Manang (3,500m) is the main acclimatisation stop on the Annapurna Circuit and one of the most interesting settlements along the route. The village sits in an open valley beneath the Gangapurna glacier, with the brown cliffs of the rain shadow landscape rising behind it and the white peaks of Gangapurna (7,455m) and Annapurna III (7,555m) filling the skyline to the south. After the lush subtropical lower sections of the circuit, Manang feels like a different world: flat-roofed stone houses, Buddhist shrines, and juniper smoke.
Most trekkers spend two nights here to acclimatise before the pass. The Himalayan Rescue Association runs altitude awareness sessions each afternoon — strongly worth attending if you've never trekked at this altitude before. A good acclimatisation day walk leads up to the turquoise Gangapurna Lake and further to Ice Lake (4,620m), which takes three to four hours and gives excellent altitude preparation without committing to a full crossing. The village of Braga (3,360m), thirty minutes below Manang on the trail, has a 500-year-old gompa with ancient statues and murals — one of the oldest and best-preserved in the region.
From Manang, the trail continues to Yak Kharka (4,018m) and Thorong Phedi/High Camp before the final push to Thorong La.