Trek Guide
Thorong La (5,416m) is the highest pass on the Annapurna Circuit and the crux of the trek. Guide to crossing it safely — the pre-dawn start…
By Travel Himalaya Nepal · May 14, 2026
Thorong La (5,416m) is the highest point of the Annapurna Circuit and crossed in a single long day with a pre-dawn start to beat the wind. It is non-technical but serious — the two real dangers are altitude and weather (snow can close the pass). Acclimatise…
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
Thorong La, at 5,416m, is the highest point of the Annapurna Circuit and one of the highest trekking passes in the world crossed on a classic route. Reaching the prayer-flag-draped saddle is the climax of the trek — but it demands respect. Coming down the…
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
This is the real choice on Thorong La, and most guides make it without explaining it. Thorong Phedi (4,450m). You sleep lower, which means you sleep better and acclimatise more safely. The cost is a longer summit day — you start with a steep 450m climb to…
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
Expect 7–9 hours from Phedi, or 6–7 from High Camp. 4–5am — start, in the dark. Not for the view. You go early to be over the top before the afternoon wind, and to leave daylight for a very long descent. The climb. Two to four hours of false summits. Every…
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
Cold, dark and slow. You climb by headlamp in a line of small lights strung up the hillside. At 5,000m the air holds roughly half the oxygen of sea level, so the pace that feels absurdly slow at the bottom is the correct one. At the top there are prayer…
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
Water freezes. A hydration bladder's tube ices up within the first hour and becomes useless. Carry bottles, and keep one inside your jacket. Batteries die in the cold. Phones shut down at those temperatures. Keep them in an inside pocket, not a rucksack…
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
Headache, poor sleep and no appetite at Phedi or High Camp are normal and usually settle. What is not normal, and means going down immediately rather than over the pass: Loss of coordination — stumbling, or being unable to walk a straight line Confusion, or…
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
Snow closes Thorong La, sometimes for days. In October 2014 a freak storm killed more than forty people in the Annapurna region , many of them caught on or near this pass, and a good number of those deaths were people who pressed on when conditions turned…
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
Standing on Thorong La at sunrise, prayer flags snapping, the Himalaya stretching in every direction, is one of trekking's great moments. Cross it well-acclimatised, well-timed, and with a good guide. See the full Annapurna Circuit guide and read how to skip…
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
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