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The Annapurna Circuit's full 200-kilometer loop remains a legitimate trek despite road construction that has compromised its lower sections. The road now reaches Manang from both sides — the Marshyangdi valley from Besisahar and the Kali Gandaki from Jomsom — but the upper valleys and the pass itself retain their character. Most trekkers now begin walking at Chame, around 2670 meters, where the Upper Marshyangdi valley enters pine forest and the road becomes intermittent. From Chame upward through Pisang and into the broad Manang valley, the trek delivers the alpine landscape and Tibetan-influenced villages that justify the circuit's reputation. Manang itself sits at 3500 meters in a high desert basin with brown hillsides and whitewashed stone houses. You spend two nights here minimum — the second day devoted to an acclimatization hike up to Gangapurna Lake at 4000 meters or to one of the ridgelines above town where altitude stress becomes measurable before you commit to Thorong La.
Thorong La crosses at 5416 meters, and the standard strategy is eastbound — Manang to Muktinath rather than the reverse. The pass opens to west wind in the afternoon, and crossing west to east means you climb the gradual Manang side and descend the steeper Mustang side, dropping 1600 meters to Muktinath in a single day. The eastbound route also delivers more: you walk from alpine barley fields through increasingly bare terrain to High Camp at 4800 meters, start before dawn, reach the pass by mid-morning when wind is minimal, and descend into the visual and cultural richness of Mustang's upper plateau. The reverse direction — climbing the steep side in afternoon wind after a short acclimatization stay in Muktinath — tests harder and pays less.
Muktinath sits at 3800 meters, a compact pilgrimage site sacred to both Hindus and Buddhists. The temple complex features 108 stone water spouts fed by mountain springs and a shrine housing a natural gas flame that burns continuously behind a thin water flow. The site draws South Asian pilgrims year-round, and the village sustains itself on that traffic rather than trekking alone. From Muktinath the trail descends the Kali Gandaki gorge — now served by rough road throughout — toward Tatopani and eventually Pokhara.
Altitude preparation for Thorong La means consulting a travel physician before departure and carrying resources from the Himalayan Rescue Association (himalayan-rescue.org), which operates aid posts in Manang and Pheriche. The HRA provides current altitude illness information specific to Nepal's trekking routes.