18 days Round Manaslu Trekking

We will drive you straight to your hotel in private vehicle as soon as you land at Tribhuvan International Airport of Kathmandu . We will give you short briefing on our final agreed program. And if you are the first time traveler in Nepal we will give information about restaurant, ATM, money exchanges and other useful information until we meet for next day.

There are various major cultural historical and religious places around Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur for sightseeing. Pashupatinath, Bauddhanath, Swayambhunath, Bhaktapur Durbar Square, Kathmandu Durbar Square and Patan Durbar square are our top lists. Most of them are listed on UNESCO world heritage sites. Later in the evening we will arrange dinner with your trekking guide so you can know each other and talk about your trekking itineraries.

After your breakfast in Kathmandu hotel we head west of Kathmandu following zig-zag asphalt road by the bank of Trishuli river. After Dhading Beshi we drive further north west on gravel dirt road till we reach place Arughat. This small town used to be economic hub for traders few decades back. The vegetation around the region is tropical type which we see until we reach Sotikhola. From Arughat we drive by the bank of raging Budhigandaki river.We can see beautiful terraces of crop fields all around you during our driving.

We trek small ups downs in between tropical forest just above the raging Budhi gandaki river. The trail is on steep vertical cliffs in deep gorges.You can see terraces of crop fields all over. Just climbing few meters and again dropping to river bed and short easy climb will take you to our next overnight stop Machha Khola. A small settlement dominated by Gurung community.

You can see and feel gradual change in landscape as we trek to Jagat. The gorges become more deep and narrow . We cross Budhi Gandaki to reach Dobhan. After trekking the ridge of Dobhan we walk ups and downs by the side of river bed. And upon crossing suspension bridge on Yaru Khola we take short climb just before dropping to river to reach Jagat. The river bed becomes flat calming down Budhi Gandaki river. On the other side of river bank we see tea houses where we spend the night.

The trekking is a bit longer but full of fun and new cultural exposures of local people. After crossing suspension bridge on Jagat our trek heads further North. We trek by the bank of Budhi Gandaki river in between deep cliffs on either of side to reach other big settlement Philim. You can see the Siringi Himal for the first time from Salleri. The road is fairly easy with small up and down in dense forest of pine and bamboo from Philim to reach Deng.

From Deng the walk is gentle down to the river.After crossing suspension bridge we climb up to reach Rana. The wide Manaslu valley really becomes open from here. We can see and feel resembling Tibetan lifestyle and culture of people as we reach Bhi. Most of the people rely on seasonal cultivation of buck maize and potato along animal husbandry. Some of them engage themselves on catering tourists. The trail stretches for 2 hr to reach Gap. You can see beautiful paddy terraces as we reach gap followed by numerous manis and chortens.

The trekking continues in between the dense sub alpine forest crossing small streams around. We can see a lot of snow capped peaks alongside Kutang,PangPuchin,Saula to name some of them. The gradual uphill trek and we reach another small settlement village Sho. We can see the massive mountain Manaslu(8163m) for the first time just before reaching Lho, with numerous peaks. Lho is moderately big village on upper region of Manaslu. Highly influenced by Tibetan lifestyle and rich in manis and chortens which we usually see in upper trekking region of Nepal.

We again enter dense subalpine forest leaving behind the Lho and climb for about an hour. Trekking trail is narrow slippery and difficult but the view of peak 29 and Mount Manaslu excites you rather. The tall tree line gradually disappears and small alpine trees are seen ahead of reaching Shyla a open and flat land. You can feel the drop-in temperature and change in vegetation and landscape as you reach Shyla. After crossing suspension bridge on Shyla you just enter the vast valley of Manaslu with huge pasture lands and can see Samagaon village far away. You see a lot of thatched roof houses along with manis and chortens with stone carved slates as you reach Samagaon.

Samagaon is the biggest and most populated village in upper Manaslu region which is also a hub for Manaslu expeditions. Most of the people are dependent upon tourism agriculture and animal husbandry for their livelihood. People around here seem to adopting Tibetan culture and tradition but has its own uniqueness and narration. Today we make casual short hike to Pungyen Gompa to acclimatize and see the beauty of Manaslu. We return back to Samagaon.

As we gain altitude, the trekking hour is short to adopt your body and mind in changing environment. The trekking day is easy from Samagaon to Samdo in vast open meadow with sparse juniper bushes. You can see Himalayan Marmot in abundance running around the fields. The Mount Manaslu seems to be more beautiful and fresh than ever seen before. Samdo village just lies on the foothill of Samdo-ri Peak. Samdo village used to be a economic hub for Tibetan and Nepalese merchant in ancient days for trading since Tibetan boarder is nearby. The upper hill region of Samdo is believed to be rich in snow Leopard.You take short hike around the ridges of Samdo village to amplify the acclimatization.

The trekking path seems to be much easier and flat but the gain in altitude again makes your every step heavy and slow. We pass Larkey Bazar which used to be ancient temporary market place for ancient merchants of Tibet and Nepal but not longer now. We see vast meadows with yak herds grazing all around. People make temporary huts to look after their yaks down on the valley. Again we can see beautiful mount Manaslu along with Samdo-ri, Larkey, Himlung ,peak 29 to name few of them. Dharmashala is not exactly comfortable place to spend night with only one stone house and tent house but we are out of option.

We start our day early in the morning just by the side of Larkey peak on the left and Himlung on the right. The morning is freezing cold. The climb is gentle yet requires a lot of energy. The path is rocky and icy and we can see the Larkey glacier in the nearest point possible with ice lake at the bottom of glacier. The prayer flags are seen at the top for indicating Larkey-La pass. We can see outstanding view of AnnapurnaII, Himlung, Cheo and Kang guru from the top. The path gradually descends and becomes steeper down to Bhimthang. The alpine vegetation reappears as we trek down to Bhimthang. Bhimthang is small settlement in flat meadow which looks beautiful as we trek down. The peak 29 and Manaslu appears to be totally different and amazing than we had seen before.

Today our trekking route descend down to reach Tilje .The upper temperate forest reappears and the day becomes more warmer as we leave Bhimthang. Rhododendrons, alpine pine trees dominate other vegetation. The terraced crop fields are seen around Kharche.We steep climb up the ridge and again trek down the Marshyangdi river to reach Tilje.

The trail is gentle as we ascend to Dharapani. After an hour walk we cross the suspension bridge and reach Dharapani. It is a junction that divides Annapurna and Manaslu trekkers. The classic trekking trail has been ruined by the access of vehicles around this section of trekking route. As we descend the valley appears deep and narrow with raging Marshyangdi river. Tal is situated in the flat bank of Marshyangdi river. Mainly inhabitant of Gurung people, Tal is also a settlement for long back migrated Tibetan highly influenced from the culture and tradition from Mananag .People grows potatoes,corn,barley for household purposes beside engaging in tourism.

From Tal we generally see the hilly landscape of Nepal. Trekking in between towering hilly cliffs is itself a exciting. Small and big waterfalls are something to capture in camera. Abundance terraced farm land looks beautiful. Walking through small ascends and descends you reach Syange. You can enjoy the last trekking dinner with guide and porter as a tribute to their hard work for making your trekking successful

We drive gravel and dusty zigzag road from Syange until we reach Besisahar along the side of Marshynagdi river. Besisahar is a commercial town for people around Manang and upper belt of Manaslu region.After Besishar the road is fairly easy on asphalt road as we drive to Kathmandu. Numerous swift rivers are seen on the way perfect to give a try for Rafting in one of them if you have any energy left.

Our office representative will be in your hotel 3 hour prior your flight time to drop you at Tribhuvan International Airport.