Overview
Pisang Peak is 6,091 metres, a clean snow pyramid rising straight out of the Annapurna Circuit above Pisang village. Sixteen days gets you the summit and the full circuit over the Thorong La, which is unusually good value for a trip with a 6,000-metre top on it.
The climb
Base camp sits at about 4,380 m on the kharka pasture above Upper Pisang, and high camp at 5,400 m on the ridge shoulder — a thousand metres of ascent carrying, which is the hardest working day of the trip.
Summit day is a snow slope steepening to around 45 degrees, fixed on the upper section, finishing on a narrow crest. Annapurna II, III and IV stand directly opposite, with Tilicho behind.
Then the circuit
Rather than retreat, the itinerary drops to Manang and continues over the Thorong La to Muktinath and Jomsom. The acclimatisation from the climb makes the pass almost easy.
What it costs
USD 2,000 to 3,600 — among the cheapest 6,000-metre climbs in Nepal, because there is no national park fee and the approach runs on lodges rather than camps until base camp. The NMA permit is USD 250 in spring, USD 125 in autumn.
Day by day
The 16 days itinerary
Distances, walking times, altitudes and accommodation for every stage — stored as structured data, not written into the prose.
- Day 1
Kathmandu to Chame
Kathmandu (1,400 m) → Besisahar (760 m) → Chame (2,710 m)
- Walking
- 9–10 hours by jeep
- Altitude
- 1,400 m → 2,710 m
- Sleep
- Lodge, Chame
- Meals
- Dinner
The road now reaches Chame, which removes three walking days from the old circuit and puts the peak within a fortnight.
- Day 2
Chame to Upper Pisang
Chame (2,710 m) → Dhukur Pokhari → Upper Pisang (3,300 m)
- Distance
- 15 km
- Walking
- 6 hours
- Altitude
- 2,710 m → 3,300 m
- Elevation
- +590 m
- Sleep
- Lodge, Upper Pisang
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch, dinner
- The Paungda Danda rock face
- First view of the peak
- Day 3
Upper Pisang — acclimatisation
Upper Pisang (3,300 m) and the gompa above
- Distance
- 5 km
- Walking
- 4 hours
- Altitude
- 3,300 m → 3,300 m
- Elevation
- +350 m / −350 m
- Sleep
- Lodge, Upper Pisang
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch, dinner
- Day 4
Upper Pisang to Pisang base camp
Upper Pisang (3,300 m) → base camp (4,380 m)
- Distance
- 6 km
- Walking
- 5 hours
- Altitude
- 3,300 m → 4,380 m
- Elevation
- +1080 m
- Sleep
- Tented camp
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch, dinner
- Kharka pasture
- Annapurna II across the valley
- Day 5
Base camp to high camp
Base camp (4,380 m) → high camp (5,400 m)
- Distance
- 4 km
- Walking
- 5 hours
- Altitude
- 4,380 m → 5,400 m
- Elevation
- +1020 m
- Sleep
- Tented high camp
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Steep grass, then scree and snow to a camp on the ridge shoulder. A big thousand-metre day carrying to altitude.
- Day 6
Summit day, and down to base camp
High camp (5,400 m) → Pisang Peak (6,091 m) → base camp (4,380 m)
- Distance
- 10 km
- Walking
- 10–12 hours
- Altitude
- 5,400 m → 4,380 m
- Elevation
- +691 m / −1711 m
- Sleep
- Tented camp
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch, dinner
A snow slope steepening to around 45 degrees below the summit, fixed on the upper section. The top is a narrow snow crest with the whole Annapurna wall opposite.
- The summit snow slope
- Annapurna II
- III and IV
- Tilicho
- Day 7
Contingency day
Reserved at base camp
- Altitude
- 4,380 m → 4,380 m
- Sleep
- Tented camp
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch, dinner
- Day 8
Base camp to Manang
Base camp (4,380 m) → Ngawal → Manang (3,540 m)
- Distance
- 15 km
- Walking
- 6 hours
- Altitude
- 4,380 m → 3,540 m
- Elevation
- −840 m
- Sleep
- Lodge, Manang
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch, dinner
- Day 9
Manang — rest day
Manang (3,540 m) and the Gangapurna viewpoint
- Distance
- 5 km
- Walking
- 3 hours
- Altitude
- 3,540 m → 3,540 m
- Sleep
- Lodge, Manang
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch, dinner
- Day 10
Manang to Yak Kharka
Manang (3,540 m) → Yak Kharka (4,050 m)
- Distance
- 10 km
- Walking
- 4 hours
- Altitude
- 3,540 m → 4,050 m
- Elevation
- +510 m
- Sleep
- Lodge, Yak Kharka
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch, dinner
- Day 11
Yak Kharka to Thorong Phedi
Yak Kharka (4,050 m) → Thorong Phedi (4,450 m)
- Distance
- 7 km
- Walking
- 4 hours
- Altitude
- 4,050 m → 4,450 m
- Elevation
- +400 m
- Sleep
- Lodge, Thorong Phedi
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch, dinner
- Day 12
Over the Thorong La to Muktinath
Thorong Phedi (4,450 m) → Thorong La (5,416 m) → Muktinath (3,760 m)
- Distance
- 16 km
- Walking
- 8 hours
- Altitude
- 4,450 m → 3,760 m
- Elevation
- +966 m / −1656 m
- Sleep
- Lodge, Muktinath
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch, dinner
- Thorong La
- Muktinath temple
- Day 13
Muktinath to Jomsom
Muktinath (3,760 m) → Kagbeni → Jomsom (2,720 m)
- Distance
- 21 km
- Walking
- 6 hours
- Altitude
- 3,760 m → 2,720 m
- Elevation
- −1040 m
- Sleep
- Lodge, Jomsom
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch, dinner
- Day 14
Jomsom to Pokhara
Jomsom (2,720 m) → Pokhara (820 m)
- Walking
- 25 minutes by air, or 8 hours by jeep
- Altitude
- 2,720 m → 820 m
- Sleep
- Hotel, Pokhara
- Meals
- Breakfast
- Day 15
Pokhara to Kathmandu
Pokhara (820 m) → Kathmandu (1,400 m)
- Walking
- 30 minutes by air, or 7 hours by road
- Altitude
- 820 m → 1,400 m
- Meals
- Breakfast
- Day 16
Contingency day
Reserved for weather
- Altitude
- 1,400 m → 1,400 m
- Meals
- Breakfast
Route map
Where the trail goes
Route line, start and end points, and every overnight stop. Locations are shared entities — the same record powers the destination and itinerary pages.
Frequently asked questions
How hard is Pisang Peak?
Do you finish the Annapurna Circuit as well?
Is it busy?
What permits are needed?
When should you go?
About the author
Tom Eriksen
Gear editor & photographer
Tom tests trekking equipment the only way that produces honest answers: by carrying it for weeks at a time above 4,000 metres. He shoots most of the photography on this site and writes the gear reviews, comparison tables and packing lists.
Writes about: Trekking gear · Photography · Packing and weight
