Annapurna Circuit: Where It Starts and Ends

Type "where does the Annapurna Circuit start" into Google and you'll get four different answers depending on which page you land on. One says Besisahar. Another says Dharapani. A trip itinerary might say the trek "ends" at Jomsom, while the same company's FAQ says it ends at Muktinath. None of these are wrong. They're just answering different questions.

Here's the short version, because it deserves to come first rather than buried under a wall of text: Besisahar is the traditional starting point of the Annapurna Circuit. Dharapani is where Places Nepal's current 10-day itinerary starts walking. Muktinath is where the trekking portion finishes. Jomsom, Pokhara and Kathmandu are the road-transport stages that get you home afterward. Those are four different points answering four different questions, and almost every piece of route confusion online comes from someone conflating two of them.

If you only remember one thing from this page, remember that table. Everything below explains why it looks the way it does.

Trek the Annapurna Circuit Trek

A legendary high-altitude trek in Nepal that encircles the Annapurna Massif, offering dramatic scenery, diverse cultures, and the iconic crossing of Thorong La Pass at 5,416 meters.

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Why the starting point moved

For decades, the Annapurna Circuit started where every guidebook said it did: Besisahar, the roadhead town in Lamjung district where the Marsyangdi valley opens up. Trekkers got off the bus there and walked north for the better part of a week — through Bhulbhule, Jagat, Tal, Chame — before the trail properly entered the high country around Manang.

That week of walking still exists as a physical trail. What's changed is the road. Over the past decade, a jeep track has pushed steadily up the Marsyangdi valley, past Besisahar, past Chame, in places almost to Manang. The same route classic trekkers used to walk for days can now be covered by vehicle in an afternoon. Once a road reaches a village, staying on foot through that stretch stops being a meaningful choice between two trekking experiences and starts being a choice between walking next to traffic or riding past it — most operators, Places Nepal included, choose to drive it and spend the saved days higher in the mountains instead.

That's the entire reason two people can both say they "did the Annapurna Circuit" and mean different amounts of walking. Besisahar hasn't stopped being the traditional start. It's just stopped being where most current itineraries put their first footstep.

So where does Places Nepal's trek actually start walking?

Our current 10-day Annapurna Circuit Trek covers the road section on Day 1: a tourist bus from Kathmandu to Besisahar, then a shared jeep up the valley to Dharapani, at 1,860 m. That's a long day — 175 km by bus, another 50 km by jeep, roughly eight to ten hours door to door — but it's a transport day, not a trekking day. Besisahar is passed through, not walked from.

Dharapani is where the boots go on. Day 2 climbs through pine forest past Bagarchhap's Tibetan-influenced stone houses to Timang, where Manaslu unexpectedly fills the eastern skyline, then on to Chame. From there the trail climbs steadily through Pisang and up into Manang, gains real altitude toward Thorong Phedi or High Camp, and crosses Thorong La on Day 8.

Calling Dharapani "the new official start of the Annapurna Circuit" overstates it — there's no single governing body that assigns an official start line to a trekking route that's walked, driven, and combined in a dozen different ways by different operators. What's accurate is narrower and more useful: Dharapani is where this particular itinerary's trekking begins. A different company's 12-day version might start walking from Chame instead. A traveler booking a full traditional circuit walks from Besisahar itself. All of these are legitimate versions of "the Annapurna Circuit" — they're just different products built around the same central route.

Where does the trek end — and why do some maps say Jomsom?

This is the half of the question people get wrong more often, because the confusion compounds rather than resolves.

The current itinerary crosses Thorong La (5,416 m) on Day 8, descends 1,616 m to Muktinath, and that's where the walking stops. From Muktinath, a jeep or bus takes over for the descent to Jomsom the same afternoon. The next day, a shared jeep covers the roughly 140 km down through the Kali Gandaki gorge to Pokhara. The day after that, a tourist bus returns to Kathmandu.

So: the trekking ends at Muktinath. The road journey continues through Jomsom to Pokhara and Kathmandu.

Why do so many route maps and itineraries label Jomsom as the endpoint instead? Partly habit, partly genuine ambiguity. Jomsom has been the practical transport hub for this side of the circuit for decades — it's where jeeps, buses, and (weather permitting) flights all converge, so it's a natural place for a map to put an arrow and a label. It's also where older, fully-walked itineraries genuinely did keep trekking a little further before picking up transport, which is part of why the habit stuck. But on the current jeep-assisted itinerary, Jomsom isn't reached on foot at all — it's a stop on the drive out, not a trekking destination in its own right.

Muktinath and Jomsom aren't interchangeable, and neither are "the trek ends at Jomsom" and "the trek ends at Muktinath, with transport continuing to Jomsom." The second version is the accurate one.

The current route, transport and walking separated

Laid out end to end, the current itinerary looks like this:

Kathmandu → Besisahar → Dharapani → Chame → Pisang → Manang → Yak Kharka → Thorong Phedi/High Camp → Thorong La → Muktinath → Jomsom → Pokhara → Kathmandu

Split by how you cover each stretch, it separates cleanly into three blocks:

• Transport: Kathmandu → Besisahar → Dharapani (Day 1)
• Walking: Dharapani → Chame → Pisang → Manang → Yak Kharka → Thorong Phedi/High Camp → Thorong La → Muktinath (Days 2–8)
• Transport: Muktinath → Jomsom → Pokhara → Kathmandu (Days 8–10)

That middle block — six trekking days plus one rest day in Manang — is the actual Annapurna Circuit experience: Manang's Tibetan Buddhist villages, the Thorong La crossing, Muktinath's twin-faith pilgrimage site. The two transport blocks bracket it, on the Marsyangdi side and the Mustang side, and neither is walked on this itinerary.

How much of the circuit do you actually walk?

Adding up the six trekking days puts the current itinerary's on-foot distance at roughly 79 km — Dharapani to Chame to Pisang to Manang, the short high-altitude days to Yak Kharka and Thorong Phedi, then the pass crossing down to Muktinath. That figure comes directly from the day-by-day distances on the live trip itinerary, and it's broken down in full in Places Nepal's Annapurna Circuit distance guide, including why other sources quote anywhere from 100 km to 230 km for what sounds like the same trek.

The short version: a fully walked traditional circuit from Besisahar, with no road transport, covers something in the 160–230 km range depending on the exact start and side trips. The jeep-assisted version covers the same essential landmarks — Manang, Thorong La, Muktinath, the Kali Gandaki — in about a third of the walking distance, because the lower Marsyangdi and lower Mustang sections are driven rather than walked.

Neither number is the "real" one. They're measuring different products. 

Trek the Annapurna Circuit Trek

A legendary high-altitude trek in Nepal that encircles the Annapurna Massif, offering dramatic scenery, diverse cultures, and the iconic crossing of Thorong La Pass at 5,416 meters.

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Classic route vs. current route, side by side

The current route isn't a different trek wearing the same name. It's the same core circuit with the sections that road-building has already reshaped now covered by the vehicles that reshaped them — which is a deliberate trade, not a shortcut taken reluctantly.

Can you still walk from Besisahar, or start higher than Dharapani?

Both directions are possible, and worth naming plainly since they solve different problems.

Walking further: Places Nepal can arrange the full road-free circuit from Besisahar for trekkers who specifically want to cover the historic lower valley on foot rather than by jeep — it adds roughly a week to ten days depending on pace and side trips, and it's the version to ask about if "I want to walk the whole thing" matters more to you than trip length.

Starting higher: because the road now reaches well past Dharapani in places, some itineraries begin walking even further up the valley, at Chame or beyond. That's a legitimate variation too, but it's worth being clear-eyed about what it trades away — every kilometer of road you skip is a kilometer you won't have walked, whichever direction you're adjusting from. If a specific itinerary you're comparing doesn't say exactly where it starts walking, that's the single question worth asking before you book it.

The same logic applies to the finish. Ending at Muktinath and driving out through Jomsom is the standard structure on this itinerary; a longer classic version might keep walking further down the Kali Gandaki toward Tatopani before picking up transport. Ask specifically where a given company's walking stops, not just where their map's arrow ends.

Why the maps genuinely disagree

Part of this is old information circulating alongside new. Route maps and itinerary write-ups get published once and don't always get revisited as fast as the roads change underneath them — so it's entirely possible to find a map showing "Besisahar → Chame → Manang → Thorong La → Jomsom" published a year or two ago sitting right next to a live itinerary that starts trekking at Dharapani instead. Neither map is lying; one is just describing a route that's since been overtaken by construction.

The rest is genuine product variation. A map might be showing:

• The classic, fully-walked route
• A specific operator's current road-assisted itinerary
• A shorter version built around Poon Hill or another side trip
• A version that stops at Jomsom rather than continuing to Pokhara

The practical fix is the same regardless of cause: look at the actual itinerary you're being quoted, day by day, rather than trusting the trek's name or a single map graphic to tell you where the walking starts and stops.

Before you book: a short checklist

A handful of direct questions cut through most of this confusion in one conversation with an operator:

• Where does the walking start — Besisahar, Dharapani, or somewhere else?
• How much, if any, of the lower Marsyangdi valley is walked versus driven?
• Where does the trekking portion finish?
• Is Jomsom reached on foot or by jeep?
• Is Pokhara included, and how do you get there from the trek's end point?
• How many days are actually spent walking versus in transit?
• Is Thorong La definitely on the route?
• What's the actual on-foot distance, not just the trip's total day count?

None of these questions have a universally "correct" answer — they just need to be answered clearly by whoever you're booking with.

Who each version suits

The 10-day, jeep-assisted route suits people with a limited holiday window who want the circuit's core landmarks — Manang, Thorong La, Muktinath — without a three-week commitment, and who are comfortable with a couple of long transport days bracketing the trekking. If this description fits and you want the full planning detail, the 10-day itinerary's difficulty guide and permit requirements cover what to expect day by day.

The longer, more fully walked version suits trekkers who have two to three weeks available, want the lower valley's forests and Gurung villages on foot rather than through a jeep window, and would rather have a gentler daily pace with more built-in acclimatization days. Neither is the "authentic" one and neither is objectively better — they're different products built around different amounts of time.

Common mistakes worth naming

A few assumptions trip people up repeatedly when they're researching this trek:

Assuming Besisahar is always Day 1's walking start. On most current jeep-assisted itineraries, it's a drive-through point, not a trailhead.

Assuming Jomsom is the trekking endpoint. On this itinerary it's a transport stop reached by vehicle after the walking has already finished at Muktinath.

Assuming every "Annapurna Circuit" covers the same distance. A 10-day version and an 18–20 day version can differ by well over 100 km of actual walking while sharing the same trek name.

Booking a "10-day Annapurna Circuit" without checking the transport split. Two operators' 10-day itineraries can allocate that time very differently between walking and driving.

Trusting a route map without checking the itinerary behind it. A map shows a line on a page; it doesn't tell you which sections of that line you'll cover on foot.

The plain-English answer

For Places Nepal's current 10-day Annapurna Circuit Trek: you travel from Kathmandu to Dharapani by road, start walking at Dharapani, climb through Manang, cross Thorong La, reach Muktinath, and then continue by road through Jomsom and Pokhara before returning to Kathmandu.

If you want to walk the older, fully-walked route from Besisahar and further down the western side of the circuit, that's a longer itinerary — not a different trek, just a longer version of the same one.

Trek the Annapurna Circuit Trek

A legendary high-altitude trek in Nepal that encircles the Annapurna Massif, offering dramatic scenery, diverse cultures, and the iconic crossing of Thorong La Pass at 5,416 meters.

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Frequently asked questions

Where does the Annapurna Circuit Trek start? It depends which version you mean. The traditional route starts at Besisahar. Places Nepal's current 10-day itinerary drives that section and starts trekking at Dharapani.

Does the Annapurna Circuit still start in Besisahar? Besisahar remains the traditional starting point and is still the roadhead most itineraries pass through, but most current jeep-assisted routes, including Places Nepal's, don't start walking there anymore.

Where does the Places Nepal Annapurna Circuit start? Trekking starts at Dharapani (1,860 m), reached by bus and jeep from Kathmandu via Besisahar.

Is Dharapani the start of the Annapurna Circuit? It's the start of the current 10-day itinerary's walking. It isn't the historical starting point of the full circuit.

Where does the Annapurna Circuit end? The trekking portion ends at Muktinath. Road transport then continues through Jomsom to Pokhara and Kathmandu.

Does the Annapurna Circuit end in Muktinath? Yes, for the on-foot portion. The overall trip continues by road afterward.

Is Jomsom the end of the Annapurna Circuit? Not on this itinerary — Jomsom is reached by vehicle after the trekking has already finished.

How do you get from Kathmandu to Dharapani? A tourist bus to Besisahar, then a shared jeep up the Marsyangdi valley to Dharapani — roughly 8–10 hours combined.

Can I walk from Besisahar instead? Yes — Places Nepal can arrange the full road-free circuit from Besisahar for trekkers who want to cover that section on foot.

What happens after Thorong La? A steep descent to Muktinath, then road transport down through Jomsom and the Kali Gandaki gorge to Pokhara.

How much of the classic circuit is still walked on the current route? Roughly 79 km of the traditional 160–230 km range — the high-mountain core, minus the sections now covered by road.

Can I customize the start and end points? Yes, within reason — ask specifically about walking further from Besisahar, starting higher up the valley, or extending the finish, and confirm exactly what changes about the walking distance.

Planning the Annapurna Circuit?

See the full current Annapurna Circuit Trek itinerary, dates, and cost.

For the complete kilometer-by-kilometer breakdown behind the 79 km figure, see the Annapurna Circuit distance guide. For the interactive route map, see the Annapurna Circuit map. For the Standard, Tilicho Lake add-on, and reverse-route options in full day-by-day detail, see the itinerary variants guide.