Annapurna Conservation Area
Nepal's most visited trekking region — from the legendary Annapurna Circuit to short sunrise treks, all beneath an 8,000m wall of ice and rock.
Trails
5
Best Season
October-November, March-May
How to Get There
Primary gateway is Pokhara. Trailheads at Nayapul/Birethanti (Poon Hill, ABC, Khopra), Kande (Mardi Himal, Australian Camp), Besisahar (Annapurna Circuit), and Jomsom (Upper Mustang, Kali Gandaki).
Permit Information
ACAP permit (NPR 3,000 for foreigners) and TIMS card (NPR 2,000) required for all treks within the conservation area.
The Annapurna Conservation Area (ACA) is Nepal's largest protected area at 7,629 square kilometers and the most visited trekking region in the country, welcoming over 100,000 trekkers annually. Established in 1986 and managed by NTNC, the area encompasses the entire Annapurna massif and its surrounding valleys.
The region offers an extraordinary range of trekking options: the Annapurna Circuit (one of the world's greatest long-distance treks), the Annapurna Base Camp trek (into a spectacular mountain amphitheater), the Poon Hill trek (Nepal's quintessential short trek), the Mardi Himal trek (a dramatic ridgeline approach to Machhapuchhre), and the community-managed Khopra Ridge trek.
The ACA spans climate zones from subtropical to arctic, and cultural zones from Hindu lowlands through Gurung and Magar villages to Tibetan-influenced settlements near the Tibetan border. The diversity of landscape, culture, and trekking difficulty within a single conservation area is unmatched anywhere in the Himalayas.