What's on in Manang (Annapurna), Nepal through the year

Shoulder season — school holidays in 6 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

• Rule

  ACAP and TIMS permits

  1 Jan – 31 DecBook early

  An Annapurna Conservation Area permit and a TIMS card are checked at Chame and again in Manang village, and neither is issued on the trail. Rules since 2023 also expect foreign trekkers to walk with a licensed guide. Source ↗

Still on: Winter shutdown (1 Dec – 28 Feb)

Shoulder season — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in February.

Still on: ACAP and TIMS permits (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Winter shutdown (1 Dec – 28 Feb)

Busy — Spring crossing season, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

• Season

  Spring crossing season

  15 Mar – 20 MayTrail seasonCrowded

  Thorong La becomes a reasonable proposition again from about mid-March, though there is still snow on the top in April. Warmer and hazier than autumn, with fewer people on the trail.

Still on: ACAP and TIMS permits (1 Jan – 31 Dec)

Busy — Spring crossing season, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in April.

Still on: ACAP and TIMS permits (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Spring crossing season (15 Mar – 20 May)

Busy — Spring crossing season, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in May.

Still on: ACAP and TIMS permits (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Spring crossing season (15 Mar – 20 May)

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

• Season

  Monsoon on the road in

  20 Jun – 15 Sep · usuallyRiskClosures

  Manang sits behind the range and stays comparatively dry, but the jeep road up from Besisahar does not: it washes out and is cut for days at a time. Leeches and cloud as far as Chame.

Still on: ACAP and TIMS permits (1 Jan – 31 Dec)

Quiet — school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in July.

Still on: ACAP and TIMS permits (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Monsoon on the road in (20 Jun – 15 Sep (usually))

Quiet — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

• Festival

  Yartung horse festival

  5–25 Aug · usuallyMajor festival

  Three days around the August full moon marking the end of summer, with horse racing, archery and a lot of chang in Manang, Braga and Khangsar. Held in the middle of the wet months, so almost nobody outside sees it. Source ↗

Still on: ACAP and TIMS permits (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Monsoon on the road in (20 Jun – 15 Sep (usually))

Busy — Autumn crossing season, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

• Season

  Autumn crossing season

  25 Sep – 20 NovTrail seasonCrowdedBook early

  The busiest eight weeks on the circuit. Every lodge in Manang and Yak Kharka is full, the acclimatisation day is compulsory in practice, and the pass is crossed before first light to beat the wind.

Still on: ACAP and TIMS permits (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Monsoon on the road in (20 Jun – 15 Sep (usually))

Busy — Autumn crossing season, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in October.

Still on: ACAP and TIMS permits (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Autumn crossing season (25 Sep – 20 Nov)

Busy — Autumn crossing season

Nothing new starts in November.

Still on: ACAP and TIMS permits (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Autumn crossing season (25 Sep – 20 Nov)

Shoulder season — school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

• Closure

  Winter shutdown

  1 Dec – 28 FebRisk

  Snow shuts Thorong La for weeks at a stretch and most of the village moves down to Pokhara or Kathmandu for the winter. The lodges that stay open are heated by one stove in one room. Source ↗

Still on: ACAP and TIMS permits (1 Jan – 31 Dec)