Why almost every Annapurna trek starts in Pokhara

Pokhara sits at roughly 820 metres beside Phewa Lake, directly south of the Annapurna massif. It has a domestic airport, a long road link to Kathmandu, and short drives to a ring of trailheads — Nayapul, Kande, Phedi, Ghandruk roadhead and the Sarangkot road. That is why trekkers treat it as the staging town for the Annapurna region: you arrive, sort permits and equipment, and reach the start of the walk the same day or the next morning.

The routes below all use Pokhara as the start, the finish, or both. They are ordered from the shortest to the most demanding. Read the day-by-day plan on each route page before you fix a schedule — the headline number of days hides how much climbing and altitude each one involves.

The routes at a glance

Shorter routes stay in the forested foothills and rarely sleep above 3,200 metres. Longer routes cross into alpine country and, on the Annapurna Circuit, over a pass above 5,400 metres. Difficulty on this site combines trail length, consecutive days, altitude and how remote the route is.

  • Sarangkot ridge walk — 1 day, up to about 1,591 m. A viewpoint above Pokhara, useful for testing boots and legs.
  • Ghorepani Poon Hill — 4 days, up to 3,210 m. Stone-step teahouse trail with a famous sunrise viewpoint.
  • Mardi Himal — 6 days, up to 4,450 m. A short route with a steep, more alpine finish on a high ridge.
  • Khopra Ridge — 8 days, up to 3,660 m. A quieter alternative through Tadapani and community lodges.
  • Annapurna Base Camp — 9 days, up to 4,130 m. A steady approach into the Annapurna Sanctuary, with no high pass.
  • Annapurna Circuit — 15 days, up to 5,416 m. A trans-Himalayan traverse over Thorong La for experienced walkers.

What every Pokhara trek needs

Most treks in the Annapurna region require an Annapurna Conservation Area entry permit, issued by the National Trust for Nature Conservation. Nepal Tourism Board also lists several Annapurna routes — including Poon Hill to Annapurna Base Camp, Mardi Himal, Khopra and the Annapurna Circuit — among those that require a licensed guide and an agency-issued TIMS card. Sarangkot is a short hill walk near the city and is treated differently; confirm current local requirements before you set out.

Because the rules are set by more than one office and change from time to time, use the official pages linked here and ask a government-registered trekking agency to name every permit your itinerary needs. This site does not sell trips or take bookings.