I did this walk in 1991 when it had already earned the tag "Kleenex trail". But I found it anything but the litter-strewn environmental disaster it had been portrayed as. Just a pity that the locals at Bagarchhap saw fit to park their toilet right over the source of drinking water for the villages downstream.
 As with all the big mountain circuits in Nepal, this has incredible variety. So much so that by the time trekkers get to Manang, the desire to see what is on the other side of the Thorong La is very strong. Some people undertake this high passage in a relatively poor state of fitness or adaptation to the altitude, and the warnings at The Himalaya Rescue Centre in Manang often go unheeded. The small speck in the bottom middle of this image is a young girl, already affected by the altitude 500 metres lower, being taken over the Thorong La on a donkey. Better to take your time lower down the trail than to later race against time with this means of transport, head pounding or lungs heaving from edema.
Altitude was not an issue for me on this occasion because I came here from Pakistan where I had already been at nearly 7,000 metres, and immediately prior to that had been in Kyrgistan on Pik Lenin 7,134 metres. I was therefore as fit as the proverbial butcher`s dog and my detour to bivvy on the Kang La at 5200 metres felt like an outing on a small hill in England. But the bubble burst in Marpha two weeks later. There, I fell prey to one of the multitude of intestinal bugs that beset every traveller in Nepal at some time or another. Flat on my back for three days, and wondering how I was going to get myself and sizeable rucksack back to the roadhead in time for my flight home. Thus began my own race against time.
Note: not all place names are recorded. Where not, the point on the trail in terms of days from the start is noted. This assumes an anti-clockwise route starting at Besisahar as usual.
Note 2: my depiction of peak names to the east of the Kang La (Himlung/Peri Himal) are a (moderately educated) guess and to be taken with a grain of Tibetan salt.

Classic witty blackboard
advert, Kathmandu

Police checkpost on road
from Dumre to Besisahar

The big stupa at Swayambunath ,
Kathmandu

Marsyangdi Khola, day two

Seen on day one of Annapurna Circuit

Marsyangdi Khola near Bahaudanda

Seen on day two

View south from Bahaudanda

Seen on day two

Chamje, day two

Near Bahaudanda, day two

On bridge near Khudi

Tributary of Marsyangdi Khola, day two

Tea-houses in Ngatti, day one

Toilet over stream at Bagarchhap

Chorten and horse at Tal, day three

Near Tal, day three

Rest stop, day three

Tea-shop sign, location not recorded

Lamjung Himal from near Chame

Lamjung Himal from near Chame

Chulu East from Upper Pisang

Manang Valley near Pisang

Entrance to Bagarchhap, day three

Kang La from Manang Valley

Annapurna Two from trail to Kang La

Annapurna Four and Three

Annapurna Two from Manang

Gangapurna and Roc Noir

View from Kang La, believed to be
Himlung Himal

Himlung Himal group from Kang La

Part of Himlung Himal group
from Kang La

Maybe Panbari Himal from Kang La

Kang Guru from Kang La

Annapurna Three across to One, from Kang La

Gangapurna from Kang La

Annapurna Three and Four

Annapurna One behind Roc Noir

Glacier north of Kang La

Peaks north of Kang La

Chulu East from Kang La

Lamjung Himal from trail to Kang La

Himlung Himal group from Kang La

Annapurna Three from Hongde

Annapurna Three from Hongde

Prayer wheels at, I think, Hongde

Chorten at Hongde

Prayer flags above Braga

Roc Noir and Tilicho Peak

Tilicho Peak and Manang Valley

Tilicho Peak from Upper Pisang

Lower Pisang/Marsyangdi Khola
from Upper Pisang

Gangapurna, 7454 metres,
from Manang

Annapurna Three and Gangapurna
from Churi Lattar

Happy German trekker at Churi Lattar

Local boy at Churi Lattar

Local boys at Churi Lattar

Annapurna Three and Gangapurna
from Churi Lattar

East of Thorong La,
maybe Genjang behind

Khatung Kang from just west
of the Kang La

Ian Swarbrick
on the Thorong La

Khatang Kang (Mukut)
from Thorong La

Porter descending west side
of Thorong La

Dhaulagiri, Tukuche Peak,
Dhaulagiri Two

Desert-like scenery north of Jharkot

Muktinath on the west side
of the Thorong La

Kagbeni from above left bank
of Kali Gandaki River

Tilicho Peak from south
of Jomoson

Dhaulagiri One, 8,167 metres,
from Lete

For image licensing or to purchase a print, contact Ian Swarbrick
e-mail: imagesfromthewild@bluewin.ch
Rehetobelstrasse 34, CH9000 St Gallen, Switzerland
Tel: 0041 71 245 29 17
Suggestion - to specify images, save the thumbnail to your hard disc and include in your e-mail as a file attachment