (foreign)≈ US$14.18 on the first figure, rate as of 2026-09-24 | — | Nepal Tourism Board / TAAN | Issuer page | Verified 2026-09-24 vs Nepal Tourism Board / TAAN |
Annapurna Circuit and Manaslu Circuit — stored fields side by side, not a ranking.
Altitude weather delta
High 5,385 m minus low 898 m is 4,487 m of relief on this record. A standard tropospheric lapse of 6.5 °C per 1,000 m implies about 29.2 °C cooler at the high point than the valley, all else equal.
That is a model (International Standard Atmosphere environmental lapse), not a forecast and not a trail-closure. Wind, snow, and storms stay in Hazards.
derived:lapse-rate · 2026-09-10 · provisionalISA 6.5 °C / 1,000 m · wikipedia.org · 2026-09-10
Line download is the stored OSM geometry, simplified. It is not a surveyed GPS track. GPX · GeoJSON
Editorial v1 · Provisional catalog
- SAC T3
- Demanding mountain hiking. Exposed sections possible; hands may be needed for balance.
- YDS Class 2
- Class 2. Simple scrambling, occasional use of hands.
Log in to view the elevation profile
Ingested from OpenStreetMap relation 1187310 (ODbL). The mapped line and 2D length are derived from that geometry. Ascent, descent, and high/low points are sampled from Copernicus GLO-30 (copernicus-dem:glo-30) and remain provisional. Water, permits, and hazards were not taken from OSM tags and must be verified.
OSM 2D length is 334.1 km (relation 1187310). Wikipedia’s Thorong La article cites a 300 km circuit (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thorong_La, checked 2026-08-24). Grok’s 2026-09-21 re-DEM of the same relation measured 238.83 km with disjoint:5 gap 384 m — not written over this DataPoint; the stored OSM line stays. The OSM line is the DataPoint; cited figures are cross-checks, not replacements.
DEM high 5,385 m is 31 m under Wikipedia Thorong La 5,416 m (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thorong_La, checked 2026-09-21) — classic DEM/vertex undershoot. High point left as Copernicus, not overwritten with the pass elevation. Cumulative DEM ascent 8,581 m is likely GLO-30 noise on a long line and stays provisional.
Named WaterSource points were not mapped this pass (empty is honest). Altitude illness at the pass is the cited hazard.
Water
No water sources recorded.
Surface
Surface is not recorded. This field is filled only from an OSM surface tag, not from the grade.
Permits & fees
- Permit
- ACAP entry + TIMS card
Log in to view cost, booking, and issuer
Getting there
Sourced legs to the OSM line start (Besisahar side) base start station — where this trail record begins. This is not a route planner: durations are approximate and marked provisional until an official transport page confirms them.
Air · Kathmandu (KTM) → Pokhara (PKR)
Buddha Air, Yeti Airlines, Shree Airlines. About 30 min. Domestic flight; about 25–30 min. Pokhara International opened 2023.
trekpathways.com · 2026-08-20 · official · provisionalRoad · Kathmandu → Pokhara
About 7 h. Tourist bus or jeep on the Prithvi Highway; about 6–8 h. No rail to Annapurna trailheads.
trekpathways.com · 2026-08-20 · official · provisionalRoad · Pokhara or Kathmandu → Besisahar road head (OSM line start)
Road to Besisahar, then jeep up the Marsyangdi valley. Base is the stored OSM start, not a named village invented here.
trekpathways.com · 2026-08-20 · official · provisional
Plan from your location
Type a city, then pick a match. These links open external search tools — they do not fetch fares or timetables.
Getting there car-free
- Start (OSM line): car-free flag unknown. No transit note stored, so this is not a way to get there.
- End (OSM line): car-free flag unknown. No transit note stored, so this is not a way to get there.
Trailheads
- Start (OSM line) car-free: unknown
- End (OSM line) car-free: unknown
Log in to view trailhead transit detail
Hazards
- Altitude illness at Thorong La (5,416 m). Wikipedia Thorong La, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thorong_La, checked 2026-08-24.
Questions
Do I need a permit for Annapurna Circuit?
A permit is listed as required for Annapurna Circuit: ACAP entry + TIMS card. Status is reported (secondary). Confirm with the issuer before travel.
How much is the Annapurna Circuit permit?
ACAP entry: NPR 3,000 foreign (tax included) (NTNC, verified 2026-09-24). Status: verified-official. TIMS card: NPR 2,000 individual (foreign) (Nepal Tourism Board / TAAN, verified 2026-09-24). Status: reported-secondary.
When is the best time to hike Annapurna Circuit?
On this record the best season is: Mar–May and Sep–Nov (NTB / NTNC walking season, checked 2026-09-21; Wikipedia Thorong La safest months to cross the pass).
How difficult is Annapurna Circuit?
Annapurna Circuit is graded SAC T3 · YDS 2. A sourced hazard on this record: Altitude illness at Thorong La (5,416 m). Wikipedia Thorong La, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thorong_La, checked 2026-08-24.
How long is Annapurna Circuit?
The OSM 2-D length on this record is 334.1 km (provisional). Published figures may differ. See /guides/how-long-is-the-trail
How do I get to Annapurna Circuit?
The record’s base start is OSM line start (Besisahar side). A primary gateway on the record is Tribhuvan International Airport (KTM). Trailhead transit notes are not included in this public FAQ.
Related trails
- Manaslu Circuit · Compared with this record
- Annapurna Base Camp · Nepal
- Dudh Pokhari Lake · Nepal
- Everest Base Camp · Nepal
- Everest Three Passes · Nepal
- Ghorepani Poon Hill · Nepal
Featured in
- What is hiking? A plain definition
- Nepal trekking permits
- Permit & season calendar
- Himalayan altitude: AMS facts from records we hold
- Difficulty scales and surface
- Seasonality on the catalog
- Water sources on the catalog
- Car-free and transit access
- Government fees and operator markup
- Annapurna Circuit vs Manaslu Circuit
- Car-free long-distance hikes
- Shoulder-season treks
- High-infrastructure treks