Manaslu Circuit Trek – 12 Days

Welcome to Nepal. Our guide is happy to greet you at the airport and will take you to the hotel for your convenience on a very first day of your visit in Nepal. You will be staying at one of the best boutique hotel in Kathmandu near Thamel area, which is a hub for the tourists. You are advised to visit some of the  heritage areas around Kathmandu with the help of our local tour guide. Some iconic places to visit in Kathmandu are Pashupatinath temple, Boudha stupa, Swayambhu temple (monkey temple), Kathmandu Durbar Square etc. which you can choose any of them depending on your preferences and amount of time you have for a day. Evening time will be a briefing and dinner session with a guide providing all the necessary information about the trekking, permits arrangements and other things to consider while you are in Nepal.

On this day, we will assign you a guide who will be leading your trek providing all the necessary information about Nepal and do the preparation thoroughly. We will also do the permits arrangements on this day while you are engaged in sightseeing around Kathmandu. Sightseeing includes the visit on UNESCO world heritage listed sites such as Pashupatinath, Boudhanath stupa, Swayambhu (monkey temple), Kathmandu Durbar Square etc. as your preferences.

We will start our trip after breakfast. We take roughly 8 hours of private Jeep ride from Kathmandu to Dhading Besi and then to Machhakhola via Arughat, Gorkha. The road from Arughat is a little rough and bumpy on rocky trails for around 2 hours until we  reach beautiful village of Machhi Khola next to Budi Gandaki riverbank. 

The next day, From Machha khola we follow a narrow trail that takes us to Khorlabesi. After a few ascend and descend, we reach a popular hot spring, Tatopani. we climb another ridge and cross the Budhi Gandaki on another suspension bridge. After this, we climb a staircase and then cross a landslide and a ridge to reach Dovan village.  After crossing a suspension bridge, we again climb stone staircase then go down to the Yaru river and climb some stairs again to the village of Jagat where we spend the night.

On this day, we first reach Salleri after climbing a rocky ridge and then go towards Sirdibas.  We continue to Ghatta Khola and then walk upstream through a long suspension bridge to reach a Gurung village in Phillim. From the lower points of the village, the trail turns north and through leveled trails amidst maize fields, we reach Ekle Bhatti, where you will have lunch and continue our trip from a steep gorge and then descend through grassy slopes to cross the Budhi Gandaki and then cross bridges from west to east bank and back again. As the trail widens, we pass through bamboo forests to reach the Deng Khola.  After crossing the river, we reach the tiny Deng village where we spend the night.

We take a brief walk from Deng to cross the Budhi Gandaki and climb to reach Rana. From here we climb for a while and then head west to Budhi Gandaki valley. The trail passes through forests and painted Mani stones and a corner from where we reach Ghap. Then we take the trail through Prok village, which allows us to witness the beautiful view of Sringi Himal. We follow the river, crossing it at many places and pass through dense forests and Gompas along the way. After crossing the river at a gorge, the trail becomes levelled and after a last steep climb, we reach Namrung where we stay the night. Namrung is the best viewpoint for Sringi and Ganesh Himal as well as Mt. Himal Chuli.

From Namrung a steep climb and passage through forests take us to Lihi, a village well known for its chortens (shrines) and barley terraces. We now reahc an elevation around 3,000m above sea level. After crossing the side valley of  Sho and Lho villages, we reach Shyala where we spend the night in a local teahouse. Late afternoon, we visit the local monastery as a refreshment and for some acclimatisation. Shyala is at an elevation of 3,040m.

Early morning, we will wake up to witness a majestic sunrise over Mount. Manaslu, Ngadi and Naike peaks. The view looks amazing from Shyala village, After having breakfast, we then do a day hiking at Pungyen Gompa which takes roughly between 2 and half hours to 3 hours. After coming back from Gompa, we will have a lunch and take rest in Shyala village.

We will take an hour walk from Shyala to  Samagaon village. After reaching Samagaon, we will go for a visit to Birendra lake which is half hour walk from a teahouse. birendra lake is a glacial lake forming from Manaslu mountain. After a visit to a lake, we will also explore the old monasteries around Samagaon and take a rest afterwards.

We follow the Budhi Gandaki River up to a stream, which we cross on a suspension bridge.  From here we take the trail on the right to Larke la. It is a fairly easy trail, passing through Mani walls and juniper, larch and birch forests. We again cross a bridge over Budhi Gandaki and continue forward till we reach Samdo where we spend the night. We can spot blue sheep and marmots in Samdo area when we walk for a day trip. Samdo peak stands tall nearby the village and the view of Ngadi peak and Manaslu North range can be seen from here. If you are fit enough, then you can even do a side treip towards Nepal- Tibet border, which is roughly 8 hours of hike back to Samdo.

We start our day trip by crossing a wooden bridge over Budhi Gandaki River and begin a hike upwards. After crossing a few streams and seeing a glimpse of the Larkya glacier, we go around a valley and make our way upward again to reach a Dharmashala where they have only 3 basic teahouses at an altitude of 4,400m.  This short walk to Larke Phedi provides enough time and rest to acclimatize for the further trek.

This will be a big day, we wake up around 4:00 am and start our trek right after having a quick breakfast before the sunrise. After a short climb, we reach a valley on the north side of Larkya glacier with exquisite views of Larke peak.  We ascend the moraines of a glacier, which becomes quite steep at the end before reaching the pass. From here we can enjoy the breathtaking views of Himlung, Cheo, Kanggru and the Annapurna. It is a longer walk than other days and you reach the guesthouse among the low pastures at the dim lights of dusk. When we finally reach Bhimtang, the exquisite view of Mount Manaslu with the view of small village beneath makes every step worth it and memorable for rest of your life.

After enjoying the splendid views of the mountains from a ridge in Bhimtang, we make our way down towards a high pasture and then a bridge over Dudh Khola. We walk through rhododendron forests, narrow valleys and fields before making a climb to the riverbank that leads to the village of Gho and finally at Tilche. 

We drive towards Besisahar via Dharapani along the banks of Marsyangdi and Trishuli River, witnessing the beautiful scenery of rice fields, terraced farms, rivers and valleys and refreshing views of the hilly areas and mountains. After 3 hours of private Jeep ride, we reach  Besisahar where we stop for lunch and then 5 hours of drive towards Kathmandu. In the evening, we celebrate the success of trek with a nice dinner and overnight stay at the hotel to complete an epic Manaslu trekking experience.