The question comes up regularly from riders who have studied a Nepal map and noticed that Manang and Mustang sit on opposite sides of the Annapurna massif, separated by the Thorong La pass at 5,416 metres. The logic of connecting the two on a motorcycle circuit is obvious. The practical reality is different, and understanding why matters before planning a route that assumes the crossing is possible.
The short answer is no. Thorong La is not a motorcycle route and is not likely to become one. The reasons are specific and worth explaining in full, along with what the alternatives are for riders who want to connect the Manang and Mustang regions in a single circuit.
What Thorong La Actually Is
Thorong La is a high mountain pass at 5,416 metres on the Annapurna Circuit trekking route, connecting the upper Marsyangdi valley around Manang on the eastern side with the upper Mustang district and the approach to Muktinath on the western side. It is one of the highest trekking passes in the world that sees regular foot traffic, and it is the defining crossing of the classic Annapurna Circuit that trekkers have been completing since the 1970s.
The pass is a trekking route, not a road. The terrain between the Thorong Phedi base camp at approximately 4,450 metres and the pass summit at 5,416 metres, and the descent from the summit to Charabu and then Muktinath on the western side, consists of rocky mountain terrain, loose scree on sections of the descent, and in winter and early spring, significant snowpack. None of this is a road surface in any sense that a motorcycle can traverse.
No road exists across Thorong La and no road is planned. The terrain makes road construction extremely difficult and the environmental sensitivity of the area within the Annapurna Conservation Area makes large-scale road infrastructure development in the high pass zone unlikely regardless of engineering feasibility.
How Far Does the Motorcycle Road Go on Each Side?
Understanding the road limits on both sides of Thorong La clarifies exactly what is and is not possible.
On the Manang side, the motorcycle-accessible road from Besisahar on the Annapurna Circuit climbs through Chame, Pisang, and Humde to Manang village at 3,519 metres. Above Manang the road continues on a jeep track to Yak Kharka and with some difficulty to Thorong Phedi base camp at approximately 4,450 metres. The quality of the track above Manang deteriorates significantly and the Thorong Phedi section in particular is a rough jeep track rather than a defined road. Some riders on capable dual-sport machines have reached Thorong Phedi, but the track above Manang should not be assumed accessible on a standard rental Royal Enfield.
The road ends completely at Thorong Phedi. The pass begins on foot from here, and no motorcycle has crossed the pass to the other side.
On the Muktinath side, the road approaches from Kagbeni and Jomsom below, climbing on the switchback road from Kagbeni to Muktinath village at 3,710 metres. The descent from the Thorong La pass summit arrives at Charabu, a point on the trail above Muktinath that is also accessible only on foot. Muktinath itself is the highest road-accessible point on the western side of the pass.
The gap between Thorong Phedi at 4,450 metres and the Thorong La summit at 5,416 metres, and between the summit and the road at Muktinath at 3,710 metres, is trekking terrain only.
The Altitude Factor
Even if a track of some kind connected the two sides, altitude at 5,416 metres introduces a specific constraint on motorcycle operation that is worth understanding.
At 5,416 metres, the air contains approximately 50 percent of the oxygen available at sea level. A motorcycle engine that produces its rated power at sea level produces roughly half that power at this altitude. The carburetion adjustment or fuel injection compensation that partially addresses this is not complete, and a motorcycle at 5,400 metres is a significantly less powerful machine than the same motorcycle at 2,000 metres.
For riders who have experienced the Khardung La in Ladakh at 5,359 metres, the sensation of a motorcycle struggling on the final approach to the pass is the relevant comparison. Khardung La is a road with a maintained surface designed for vehicle traffic. Thorong La is rough mountain terrain. The combination of the two factors makes the pass effectively non-rideable by motorcycle even in a scenario where a track existed.
The human altitude factor is equally significant. At 5,416 metres, the cognitive and physical effects of altitude are substantial. Riders at this altitude are dealing with reduced oxygen in ways that affect judgment, reaction time, and physical capability. Attempting to ride a motorcycle on technical terrain under these conditions, without the acclimatisation that the standard trekking approach to Thorong La builds in through days of gradual ascent, would be genuinely dangerous.
What Riders Actually Do to Connect Manang and Mustang
Riders who want to visit both the Manang area and the Mustang district in the same trip have two practical options.
Option One: The Backtrack to Besisahar and Road Connection
The route most riders use is to ride the Annapurna Circuit approaches from Besisahar to Manang, return to Besisahar by the same route, and then connect to Pokhara and the Kali Gandaki corridor to Jomsom and the Mustang district.
This is not the loop that the map suggests is possible, but it is what the road network allows. The distances are significant. Manang to Besisahar is approximately 100 kilometres, Besisahar to Pokhara is approximately 170 kilometres, and Pokhara to Jomsom is approximately 145 kilometres. The total connecting distance between the Manang riding and the Mustang riding is approximately 415 kilometres, requiring two to three riding days.
For riders with fourteen days or more in Nepal, this circuit is entirely practical. The Manang approach from Besisahar covers the eastern Annapurna landscape, the high-altitude villages, and the terrain above 3,000 metres that the Annapurna Circuit's motorcycle section delivers. The return to Pokhara and the subsequent Kali Gandaki approach to Mustang covers the gorge, the wind, and the plateau that the Mustang circuit delivers. Both are worth riding and neither requires the other to be connected directly.
Option Two: The Muktinath Connection via Jomosom
A shorter version of the connection specifically links the Mustang approach with Muktinath, which sits on the western side of the Thorong La pass at the point the descent would reach if the pass were crossable. Riders who are on Jomsom Muktinath motorbike tour from Pokhara reach the same destination that the Thorong La descent arrives at. They simply arrive from the south by road rather than from the north over the pass on foot.
For riders whose specific interest is Muktinath temple rather than the Thorong La crossing itself, this road approach from Pokhara via Kagbeni delivers the destination without the impossible crossing. The significance of the road approach is that it is the only motorised access to Muktinath regardless of which direction a rider is coming from.
The Annapurna Circuit by Motorcycle: What Is Actually Accessible
The road development that has occurred on the Annapurna Circuit over the past two decades has made significantly more of the route accessible by motorcycle than was possible even ten years ago, but it has not and cannot close the Thorong La gap.
From the Besisahar side the road reaches Manang at 3,519 metres. Above Manang the jeep track to Yak Kharka and Thorong Phedi is accessible on capable machines in dry conditions. From Manang to Thorong Phedi by motorcycle is a technical section for experienced off-road riders rather than standard rental bike territory.
From the Muktinath side, the road approaches from Kagbeni, and the switchback climb to Muktinath at 3,710 metres is a defined road accessible on any capable rental motorcycle.
The two motorcycle-accessible sections of the Annapurna Circuit road approach the pass from both sides and stop where the trekking route begins. Between those stopping points, the Annapurna Circuit remains a trekking route.
What About Other Cross-Annapurna Routes?
The Thorong La is the only high pass crossing on the Annapurna Circuit trekking route, but there are other cross-range connections that riders sometimes consider.
The Nar Phu Valley, accessible from the Annapurna Circuit at Koto above Chame, is a restricted area that branches north toward the Tibetan plateau. The route into Nar Phu does not cross to the Mustang side. It penetrates the northern Annapurna approaches in a different direction.
The Annapurna Circuit and The Lower Mustang motorbike tour approaches share the Marsyangdi and Kali Gandaki drainage systems on opposite sides of the range, but there is no road crossing between them through the high mountains. The road network that exists is on the valley floors and approaches on each side without connecting across the main Himalayan divide.
The only ground connection between the Manang region and the Mustang district that a motorcycle can use is the road network that descends from each side to the lower valleys and then reconnects via Besisahar and Pokhara.
Frequently Asked Questions About This Route
Has anyone ridden a motorcycle over Thorong La?
There are occasional claims online of motorcycle attempts on Thorong La, but no reliably documented successful crossing. The terrain above Thorong Phedi is not a track of any kind and the scree and rock of the descent on the western side is not a rideable surface. Claims of motorcycle crossings on social media should be treated with significant scepticism.
Could a trail bike or dirt bike cross Thorong La?
The surface challenge is less about the motorcycle type and more about the terrain itself. The pass is rocky, loose in sections, and at an altitude where engine performance is severely compromised. A highly skilled trials or enduro rider might be able to push or carry a light motorcycle across parts of the terrain, but this would be an extreme adventure well outside the scope of any commercial Nepal motorcycle tour and would require conservation area permits and probably rescue capacity given the remote location and altitude.
Is there a planned road over Thorong La?
No current road project is planned or approved for a Thorong La crossing. The environmental sensitivity of the Annapurna Conservation Area and the extreme difficulty of construction at this elevation make it an unlikely development in any realistic timeframe.
Can I trek Thorong La and arrange for my motorcycle to be transported separately?
In theory, a motorcycle could be transported by truck to the Muktinath side while the rider treks the pass on foot. The logistics of this arrangement are complex and the road network on both sides means the motorcycle would travel via Pokhara in any case, following essentially the same route as Option One above. Most riders who want to experience both regions simply plan the circuit as two separate approaches connected by the Pokhara hub.
The Realistic Nepal Motorcycle Circuit That Covers Both Regions
For riders with fourteen to seventeen days who want to experience both the Manang approaches and the Mustang circuit in a single Nepal trip, the practical itinerary works like this.
Days one and two: Kathmandu to Besisahar to Chame, entering the Annapurna Circuit from the east.
Days three and four: Chame to Manang, with the upper Marsyangdi valley and the approach to 3,519 metres.
Days five and six: Return from Manang to Besisahar and continue to Pokhara.
Day seven: Rest day in Pokhara and permit processing for Upper Mustang if included in the plan.
Days eight and nine: Pokhara to Tatopani, Tatopani to Jomsom via the Kali Gandaki gorge.
Day ten: Jomsom to Muktinath for the temple visit.
Days eleven to fourteen: Continue to Kagbeni and the Upper Mustang motorbike circuit toward Lo Manthang if the Restricted Area Permit has been obtained.
Days fifteen to seventeen: Return from Mustang to Jomsom to Pokhara.
This circuit covers both the Annapurna Circuit's motorcycle-accessible eastern section and the complete Mustang district from Jomsom to Lo Manthang. It requires approximately seventeen riding and rest days and produces the most comprehensive Nepal motorcycle circuit available without the Thorong La crossing that the map suggests but the terrain does not permit.
Planning a Nepal trip that includes the best of Manang and Mustang Motorbike tour? Nepal Moto Tours designs custom itineraries for the full circuit. Get in touch to work out the route and the permit timing.
