The Manaslu trek is the opt choice for those trekkers who are looking for a physically challenging trek as it involves trekking to the some of the toughest trail in the Himalayan region.
In spite of the remote location and wasted climbing involved during the Manaslu trek your sweat and toil will be amply rewarded with the mesmerizing scenery and fascinating cultures of the inhabitants of the Manaslu region.
The inhabitants of this region are the direct descendants of Tibetan immigrants and this fact is evident in their attire, speech and customs. The mountain views from Nupri are breath taking and Larkya La is one of the most impressive pass of the Himalayan region.
Trip
Hightlights:
Duration:
22
Days
Type of Trek :
Camping
Max Altitude:
5135 m.
Minimum Pax:
2 +
Mode of travel:
Land Transportation
Grade:
Strenous
Outline Itinerary
Day
1
Arrive in Kathmandu International Airport. Transfer to the hotel and stay overnight at hotel in Kathmandu.
Day
2
City sightseeing in and around Kathmandu valley. (Kathmandu, Bhaktapur & Patan). Stay overnight at hotel in Kathmandu.
Day
3
Drive from Kathmandu to
Arughat Bazaar (570m.) takes about seven
hours. You drive along the Kathmandu-Pokhara
Highway for the first part of the day;
you turn towards the hill bazaar of Gorkha.
After Gorkha the road gets a bit rough
but you will reach your destination Arughat
Bazaar in approximately seven hours from
Kathmandu. Stay overnight at camp in Arughat
Bazzar.
Day
4
Trek from Arughat Bazaar
to Soti Khola (530m.) takes about six hours.
You trek over a flat leveled path along
the bank of Budhi Gandaki River through
mostly terraces, numerous villages, green
hills, some pretty waterfalls and you are
almost surrounded by green forest. Today
you take lunch at Arket Bazaar which lies
mid way to Seti Khola. This is the best
place to relax and you can enjoy swimming
to ease your tiredness of the walking.
To reach Soti Khola, the trail fluctuates
uphill and downhill through forest of Sal,
Chilaune and other local vegetation. Soti
Khola is a village at the bank of Budhi
Gandaki. The swimming spot is nearby here.
Stay overnight at camp in Soti Khola.
Day
5
Trek from Soti Khola to
Machha Khola (890m.) takes about six hours.
The zigzag path passes through forest,
villages, streams, pretty waterfalls and
green valley until you reach Lapu Besi.
This is a village mainly covered by Mongolian
inhabitants. Now you again traverse the
zigzag path to reach Machha Khola. There
is a small market with a few shops, lodges
and donkeys that are kept there. Stay overnight
at camp in Machha Khola.
Day
6
Trek from Machha Khola
to Jagat (1350m.) takes about six hours.
You cross the Machha Khola [Fish Stream]
and head upstream to the tiny village of
Khola Bensi and the hot springs at Tatopani.
The valley sides are steep until they are
impassable and the route then switches
to the left bank by way of a suspension
bridge. The trail is quite exposed and
challenging in places. After a short section
of forest path you reach the single teahouse
at Doban. Above Doban, the Buri Gandaki
descends on an impressive series of rapids.
Beyond this steep section, the river is
much more placid, meandering across a broad
gravel bed. At Lauri, you cross the river
on a suspension bridge, and then climb
on a high path to the fields of Jagat,
where you camp. Stay overnight at camp
in Jagat.
Day
7
Trek from Jagat to Philim
(1700m.) takes about three hours. The early
part of trek moves gently uphill and then
somewhere through a flat leveled path.
You cross a suspension bridge over Budhi
Gandaki before you enter Philim. Philim
is a big village mainly inhabited by the
Gurungs. Small monasteries, chortens and
prayer flags fluttering in the sky, graves
and typical houses will be seen around
here. Stay overnight at camp in Philim.
Day
8
Trek Philim to Deng (2095m.)
takes about six hours. You trek over a
flat leveled path mostly through forest
of pine, rhododendron and others. While
walking, you cross a few bridges and can
see villages at a far distance. A few houses
are seen at Deng. From here, you can enjoy
a pretty waterfall lying at some distance.
Deng is famous for its potatoes, buck wheat,
barley, wheat, cabbage, spinach as people
are mostly involved in agriculture in this
area. Stay overnight at camp in Deng.
Day
9
Trek Deng to Namrung
(2900m.) takes about five hours. In the
beginning, you trek almost a flat leveled
path and then the trail moves uphill all
the way to Namrung through forest. From
here, you can enjoy the spectacular views
of Mt. Manaslu, rock hills, a green valley
and ridges. Namrung is a Buddhist village
where there are monasteries, a water turbine,
hydro electricity power house, mani walls,
chortens and prayer flags can be seen fluttering
in the sky. The typical houses remind you
of Tibetan architecture. Stay overnight
at camp in Namrung.
Day
10
Trek Namrung to Lhogaon
(3100m.) takes about four hours. You trek
over a winding path which moves through
the inner Himalayan range. On the way,
you can enjoy mountain views of Rupinala
pass, Mt. Manaslu, Gorkha Himal, Dwijen
Himal, Saula Himal, Lajing peak, and many
other snow capped mountains and peaks.
As you go up the vegetation decreases.
In the afternoon, this part becomes quite
windy. While walking, you come across mani
walls, chortens, prayer flags and monasteries.
Before you reach Lho Gaon, you pass a Tibetan
village and Lihi Gaon. There is a monastery
named Chon on a ridge and also a Buddhist
school at Lho Gaon run by Buddhist monks.
People mainly grow oat, barley, buck wheat,
potatoes and vegetables in this area. You
can catch panoramic views of Mt. Manaslu,
Gorkha Himal, Dwijen Himal, Saula Himal,
Lajing peak and others from Lho Gaon. Stay
overnight at camp in Lhogaon.
Day
11
Trek Lhogaon to Samagaon
(3390m.) takes about four hours. Leaving
the village, you follow the right bank
of the river, with views of Peak 29 ahead.
As you continue on the main trail, you
soon reach the fields of Sama Gaon, 3500m.
You camp at Sama Gompa, 20 minutes beyond
the village, or Samdo, near the Tibetan
border. Stay overnight at camp in Samagaon.
Day
12
This is a day for rest
at Samagaon to give you some acclimatization.
Surrounded by mountains in a peaceful forest,
you take a breather to acclimatize and
relax. You can hike to Manaslu Base Camp
for excellent views of Samdo (Pang phuchuli);
Nagdi chuli, Simnang Himal, Manaslu glacier,
Manaslu ice fall and you can see Birendra
Kunda which is an ice lake nearby the Manaslu
Base Camp. Stay overnight at camp.
Day 13
Trek
from Samagaon to Samdo (3690m.) takes about
four hours. You trek gently uphill all
the way to Samdo through a desert path
and windy valley. The Tibetan border is
just four kilometers away from Samdo. But
visitors are not allowed to pass the border.
There is a Tibetan refugee village at Samdo.
This is an excellent view point for Mt.
Manaslu, Samdo (Pang phuchuli), Nagdi chuli,
Simnang Himal, Manaslu glacier, Manaslu
ice fall and several other majestic peals.
Stay overnight at camp in Samdo.
Day 14
Trek from Samdo to Larkya
La Phedi (4460m.) takes about three hours.
The trail is rocky and zigzags all the
way to your destination. Before you reach
Larka La Phedi, there is a market called
Larkya Bazaar (market) where seasonal fairs
are held for the local folks. People bring
goods from Tibet to sell it here. You will
also find a Dharmasala at Larkya La Phedi.
Stay overnight at camp in Larkya La Phedi.
Day 15
Trek
from Larkya La Phedi to Larkya La (Pass)
(5135m.) to Bimthang (3590 m.) takes about
seven hours. Early in the morning you begin
to trek a steep ascented path until Larkya
La through a rocky and windy path. Today
you carry packed lunch. From the top, you
can enjoy the views of Larkya peak, sunrise,
Mt. Manaslu, Ratna chuli, Cheo Himal and
many other snow capped mountains and peaks.
Crossing this pass, you hike to a steep
downhill path through rock and ice. On
the way, you will encounter many icy lakes.
Bimthang is a broad and level ablation
valley with a number of Mani walls and
deserted houses. Stay overnight at camp
in Bimthang.
Day 16
Trek
from Bimthang to Dharapani (1860m.) takes
about four hours. Crossing this high pasture,
you descend the valley of the Burdin Khola
to the area of the Base Camp for the West
side of Manaslu. From a ridge at 4150 meters,
you have excellent views of Manaslu to
the South East and Annapurna II to the
South West. Beyond a bridge over the headwaters
of the Dudh Khola, you descend into a rhododendron
forest and follow a trail through a narrow
valley until you reach the highest cultivated
land in this valley at Karche, 2785 meters.
Walking down you cross a stream to reach
Tilje. There is an apple orchard and it
is quite famous for local wine. Leaving
Tilje, you trek uphill for nearly 45 minutes
and reach Dharapani crossing a bridge over
the Marshyangdi River. Stay overnight at
camp in Dharapani.
Day 17
Trek
from Dharapani to Jagat (1800m) takes about
six hours. You trek all the way over a
descended path along the bank of Dudh Khola
(river) and Marshyangdi River. On the way,
you walk through pleasant villages such
as Taal which is an attractive village
with a pretty waterfall and you can enjoy
the sight of lush green hills. Eventually,
you come across Jagat which is a stone
village situated on a shelf, that juts
into the precipitous Marsyangdi valley.
Stay overnight at camp in Jagat.
Day 18
Trek
from Jagat to Nagdi (850m.) takes about
four hours. A steep trail descends from
Jagat through Marshyangdi valley. You cross
Marshyangdi River at Syange and walk through
Ghermu Path (Ghermu field). This part of
the trek is pleasant through a flat leveled
path with views of green valleys and villages
at some distance. Past this Ghermu field
and a village, your trail goes uphill for
nearly half an hour to reach Bahundanda.
This village is mainly populated by Brahmins,
Chhetris and few other ethnic communities.
At this point, you descend all the way
to Nagdi. Nagdi is a Gurung village and
the local lodges are run by people who
had migrated from Manang and other places.
Stay overnight at camp in Nagdi.
Day 19
Trek
from Nagdi to Besishahar (823m.) takes
about four hours. You trek over a flat
leveled path all the way to Besishahar
through villages such as Bulbule, Khudi
and others. Your route cuts across terraces,
ridges and sometimes you cross small streams.
Beshishahar is the district headquarters
of Lamjung district. All the local government
offices are situated here. From here, you
can see some mountain peaks, natural sceneries
surrounding the valley and the daily activities
of the local people. This headquarter is
the junction from where daily essential
commodities are supplied to the different
villages and numerous towns around. Stay
overnight at camp in Besishahar.
Day 20
Drive
from Besisahar to Kathmandu takes about
seven hours. It is a picturesque drive
on the way back to Kathmandu along the
banks of the Marshyangdi and Trishuli rivers
with splendid views of green hills, mountains,
farming terraces and colorful villages
on both sides of road. Stay overnight at
hotel in Kathmandu.
Day 21
Recreation & shopping day. Stay overnight at Hotel in Kathmandu.
Day 22
Transfer to the Airport for final departure. (Fly out from Kathmandu).
All surface transportation to the starting point and from the ending point of the trek
All meals three times a day (breakfast, lunch, dinner, juice, tea, coffee, hot chocolate, fruits etc.)
Necessary Camping equipment such as tents, kitchen tent, dining tent, toilet tent, mattresses, down sleeping bag, down jacket, cooking utensils, fuel etc.
Camping charges
Necessary insurance for trekking stuff
First Aid and kits
Rescue assistance
Four
nights hotel accommodation in Kathmandu
on breakfast basis
One day sightseeing in and around Kathmandu valley with tour guide and private vehicle.
Entry fees while sightseeing in and around Kathmandu valley
The cost does
not include:
Personal nature expenses such as all kinds of drinks, beverages, etc.
Drinks, beverages, hot shower, etc.
Tips
Lunch and dinner in Kathmandu
Note:
10% commission for the tour agents/tour operators.
50% discount for a tour leader if there are 10-15 pax
in a group and 100% free for the tour leader if there are 16 and above
pax in a group
The Manaslu trek is the opt choice for those trekkers who are looking for a physically challenging trek as it involves trekking to the some of the toughest trail in the Himalayan region.
