Is the Annapurna Circuit still worth it in 2026? The honest answer
Roads have crept onto the legendary Annapurna Circuit — so is the classic trek ruined? Not even close. Here's how to walk the best of it in 2026 and skip the dust.
Ask online whether the Annapurna Circuit is "ruined by roads" and you will get a hundred angry opinions. Here is the honest, on-the-ground answer from people who guide it every season: no, it is not ruined — but it is different, and walking it well in 2026 means knowing which sections to skip and which are as magnificent as ever.
Key facts
- Jeep roads now reach Manang and up to Muktinath
- The high core — Manang → Thorong La (5,416m) → Muktinath — is still wild
- Dedicated NATT footpath trails route walkers off the road
- Most trekkers now jeep the dusty lower/exit sections and walk the best parts
What the roads changed
Road building since the 2000s has reached deep into both ends of the circuit, so the full old foot-route is gone. But that mostly affects the hot, low approach and the exit down the Kali Gandaki — sections few trekkers mourn. The heart of the trek, from Manang up to the Thorong La pass and over to the sacred temple of Muktinath, remains a high, wild, road-free world of the kind that made the circuit legendary.
| Section | Walk or ride? |
|---|---|
| Besisahar → Chame | Jeep road (ride, or NATT side-trails) |
| Chame → Manang | Mixed — classic walking returns |
| Manang → Thorong La → Muktinath | Wild and unchanged — the heart |
| Muktinath → Jomsom | Road — fly out from Jomsom, or jeep |
How to walk the best of it
The smart 2026 circuit drives or NATT-trails past the lower road sections to start higher, walks the spectacular Manang-to-Muktinath core in full, and flies out from Jomsom rather than trudging the dusty exit. You keep all the magic — the apple orchards of Manang, the nerve and triumph of the Thorong La, the arrival at Muktinath — and skip the parts that are now tarmac. Done this way, it is still one of the great treks on earth.
What this means for you
Do not write off the Annapurna Circuit because of forum gloom. Walked with a guide who knows the NATT trails and the right start and exit points, it remains a world-class trek — and the Thorong La is as wild as it ever was. We run it as a 12–14 day route that maximises walking and minimises road, with a Jomsom fly-out option.
Source: Travel Himalaya Nepal trek operations.
Cover photo: travelwayoflife via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0).
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