People weighing the Annapurna Base Camp trek difficulty against Everest Base Camp usually hear the same line: ABC is shorter, lower, and easier. Shorter and lower, yes. Easier is only half true. The trek is rated moderate, and most of that rating comes from long days on your feet, not from anything technical.
ABC tops out at 4,130 meters (13,550 feet), reached on day seven after a climb from Machhapuchhre Base Camp at 3,700 meters. That's roughly half the altitude of Everest Base Camp's high point, and it matters. Below 3,000 meters the trail is mostly stone stairs and forest, tiring but not risky. Above Deurali, the thinner air starts to slow people down, and this stretch also carries seasonal avalanche exposure between Deurali and Machhapuchhre Base Camp, which is why guides move through it early in the day.
Daily stages run four to seven hours depending on the terrain ahead, over a total distance of roughly 100 to 120 kilometers there and back. Day seven, the push from Deurali through Machhapuchhre Base Camp to Annapurna Base Camp, is the longest and highest day of the trip. None of it calls for ropes or crampons. It calls for legs that can hold up over a week of consecutive long days.
Risk is moderate, and it starts once you cross 3,000 meters at Deurali. Headaches and nausea tend to show up there before they show up higher. The response is the same one guides use everywhere in the Himalaya: slow the pace, drink water, and watch for symptoms instead of pushing through them.
March to May and October to November are the two windows with stable weather and clear views. Winter adds ice near Machhapuchhre Base Camp and Annapurna Base Camp itself, plus shorter daylight, which raises the difficulty without changing the route. Monsoon months bring leeches, cloud cover, and a real chance of landslides, and most operators don't recommend trekking then.
Since April 2023, Nepal has required foreign trekkers on ABC to hire a licensed guide. Solo trekking is no longer permitted. You'll also need the Annapurna Conservation Area Permit and a TIMS card, both of which a guide service typically arranges on your behalf.
If you've never done a multi-day trek and you're unsure about back-to-back long walking days, ABC is a reasonable place to start, more so than EBC. If you have a heart or lung condition, or you're not willing to slow down or turn back if symptoms hit at Deurali, talk to a doctor first and be honest with yourself about the pace you can hold.