The Gangapurna glacier viewpoint above Manang village is, in our photographer-guides’ opinion, the single best vantage point on the circuit — arrive twenty minutes before official sunrise to catch the first alpenglow hit the ice.
Pack lighter than you think you need to: a single full-frame body, a 24-70mm and a compact telephoto (70-200mm or equivalent) covers the vast majority of circuit compositions, and your shoulders will thank you above 4,000m.
A basic travel tripod is worth its weight for the blue-hour shots right after sunset over the Annapurna wall, when ambient light drops fast but the sky still holds colour for another 20-30 minutes.
Batteries drain roughly twice as fast in the cold above 4,000m — keep spares in an inside jacket pocket, close to your body, and you’ll get much more shooting time out of each one.
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