Manaslu Circuit vs Annapurna Circuit: Which to Choose

Choose the Manaslu Circuit if you want a quieter, more traditional walk with more of the route still on foot, and you are happy to pay for a restricted-area permit and travel with an agency and a licensed guide. Choose the Annapurna Circuit if you want more lodges, more ways to shorten or extend the trip, a cheaper permit bill and the higher pass, and you don't mind sharing parts of the valley with jeeps. Both take about two weeks and both are serious high-altitude treks.

Every fee, altitude and rule below was checked against at least two independent sources, official ones where they exist: the Nepal Tourism Board, TAAN, and reporting from the Kathmandu Post, The Himalayan Times, Republica, Onlinekhabar and Rising Nepal. Where sources disagree, we say so. Days and stops come from our Manaslu Circuit and Annapurna Circuit trek pages.

The two circuits at a glance

The routes

Manaslu: up the Budhi Gandaki and over the Larkya La

The Manaslu Circuit loops around Manaslu (8,163 m), the world's eighth-highest mountain. It starts in the warm, low Budhi Gandaki gorge, where the trail is cut into cliffs and crosses the river on long suspension bridges. Permits are checked at Jagat. Above Deng the villages change to Tibetan Buddhist settlements such as Lho, Samagaon and Samdo, with mani walls, monasteries and barley fields. From Dharamsala (Larkya Phedi) you cross the Larkya La and drop steeply to Bimthang, then walk down through forest to join the Annapurna Circuit at Dharapani.

Sources give the pass at 5,106 m; a few give 5,160 m. Most, including Wikipedia's infobox and Nepali news reports, use 5,106 m.

Annapurna: the Marsyangdi, Manang and the Thorong La

The Annapurna Circuit goes up the Marsyangdi valley through Chame and Pisang to Manang, the main acclimatisation stop. It then climbs to Thorong Phedi, crosses the Thorong La at 5,416 m and descends about 1,700 m to the temple town of Muktinath. From there it follows the dry Kali Gandaki valley down past Jomsom. Many trekkers stop at Jomsom and fly or drive to Pokhara; others continue to Tatopani and climb to Ghorepani and Poon Hill, as our itinerary does.

The two treks meet at Dharapani. The Manaslu route finishes where the Annapurna route is just getting going.

Walking days, terrain and difficulty

Both are long, demanding trips but not technical climbs. On both, most days are five to seven hours of walking, with shorter days near the top to limit the gain in altitude. Pass day is the hard one on each route: our trek pages allow 8–10 hours for both crossings, starting before dawn.

The differences:

• Altitude. Thorong La is about 300 m higher than the Larkya La. That makes it the more serious altitude test.
• Acclimatisation. Our Manaslu itinerary builds in two rest days, at Samagaon and Samdo. Our Annapurna itinerary has one, in Manang, followed by short days to Yak Kharka and Thorong Phedi. Both follow the walk-high, sleep-low pattern.
• Terrain. Manaslu's lower days follow a narrow gorge with steep, rough sections and landslide-prone trail. Annapurna's lower valley is more open, but in places you share the way with jeeps and their dust.
• Remoteness. On Manaslu, help and alternative routes are further away. Once you are above Samagaon, your only real options are to go over the pass or walk back down the gorge.

Neither is a good first trek at altitude if you have never done a multi-day hike. If you have, Annapurna is a little more forgiving logistically, and Manaslu a little more forgiving on altitude.

Crowds, lodges and roads

Crowds and lodges

Manaslu is quieter. The restricted-area permit, the agency requirement and the cost keep numbers well below the Annapurna Circuit, and Nepali reporting describes stretches near Samdo where you can walk for hours without meeting another group. That is changing slowly: arrivals have been rising, and published counts differ by source and by counting period, so we don't quote one figure here.

Both are teahouse treks, so you sleep in lodges and eat in them. On the Annapurna Circuit, villages such as Chame, Manang and Jomsom have a wide choice of lodges, many with hot showers and Wi-Fi. On Manaslu, the lodges are fewer and simpler, especially above Samdo. Dharamsala, the last stop before the pass, is basic.

Roads

Roads are the biggest difference between the two routes today.

• Annapurna Circuit. A road now runs from Besisahar up the Marsyangdi to Manang. On the west side, the Beni–Jomsom road runs up the Kali Gandaki, and the Jomsom–Kagbeni section is now blacktopped. A May 2026 Rising Nepal report says many trekkers now ride to the upper valley and finish in 10 to 12 days, against about three weeks in the past. The Thorong La itself has no road. Local municipalities and the Annapurna Conservation Area have built some alternative footpaths away from the road; ask your guide which ones are open.
• Manaslu Circuit. The road from Arughat now reaches Soti Khola and Machha Khola, which is where most trips start walking. Above Machha Khola you are on foot. Onlinekhabar wrote in June 2026 that roads are pushing further up the Gorkha valleys and shortening the walking sections, so expect this to change.

Permits and what they cost

Manaslu Circuit

The Manaslu Circuit is a restricted area. A registered trekking agency applies for the permit at the Department of Immigration, and a licensed guide must walk with you. Since 22 March 2026 one trekker can hold a restricted-area permit alone; before that you needed at least two. The agency and guide rule did not change, and the same notice allows one guide for up to seven trekkers.

The restricted fee depends on the season:

• September to November: US$100 for the first week, then US$15 a day.
• December to August: US$75 for the first week, then US$10 a day.

A standard circuit spends roughly 8 to 10 days in the zone, so the restricted fee is about US$115–145 in autumn or US$85–105 in spring. Our trek page budgets US$115, based on eight days.

You also need three rupee-priced permits:

• Manaslu Conservation Area Permit (MCAP): NPR 3,000 (≈ US$19).
• Annapurna Conservation Area Permit (ACAP): NPR 3,000 (≈ US$19). You need it because the route exits through Bimthang and Dharapani, inside the Annapurna Conservation Area.
• TIMS card: NPR 2,000 (≈ US$13). The Nepal Tourism Board lists the Manaslu Circuit as a route that needs a licensed guide and an agency-issued TIMS card.

That makes about US$167–197 per person in autumn in all.

Annapurna Circuit

The Annapurna Circuit is not a restricted area, so there is no dollar permit. You need:

• ACAP: NPR 3,000 (≈ US$19), which covers the whole loop.
• TIMS card: NPR 2,000 (≈ US$13).

That is NPR 5,000 (≈ US$32) in total. The Annapurna Circuit is also on the Tourism Board's list of routes that need a licensed guide and an agency-issued TIMS card, under the rule that took effect in 2023. Reports suggest it is checked less strictly than restricted-area permits are. Our post Do you need a guide to trek in Nepal? explains what is checked and where.

Every rate, and the totals for all our treks, are in our Nepal trekking permits guide. Guide wages and other costs are in How much does a trekking guide cost in Nepal?.

When to go

Both circuits are best from March to May and October to November. The monsoon (roughly June to September) brings cloud, leeches, and landslides on the access roads. In winter, snow can close both passes.

Weather at the edges of the season is a real risk. In late September 2026, heavy snow blocked the Larkya La and left trekkers waiting in Samagaon and Samdo, while snow on the Thorong La and floods in lower Manang turned back trekkers on the Annapurna side. Build at least one spare day into either trek. Our month-by-month guide compares both regions with the rest of Nepal.

Manaslu in autumn 2026. On 11 October 2026 a flood on the Budhi Gandaki washed away bridges at Soti and elsewhere, cut the road, and badly damaged the trail between Machha Khola, Jagat and Philim. More than a hundred trekkers were stranded near Jagat. At the time of writing we found no official reopening date from the Manaslu Conservation Area Project or the Gorkha district administration. If you are planning a Manaslu trek this season or next spring, ask your guide for the current state of the lower trail before you book flights.

Getting there

• Manaslu: a full day by jeep or bus from Kathmandu to Machha Khola or Soti Khola, with the last part on a rough dirt road. At the end, jeeps run from Dharapani down to Besisahar, and buses or jeeps continue to Kathmandu or Pokhara.
• Annapurna: a long drive from Kathmandu to Besisahar, then shared jeeps up the Marsyangdi. Many groups ride to Dharapani or Chame before walking. You finish on the other side of the range, so plan the exit: Jomsom has short morning flights to Pokhara, often affected by wind, and jeeps run down the Kali Gandaki.

Both access roads are prone to landslides during and just after the monsoon.

Side trips: Tsum Valley and Tilicho Lake

Tsum Valley is a side valley off the Manaslu route, entered at Lokpa above Philim. It has old monasteries and villages up to Mu Gompa at about 3,700 m. It needs its own restricted permit: US$40 for the first week from September to November, or US$30 from December to August, then US$7 a day. Our Manaslu Circuit with Tsum Valley runs 20 days; the Tsum Valley trek on its own is 12 days and does not cross a high pass.

Tilicho Lake, at about 4,919 m, is a detour from Manang on the Annapurna side. It adds about three days through Shree Kharka and Tilicho Base Camp, then rejoins the circuit for the Thorong La. It needs no extra permit. See our Tilicho Lake trek.

Which should you choose?

• You want fewer people and more walking on trail: Manaslu.
• You want the cheapest permits: Annapurna, at about US$32 against roughly US$167 or more for Manaslu in autumn.
• You want more comfortable lodges and more ways to shorten or extend the trip: Annapurna.
• You are worried about altitude: Manaslu's pass is about 300 m lower, and our itinerary has two rest days before it.
• You are travelling alone and don't want to arrange an agency: neither is truly independent now, but the agency step is unavoidable for Manaslu, because the permit is issued only through one.
• You have three weeks: Manaslu with Tsum Valley, or Annapurna with Tilicho Lake.
• You are going in autumn 2026: check the Manaslu trail status first; the Annapurna Circuit is the simpler plan if the lower Budhi Gandaki is still closed.

Both routes are on our Manaslu and Annapurna region pages.

Finding a guide

Manaslu needs a licensed guide and an agency for the permit, and the Annapurna Circuit is on the list of routes that need a guide. Every guide on xTrekka has had their trekking licence and citizenship document checked by our team before their profile goes live. Browse guides by region and language, read reviews from trekkers they've led, and write to the guide directly to ask how they handle acclimatisation, the pass day and a weather delay. You agree the route, dates and price with the guide, and xTrekka takes no cut of a trek you arrange that way.

Sources

• Nepal Tourism Board: restricted-area permits, park and conservation-area entry fees, TIMS card and routes that need a guide
• TAAN: trekking permit fees
• Solo permits in restricted areas, March 2026: Asia News Network (The Kathmandu Post), The Himalayan Times, Ratopati
• Pass altitudes: Wikipedia, Larkya La, Onlinekhabar, snow blocks Larkya La, Wikipedia, Annapurna Circuit, Wikipedia, Tilicho Lake
• Roads on the Annapurna Circuit: Nepali Times, Trailing off in Manang, Rising Nepal, trails disappearing in Manang, Onlinekhabar, roads and trails in Annapurna, Republica, Jomsom–Kagbeni road blacktopped, The Himalayan Times, Beni–Jomsom–Korala road
• Manaslu route, roads and crowds: Onlinekhabar, Manaslu beyond the crowds, Rising Nepal, Manaslu emerges as popular destination
• Autumn 2026 weather and floods: The Kathmandu Post, flood cuts off northern Gorkha, Onlinekhabar, flood strands tourists in Manaslu, Republica, Soti and Machhikhola bridges swept away, Republica, road still cut off, The Himalayan Times, floods strand tourists in Manang, Onlinekhabar, tourists turn back from Manang
• Nepal Rastra Bank: reference exchange rates

Last checked 20 October 2026.