Manasulu Circuit Trekking

Upon your arrival in Nepal, a member of our team will meet you at the Airport and transfer you to the Hotel. We have a meet and greet with the Guide/Trekking team for a trip briefing and gear check. We also treat you to a welcome dinner of Nepal’s Traditional dish Dal Bhart (Rice, Lentil Soup and lots of Yummy side dishes).

We leave the hotel after breakfast and drive the 6 to 8 hours to Soti Khola. We stay overnight in a Teahouse. This is where our adventure begins.

Our trek starts today on a narrow and rocky road which undulates through Sal forests, along rivers and past waterfalls. We pass through many Gurung and Ghale villages which produce local milk, your and pickles. Along the way you pass the holy Nyali Khola where there is a rocky ledge from where locals pray to the deities of the rivers and mountains to keep them safe on the journey. Along this trail you will encounter many Mule trains transporting goods to and from the mountain villages. We stay overnight at a village named Maccha (Fish) Khola (River).

Jagat is a lovely flagstone paved Gurung Village. The journey here twists and turns along the bank of the Budi Gandaki (River). The route is forested in some parts and you can often witness the resident Langur Monkeys. You will notice the people wearing the brown capes called Bokkhu, this is the traditional shepard dress of the people of the area. The trails pass hot springs, where locals take showers and relax. We have to cross a bridge to reach Dobhan and then another woodend bridge of the Buri Gandaki. From here we have to climb 2 to 3 hours. It can be quite steep. These are local village trails.

Today you will walk to Salleri and descend to Sirdibas. The village welcomes you with several gompas and Buddhist prayer flags. You can also try the local alcohol in many stopovers on the route before you reach Phillim. At Phillim, you will have your permits checked, and then you will continue along the western bank of the river.

The trail is beautiful with unique sculptures over the boulders on the river bank formed due to river water. Leaving the riverbank, you proceed through forests of rhododendron, Himalayan pine and the overhanging rocks on the towering peaks. On proceeding further you cross the Siyar Khola bridge and reach a junction where the trail separates to Tsum valley on your right. Finally, you will reach Pewa, the final destination of the day. There are only two teahouses in the region where they serve basic food and a night of cozy sleep. Pewa has the best Dal Bhat in Nepal with the Shilong Acha is amazing.

Today we passed through a bamboo forest to reach Deng, before climbing up to Rana and Bihi Phedi. The trail then proceeds to Ghap through several landslide zones. At this point, you must be extra careful as you walk. Plus, you must be attentive to your guide’s instructions to maintain physical safety. After the landslide zone, you will follow the trail up to Namrung. After about 1hr on the uneven trail, you will climb a zigzag from the river to the neat village of Namrung (2660m). This place has some of the best tea shops, a restaurant, and rest houses on the trek.

Witnessing the lifestyles of the Nubri people, you will start the day. Exploring their Tibet-influenced typical lifestyle you will walk past several main walls, lush terraces, and houses through Banjam to enter the fir, rhododendron, and oak forest before climbing to Lihi then to Sho.

As you start walking, you will see most of the locals clad in traditional Tibetan dress. As you start further, you will notice some fine paintings in the Kani (gate arches) that you pass before Sho. Walking across the rocky hillside routes, you will finally reach Lho. From the place, you can catch the stunning views of Manaslu (8163m) and Manaslu North (7157m).

The next morning, you will start with a short trek because of the altitude reasons. On walking, the picturesque view of Mt. Manaslu accompanies you. You will walk across the easy trail to Shyala on passing through pine and rhododendron gully with moss and gin-clear stream. From Shyala, you will walk for almost an hour to reach Sama Gaun. Sama Gaun is the principal village of the Nubri people which holds a large gompa, many shops, a health post, heliport, and telephone/wifi access.

Today is a rest day to acclimatize to our altitude. It is an important part of the success of crossing the pass and not getting altitude related illness. Part of acclimatization is to hike up higher and then come back down to a lower altitude to sleep. So as part of our acclimatization we hike to Pugyen Gomp which is on the east of the Nubri Valley. This hike requires a packed lunch. It is a 2 to 3 hour round trip. Along the hike you can see Thar (Himalayan Mountain Goats) and Yaks grazing. Alternatively you can hike to Manaslu base camp which takes you to the north of the Manasulu Glacier or a much shorter Hike to Birendra Tal.

As you are at high altitude, you need to walk slowly, so this is a short day trek. You will notice extended yak pastures up a broad valley with long mani walls, with a variety of birds. From there, you will leave the tree line and climb to a ridge across the wooden bridge of Buri Gandaki before you reach white Kani. It is a neighboring village to Samdo, a very picturesque village dedicated to yak herding. Once at Samdo, you can explore the nearby villages or you can hike to Samdo Peak. The Larkya La trail is on the left above the valley. You can also see the main track for Tibet over the Larjyang La forming slopes on the Larkya La trail.

As a day for rest, you will stop at Samdo where you will go for a day trip to the Tibetan border. From the border, you can also see parts of Tibet and Nepal. If lucky, you can also witness the Yak caravan passing the border. Once at the border, if you look towards the south of Samdo Glacier you will get excellent photos with a huge serac near the top of the glacier. You can also frame Blue Sheep, Pica’s, and Marmots in season.

It’s important to take the day’s hike easy, as we go up in Altitude. Enjoy the impressive views of the high HImalayans as you trek across the rugged terrain before reaching Dharamsala.

This is a special day as you will walk to the highest point of the trail. You will walk to Larkya La Pass (5160m) on this day. In bad weather and in the snow, the walk could be quite challenging yet, it is doable. You will cross the pass before afternoon so you need to wake up early and leave the teahouse quite early. This is the most challenging part of the trek.

You will catch views of Himlung (7126m) near Tibet and Kang Guru (6981m) and Annapurna II (7937m) in the Annapurna Range
Spending your special time at the pass, you will walk down from around 3 hours towards Bimthang for an overnight stay. On descending, you will get views of huge icefalls and mountains in all directions, Pongkar Tal between the Pongkar and Salpu Danda Glaciers.

This is the final day you will be walking on the trails of the Manaslu region. On climbing downhill, you will walk through the lush forests full of flora and fauna including rhododendron bushes.

Walking back across the Dudh Khola, you will walk to Karche for lunch. In the next hour, you will see many signs of a glacial flood, with tree trunks smashed and banks undermined, the track becoming quite rough. And, the trail drops to Gurung Goa, the first real village since Samdo.

The valley becomes more agricultural and lush as you pass fields and copses of oak and rhododendron, staying on the north (true right) bank until Tilije. From there, you will continue your stroll towards Dharapani. Once in Dharapani we meet our jeeps and drive towards Besisahar, if we do not reach that far, we can stop at any of the villages along the way.

The drive takes 4 to 5 hours, and if we leave early we will reach the beautiful camp Himalika in time for lunch. After lunch we have an exciting 3 hour rafting trip on the popular Trisuli River, before returning to the lush settings of the camp for a BBQ party.

After a lazy breakfast we return to the jeeps for the 3 hour drive to Kathmandu. Time for some last moment shopping and one last dinner together with the group and the guides.

Today we say farewell and transfer from the hotel to the airport for your outbound flight
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