Annapurna Circuit Trek — Self-Launched

Land at Tribhuvan International Airport and take a prepaid taxi or ride-hailing app to Thamel (approx NPR 800-1,000 / £5-6). Check into a Thamel hostel or budget guesthouse. Spend the afternoon sorting logistics: pick up your ACAP permit and TIMS card at the Nepal Tourism Board office (Bhrikutimandap, open daily) — bring passport photos and cash. Buy or rent any missing gear in Thamel's trekking shops and get an early night.

🚌Airport taxi to Thamel ~£5-6

🛏Thamel hostel or budget guesthouse, dorm or twin (~£10-14)

• →Collect ACAP + TIMS permits at Nepal Tourism Board
• →Gear shopping/rental in Thamel

Self-guided day around the valley's headline sites. Start at Boudhanath Stupa (entrance ~NPR 400), then take a local bus or taxi to Pashupatinath Temple (NPR 1,000 for the cremation ghats area). Afternoon in Bhaktapur Durbar Square (NPR 1,800 for foreigners) — a local bus from Ratna Park or a shared taxi takes ~45 min. Back to Thamel for dal bhat.

🚌Local buses and shared taxis between sites ~£6-8

🛏Thamel hostel or budget guesthouse (~£10-14)

• →Boudhanath Stupa
• →Pashupatinath Temple
• →Bhaktapur Durbar Square

Take a public bus from Kathmandu's Gongabu (Machhapokhari) bus park towards Besishahar/Syanje early in the morning (~8-10 hrs, NPR 800-1,200 / £6-8), then connect onward by shared jeep or local bus to Dharapani (~3-4 hrs, NPR 700-1,000). Show your permits at the checkpost. Sleep in a teahouse; this is a long but scenic day along the Marsyangdi river.

🚌Local bus Kathmandu-Besishahar and shared jeep to Dharapani ~£14-18 total

🛏Teahouse in Dharapani (~£4-6, often reduced if you eat dinner there)

• →Permit checkpost at Dharapani

Trek ~6 hrs up the valley through pine forest and traditional villages — Danakyu, Timang, Koto — entering the Manang district. Views open up to Manaslu and Annapurna II. Chame is the administrative hub of Manang with hot springs just across the river. Pick up your ACAP check-in here.

🚌On foot

🛏Teahouse in Chame (~£5-7)

• →Trek Dharapani to Chame
• →Chame hot springs

A shorter, dramatic day (~5 hrs) past the towering Paungda Danda rock face and into the Upper Pisang area, where the Annapurna II wall fills the sky. Consider the higher route to Upper Pisang village with its gompa if you have energy.

🚌On foot

🛏Teahouse in Pisang (~£5-7)

• →Trek Chame to Pisang
• →Paungda Danda viewpoint
• →Upper Pisang gompa

Take the high scenic trail via Ghyaru and Ngawal (worth the extra climbing) for the best views of Annapurna II, III and Gangapurna. ~7 hrs to Manang (3,540m). Manang has bakeries, a small monastery and a Himalayan Rescue Association talk on altitude sickness most afternoons — highly recommended and free (donations welcome).

🚌On foot

🛏Teahouse in Manang (~£6-8)

• →High trail via Ghyaru and Ngawal
• →HRA altitude sickness talk

Rest and acclimatise. Walk up to Chhokar Dada viewpoint for Gangapurna Lake and Tilicho Peak views, then wander the old village lanes. Stay a second night in Manang — do not rush this; it's the key acclimatisation stop before the pass.

🚌On foot

🛏Teahouse in Manang (~£6-8)

• →Chhokar Dada viewpoint
• →Gangapurna Lake walk
• →Manang village walk

Short ~4 hr climb to Yak Kharka (4,050m) past yak pastures and the village of Gunsang. Keep the pace slow, drink plenty of water, and get an early night ahead of the pass push.

🚌On foot

🛏Teahouse in Yak Kharka (~£6-8)

• →Trek Manang to Yak Kharka

A 3-4 hr walk to Thorong Phedi (4,450m) via Ledar. Optional acclimatisation ascent to High Camp (4,850m) and back, or sleep at High Camp if you feel strong. Book your teahouse bed early — this is the busiest spot on the circuit in season.

🚌On foot

🛏Teahouse at Thorong Phedi or High Camp (~£7-9)

• →Trek Yak Kharka to Thorong Phedi
• →Optional acclimatisation hike to High Camp

The big day. Leave at 4-5am with a headtorch for the 4-5 hr climb to Thorong La (5,416m) — cold, but the sunrise on the Annapurna and Dhaulagiri ranges is the payoff. Descend ~4 hrs to Muktinath, visit Muktinath Temple and the Jwala Mai eternal flame spring, then sleep in Ranipauwa.

🚌On foot

🛏Guesthouse in Ranipauwa/Muktinath (~£6-8)

• →Cross Thorong La Pass (5,416m)
• →Muktinath Temple
• →Jwala Mai Temple

Follow the old salt-trade route down the Kali Gandaki — the world's deepest gorge — through Kagbeni and Jomsom, then on to Marpha and its whitewashed stone lanes and apple orchards. Alternatively take a shared jeep from Muktinath to Jomsom (~1.5 hrs, NPR 500) and walk the last stretch.

🚌On foot, or shared jeep leg ~£3-4

🛏Teahouse in Marpha (~£6-8)

• →Kagbeni village
• →Jomsom
• →Marpha apple orchards and monastery

Walk or take a shared jeep from Marpha to Jomsom, then either fly Jomsom-Pokhara (approx £60-80, weather dependent) or take the long local bus (10-12 hrs, ~£8). In Pokhara, hire a cycle or walk Lakeside — Fewa Lake, Davis Falls, Gupteshwor Cave and the International Mountain Museum are all self-visitable.

🚌Shared jeep to Jomsom £3-4 + flight or bus to Pokhara £8-80

🛏Lakeside hostel or guesthouse in Pokhara (~£10-14)

• →Fewa Lake
• →Davis Falls
• →Gupteshwor Cave
• →International Mountain Museum

Tourist bus from Pokhara's Lakeside to Kathmandu (~7-8 hrs, NPR 1,200-1,800 / £9-13), or fly (~£70-90). Evening farewell dal bhat and momos at a Thamel restaurant, ideally with a live Nepali folk music set — several venues on Tridevi Marg and around Thamel do this nightly for the price of your meal.

🚌Tourist bus Pokhara-Kathmandu ~£9-13

🛏Thamel hostel or budget guesthouse (~£10-14)

• →Nepali dinner with folk music in Thamel

Last-minute shopping for pashmina and tea in Thamel, then taxi to Tribhuvan International Airport for your flight out. Leave buffer time — Kathmandu traffic is famously slow.

🚌Taxi to airport ~£5-6

🛏—

• →Thamel shopping
• →Airport transfer