10 Days MANASLU CIRCUIT TREK

Day 1: Drive from Kathmandu to Machha Khola (9-10 hours, 900m)

Today, you will head out to the starting point of your trek i.e. Machha Khola. You will take a bus from Kathmandu to Machha Khola. The route of the bus takes you along the Prithvi Highway. The road you through the middle hills till Malekhu. From Malekhu, a 30km road takes you north along the Trishuli river as you head towards Dhading Besi. A further 35-kilometer drive along a dirt road leads you to Arughat. As the road gets winding up to Gola Bhanjyang, you can see panoramic views Ganesh, Baudha and Manaslu Himal. A further 3 hours of ride leads you to Soti Khola. The bus ride up to Machha Khola is 8-9 hours.

• Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
• Accommodation: Tea house
• Distance: 170km / 9-10 hrs
• Altitude: 900m

Day 2: Trek Machha Khola to Jagat (6-7 hours, 1410m)

After breakfast, you will head out on a 6-7 hour trekking journey to Jagat (1410 meters). After crossing Machha Khola, you will trek gently up to the tiny village of Khorla Bensi. From there, you will get to the natural hot springs at Tatopani. This trail is also quite challenging.

After crossing a short forested path, you will reach a single teahouse at Doban. Above the village of Dobhan, Budhi Gandaki river descends rather impressively to a series of rapids. The river is quite calm beyond this steep slope. A further trek from Dobhan leads you to Lauri, where you will cross the river on a suspension bridge. Finally, you will climb on a high path to the fields of Jagat, where you will spend your night.

• Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
• Accommodation: Tea house
• Distance: 22km / 7-8 hrs
• Altitude: 1410m

Day 3: Trek Jagat to Deng (6-7 hours, 1804m)

After breakfast at a teahouse in Jagat, you will embark on your trekking journey. A gentle uphill trek followed by a trek along level fields takes you to a suspension bridge over Budhi Gandaki. After crossing this suspension bridge, you will get to Philim. Philim is a large Gurung village that is home to small serene monasteries, stupas and prayer flags. You will have your lunch in Philim.

After lunch, you will trek through a flat leveled path. This path is inside pine and rhododendron forests. During the trek, you will also cross a few bridges that overlook quaint villages afar. After trekking for 6-7 hours from Jagat, you will arrive at Deng (1080 meters). Deng is home to a few houses. You can also enjoy an amazing waterfall lying at a small distance from Deng. This is an agricultural village that is famous for its potatoes, and buckwheat, barley, wheat, cabbage, & spinach.

• Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
• Accommodation: Tea house
• Distance: 20km / 6-7 hrs
• Altitude: 1804m

Day 4: Trek Deng to Namrung (6-7 hours, 2630m)

Deng is a village that is the point of entry to Kutang or lower Nupri (part of Tibet until the 1840s): It is a primarily a Gurung settlement with the culture of Tibetan Buddhism. They have their own language. The trail from Deng takes you along a winding path to Rana. After trekking past a series of uphills and downhills, you will get to a log bridge. After crossing a tributary from the bridge, you will get to an isolated water mill. Then you will descend gently along the trail to Bihi Phedi, which lies high above the river.

Beyond Bihi Phedi, the trail descends as you cross the Serang Khola. Then, you will trek along a winding path that shapes up like an S. The path lies between sheer basalt walls. You can also see huge rocky crags to the right. You will also have splendid views of the waterfall above the maize and wheat fields. As you trek towards the northeast direction, the valley broadens. After trekking past a bridge and mani stone walls, you will reach the attractive village of Ghap (2,250m/ 7,382ft). Past the village of Ghap, you will trek through bamboo, rhododendron and oak forests. On some days, you can also see birds like Impeyan pheasant (also known as Himalayan Monal)

This trail is above the steep descent of the river. For a short duration of time, you will trek to the north bank. Then you will head back towards the southern bank after crossing a bridge. After trekking for one hour from the bridge, you will reach Namrung. Namrung also has a police checkpoint for permits. Just before you get to Namrung, the trail overlooks Tum Khola from Tibet. This adds to the volume of water in Budhi Gandaki in the confluence. The trek from Deng to Namrung (2630 meters) is 6-7 hours long.

• Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
• Accommodation: Tea house
• Distance: 19.5km / 8-9 hrs
• Altitude: 2630m

Day 5: Trek Namrung to Samagaun (6-7 hours, 3530m)

Namrung is a Tibetan village and serves as an entrance to Upper Nupri. As you trek past a mix of forest and barley fields, you will reach Lihi. You can see impressive chortens as well as great views of Himal Chuli (7,893m/25,897ft) and Ganesh Himal. The trail then descends before entering a valley as you cross the Hinang Khola. After crossing Hinanag river on a bridge, you will trek along a steep uphill to a chorten, which offers spectacular views of Ngadi Chuli (7,873m/25,831ft).

As you trek further up a steep ridge, you will reach Lho. You can also visit a large monastery called Ribung monastery in Lho. You will then trek down a steep uphill before you reach Damonan Khola tributary. After trekking past a plateau, you will get to Shyala village (3,520m/11,549ft). Shayala overlooks many beautiful peaks like Himal Chuli (7,893m/25,897ft), Peak 29 (Ngadi Chuli, 7,873m/25,831ft); and Manaslu (8,156m/26,760ft).

As you continue trekking, you will get to a bridge over Numla Khola. The trail then takes the left of Pungyen Gompa. After trekking for 6-7 hours from Namrung, you will get to Samagaon (3530 meters). Kargyu Chholing Monastery stands against a forested moraine around the edge of this village. From Samagaon, you can only see the upper sections of Manaslu and the Naike ridge

• Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
• Accommodation: Tea house
• Distance: 18km / 6-7 hrs
• Altitude: 3530m

Day 6: Trek Samagaun to Samdo (3-4 hours,3800m)

The initial part of today’s trek descends towards Budhi Gandaki. The trail is in the north towards the lake. You will walk along the Base Camp trail as you encounter several mani walls as the valley widens. The trek is relatively easy and lies a shelf above the river. You will walk past the forests of juniper and birch which surround Kermo Kharka. The trail then descends to a wooden bridge as you cross the Budhi Gandaki river.

Then you will trek along a steep uphill to a ridge that lies above the confluence of Budhi Gandaki and Mayol Khola. You will encounter a stone arch, and fields before you get to the entrance of the village. Although the place is an attractive one, it is primarily a yak and goat herding area. The village only turned out as a settlement in the late 1950s when Tibetans fled Tibet.

As you trek past these fields, you will get to several sets of flags on a high ridge. Here, you can catch superb panoramic views of Samdo Peak (6,335m/20,785ft) and its glacial basin, the Sama Valley, Manaslu range, Syacha Glacier, Dharamsala, and Larkya La pass. After trekking for 4-5 hours from Samagaon, you will reach Samdo (3860 meters). Samdo is the last village before Gho, in the Manang District. Only informal kharkas (with lodges) lie between these villages.

• Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
• Accommodation: Tea house
• Distance: 7.5km / 3-4 hrs
• Altitude: 3800m

Day 7: Trek Samdo to Dharamshala (3-4 hours, 4460m)

You will trek past the fields in the northern village as you cross the Budhi Gandaki the final time. This will take place in the Larkya Bazaar site. The flow of the river takes it to the Pana Danda Valley in the north. You will then take the westward trail. You will trek past grassy slopes with scrub juniper, rhododendron and lichen covered granite. This trail is just above the Syacha Khola Valley. Along the way, you can also see the origin of Syacha Glacier, which descends from the Manaslu North ridge.

The trail works heads towards the Larkya Glacier. After trekking past the Larkya La Phedi, you will get to a settlement called Dharamsala (4460 meters). Today’s trek from Samdo to Dharamsala is 4-5 hours long. A short walk from your guesthouse will take to a place with better views of the Larke (6,249m/20,503ft) and Naike (6,291m/20,641ft) peaks.

• Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
• Accommodation: Tea house
• Distance: 6.5km / 8-9 hrs
• Altitude: 4460m

Day 8: Trek Dharmasala to Bimtang via Larke la pass (8-9 hours, 3720m)

Today you trek for 3-5 hours to ascend 800m/2,600ft to get to Larkya La Pass (5160 meters). You will then descend for 3-4 hours losing 1,500m/4,900 in altitude to get to Bimthang(3720 meters). If the wind blows, it can get really cold along the way. You have to be extra careful if you encounter ice and snow along the way.

The trekking trail from Dharamsala takes you along a gentle ascent to a ridge. Then will be a long gentle climb to the moraine. The trail along the northern moraine of the Larke Glacier is not quite steep. However, the trek is quite long and rocky. So you might find this a bit challenging. From the glacier, you can see the Larke Peak (Larke Himal) and Pawar Peak (Cheo Himal) on the south and north of the glacier respectively.

From the pass, you will trek uphill to an ablation valley. The trail then drops down to the first of four small scattered frozen lakes. As you trek uphill to the glacial moraine from the left, you will get to the first set of summit flags. The trail overlooks the Tibetan border ranges beyond Samdo Peak on the eastern side. There is a long moraine-ridge that is parallel to the Larke wall. A set of flags separates the Larke Wall. These flags are the markers of the border between the Manaslu and Annapurna Conservation areas.

This place is a wonderful point to see the various peaks like Pawar Peak (6,620m/21,720ft), Cheo Himal (6,820m/22,376ft), the Himlung pyramid (7,126m/23,380ft), Gyaji Kung (7,030m23,065ft), Kang Garu (6,981m/22,905ft) plus Annapurna II (7,937m/26,041ft).

After spending some time in Larkya La pass, you will start your descent begins from these prayer flags. The trail descends steeply from the moraine. Then you will get to a set of steep zigzags until you reach Dangboche Kharka (4,450m/14,600ft). The trail from Dangboche Kharka is not really steep. The trail winds along the lateral moraine of the Salpudanda/Bimthang glacier before getting to Bimthang Valley.

• Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
• Accommodation: Tea house
• Distance: 24.5km / 8-9 hrs
• Altitude: 3720m

Day 9: Trek Bhimthang to Dharapani ( 7-8 hrs, 1860m)

Bhimthang is a beautiful settlement that gives you views of the Kechakyu Himal on the north and Manaslu’s northeast face. Bhimthang serves as a settlement of the people of Samdo village in the summer season. It was also an important trading post before the border to Tibet closed down. It was also a center of the Tibetan Khampa warriors around 1970.

Today’s trek begins as you walk past the Bimthang Plain. You will descend along a trail to cross the stony glacier before heading up a moraine to enter rhododendron and pine forest. All along this route, you will get wonderful views of Larke, Manaslu, Nadi and Chuli Himals. As you descend further, you will get to Hompuk and Sangura Kharka before reaching Karche. From Karche, you will trek past terraced fields and a steep uphill until you reach Gho.

The trail from Gho takes you through farmlands to Tilje (2,300m/7,546ft). From there, you will descend rapidly towards the Marsyangdi Valley in Thonje (1,965m/6,447ft) You will then join the new road along the main Annapurna Circuit route in Dharapani(3560 meters). Today’s trek is 5-6 hours long.

• Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
• Accommodation: Tea house
• Distance: 23km / 7-8 hrs
• Altitude: 1860m

Day 10: Drive from Dharapani to Kathmandu or Pokhara

Today, you will head back to Kathmandu. You will follow the Prithvi Highway en route to Kathmandu. To reach our destination, we need to drive for about 7-8 hours by jeep and 9-10 hours by local bus. On the way, you can view natural waterfalls, rice-field, local house, forest, and streams.

• Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
• Accommodation: None
• Distance: 134km/ 9 - 10 hrs
• Altitude: 1320m