If you have one week or three, if you are eighteen or seventy, there is an Annapurna trek that fits — this is the most flexible region in Nepal, and the only one where you can turn a trek into a shorter trek halfway through without ruining it.
What the walking is like
Gentler and greener than the Khumbu for the first half of any route. You start in terraced farmland and rhododendron forest at 1,000 m, walk through Gurung and Magar villages, and climb into the high country slowly enough that acclimatisation mostly takes care of itself.
The exception is Thorong La. The circuit's 5,416 m pass is a single very long day from High Camp, usually started in the dark, and it is the one part of the region that demands real fitness and a proper acclimatisation profile behind it.
Which route, for whom
Ghorepani and Poon Hill is five days, tops out at 3,210 m and is the best short trek in Nepal for families and first-timers. The Annapurna Sanctuary takes ten days to a glacial amphitheatre ringed by 7,000 m walls. The full circuit is two weeks-plus over the pass and down into Mustang.
Mardi Himal is the quiet one — a ridge trek to 4,500 m on newer teahouse infrastructure, and our usual answer for trekkers who want the Annapurnas without the autumn crowds.
Season and access
Autumn and spring both work well, and the lower routes stay walkable through winter — Poon Hill in January is cold at dawn and empty the rest of the day. The monsoon is genuinely wet here; the region sits on the front range and takes the brunt of it.
Everything starts with a drive or a short flight to Pokhara, then a road to the trailhead. No mountain flight, no weather buffer — which is why Annapurna is our standing recommendation for anyone on a tight schedule.
- ACAP (Annapurna Conservation Area) entry permit
- TIMS card
- Road access to every trailhead — no domestic flight required
Annapurna Region FAQs
It changed it. Jeep tracks now reach well up both sides, so the classic three-week walk is a fortnight and some sections are best driven. The high half — Manang, Thorong La, Muktinath — is as good as it ever was, and the newer NATT side trails keep you off the road where it matters.
Yes, and it is the trek we recommend for families. Five days, a maximum of 3,210 m, teahouses close together and a road never more than a day away if plans change.
You can, and it is a superb three-week itinerary, but it is a lot of vertical for one holiday. If your dates are fixed at two weeks, pick one and do it properly.
