Manaslu Circuit Trek

Day 01: Arrive in Kathmandu 
Meet with our representative at the airport. Drive to hotel. Overnight stay in hotel.

Day 02: Kathmandu.
Half Day sightseeing tour of Kathmandu Durbar Square, and Swayambhunath Stupa (Monkey Temple). PM: Free, preparation for the trekking. Overnight stay in hotel.

Day 3: Drive to Arughat (530m) 
After breakfast, drive to Arughat. 7 hours driving. Overnight stay in Lodge.

Day 04: Arughat - Sotikhola (710m/2330ft) 06:00hrs.
The trek starts through a forest to Shante Bazar with views of Shringi Himal up the valley. The Buri Gandaki valley becomes steeper and increasingly more difficult as the trail crosses the Arkhet Khola, climbing through fields and rocky outcrops. We descend to a high cascading waterfall and make the long climb up the valley to Keurenipani, a Gurung-Magar village at 820m. The trail goes through Soti and a little further to Soti Khola where we camp for the night- it is near a good swimming hole with a small waterfall. Overnight stay in Lodge.

Day 05: Soti khola - Machhakhola (1450m/4758ft) 06:00hrs.
The trail crosses a bridge and climbs to the ridge above huge rapids in the Buri Gandaki and continues to Korsani. The trail now gets a bit more challenging as it climbs over a large rock and crosses a stream on a singlelog bridge then weaves its way up and down again to the banks of the Buri Gandaki. It continues up a steep rocky trail to the Gurung village of Machhakhola. Overnight stay in Lodge.

Day 06: Machhakhola - Doban (1700m/5578ft) 05:00hrs.
Today, the valley narrows and in places the path is cut into the steep valley side. From Dobhan it climbs behind a rocky outcrop to an old school from where the valley widens, then the trail drops to a high waterfall with a wooden bridge. The trail climbs over another ridge and descends to the sandy riverbed.

There is a short walk before a climb to avoid a spot where the river has eroded the original trail and after a short descent there is another climb to a ridge then a traverse to the village at Machha Khola. From here there is a steep ascent to a ridge then down to a hot spring and a stone structure that marks Tatopani. After crossing a suspension bridge over the Budi Gandaki the trail climbs a stone stairs to Dobhan. Overnight stay in Lodge.

Day 07: Doban - Jagat (1698m/5571ft) 06:00hrs.
Today the trail gets quite rugged and starts by climbing to two teashops at Duman, then crosses a landslide area and after some ups and downs through ravines it reaches a large field.
There is some scrambling over gravel slopes until a descent to the wide river valley. After crossing a suspension bridge the trail ascends a set of stone stairs, drops to the river and ascends once again to Thado Bharyang. Once over the river, the trail continues for a while before climbing to Jagat. Overnight stay in Lodge.

Day 08: Jagat - Deng (1920m/6299ft) 06:00hrs.
Today you can start by either rock-hopping across the Bhalu Khola or crossing the suspension bridge upstream; from here there is a climb over a rocky ridge to Salleri. There are good views of Shringi Himal as you walk along the side of a cliff. The trail descends to Setibas where the mani walls (prayers engraved into wayside rocks) show that we are entering a region with increasing Tibetan influence. The valley widens a little and continues past the stone houses of Ghattu Khola, crosses the rocky stream bed and moves upstream to a suspension bridge.

The trail crosses this bridge and follows a route on the east bank climbing to Philim and then turns north just above the lowest houses in the village and stays fairly level until Serson.Beyond Serson the trails enters a steep gorge and descends through grassy slopes, dotted with pine, to cross a cantilever wooden bridge at the river's narrowest point; below you will see the confluence of the Shar Khola and Buri Gandaki rivers. The trail makes its way up the west side as the valley and offers a pleasant walk-through bamboo forest to Deng Khola and the village of Deng. Overnight stay in Lodge.

Day 09: Deng - Namrung (2660m/8726ft) 06:00hrs.
After leaving Ghap, you pass more mani walls on the southern side of the river before heading into some woods. The trail climbs along the river, past a waterfall and continues through deep fir and rhododendron forests with a wooden bridge in the middle which crosses the Buri Gandaki. The trail continues along the north side to a big cave, then crosses the river again under the watchful eyes of grey langur monkeys. Back on the south bank, the trail makes a long climb through bamboo and rhododendron and finally enters Namrung (or Namdru) through a stone archway. Overnight stay in Lodge.

Day 10: Namrung - Sellha (3300m/10826ft) 06:00hrs.
The trail now enters the Nupri region- the people here are descendants of Tibetan migrants who arrived over 500 years ago. Typical Tibetan features include the entrance gates to the villages, mani walls and Buddhist gompas. From Shyalla you climb past the fields and houses of Barcham and into a forest of fir and rhododendron to a promontory. Next, the trail enters Li through a stone arch and after passing a gompa exits the village into a wooded canyon.

The trail crosses the Hinan Khola on a double span cantilever bridge and up to a mani wall that leads into Sho. The view is spectacular with Manaslu’s north peak and Naike Peak appearing at the head of the valley. After crossing a small ravine to a big prayer wheel, the trail climbs through fields to Shrip. There are some strange looking platforms here which are watchtowers used to stop the bears coming for their crops.

The trail then climbs past a small stream to Lho, a village with a large gompa and drops down to the Damonan Khola where a bridge is crossed before a climb up the north fork of the stream through damp forest to finally emerge onto a plateau at Shyala. There is a great view from here including Himalchuli, Ngadichuli and Manaslu. Overnight stay in Lodge.

Day 11: Sellha - Samagaon (3580m/11744ft) 05:00hrs.
The trail crosses the ridge onto the Buri Gandaki Valley side and then descends to a rock-strewn moraine. After crossing some boulders, the trail emerges onto the extensive pastures and fields of Samagaon. There is a lot to explore in Samagaon, it is a little piece of Tibet with many gompas and a traditional Tibetan village. Overnight stay in Lodge.

Day 12: Rest Day at Samagaon, explore the surroundings.
Another day to explore this fascinating village or a day visit to the Pung-gyen gompa, hidden behind the ridge in front of Manaslu, can be arranged. Local superstition believes that the 1953 destruction of the gompa in an avalanche was the manifestation of the wrath of the Gods at foreigners climbing the mountain! Overnight stay in Lodge.

Day 13: Samagaon - Larke Bazar (3950m/12958ft) 06:00hrs.
You can use this day to explore the Manaslu Glacier and camp 1 area. Overnight stay in Lodge.

Day 14: Larke Bazar - Rest house (4480m/14696ft) 05:00hrs.
Today we start the ascent to the pass along the traditional trade route to Tibet. The wide trail descends past fields to a big old mani wall and stone arch, dropping to the river and crosses it on a wooden bridge at 3850m. This place shows up on maps as the mythical Larka Bazaar, which used to be a flourishing market, but there is nothing remaining there now. A mani wall marks the beginning of ascent to the pass where the trail starts climbing through tundra and juniper; the huge Larkya Glacier coming from Manaslu can be seen from here. Stay on the ridge to the right to find a trail that crosses over the top of two ravines. The trail grows steeper, climbing up the side of a gorge to a viewpoint at the edge of a huge gorge at 4000m. Climb in and out of the gorge and contour to the only shelter enroute to the pass which is a rest house at 4460m. Overnight stay in Lodge.

Day15: Resthouse-Larkepass(5230m/17156ft)- Bhimathan (4066m/13338ft)06:00hrs.
The trail starts as a long gentle climb across moraine, it descends a little to a lake and then becomes rough and indistinct as it crosses to the south of steep grassy slopes. The trail stays on the moraine to a ridge marked by two cairns, from here the prayer flags marking the pass are visible. Descend to the four frozen lakes then make the final steep climb to the pass. On the descent from the pass the trail follows the top of the moraine to the west and makes a set of steep, rough switchbacks as it crosses the moraine then descends more gently on loose gravel to another grassy moraine at 4,450m. The trail now becomes easier to follow and reaches a small meadow and spring at 4,080m. The valley becomes wider as the trail’s heads down to a large meadow, past a mani wall and a small rest house that marks Bimthang at 3,590m. Overnight stay in Lodge.

Day 16: Bhimathan - Tilje (3300m/10826ft) 06:00hrs.
The trail drops to a glacial stream, the headwaters of the Dudh Khola, and crosses a wooden bridge and descends into pine and rhododendron forest to Hompuk at 3,430m. The trail improves as it descends to a fork in the river and then follows the river to a stable at 3030m. Not far from here you reach Karche's fenced fields, then cross a landslide before making a steep climb to a ridge decorated with prayer flags. It makes a descent to the river bank at Gho and continues through fields and intermittent stands of rhododendron and oak to arrive at Tilje, a large Gurung village. Exit the village through a stone arch, cross the Dudh Khola and follow along its embankment descending through scrub forest. The walls of the Marsyangdi Valley loom larger and finally the houses of Dharapani appear in the distance. Pass through Thonje via a wooden bridge and through a chorten-shaped arch, and Dharapani lies across a long suspension bridge over the Marsyangdi. Overnight stay in Lodge.

Day 17: Tilje - Jagat (1290m/4233ft) 07:00hrs.
The trail now follows the Annapurna Circuit route in reverse as you pass through the steepest part of the Marsyangdi gorge. Overnight stay in Lodge.

Day 18: Jagat - Khudi (850m/2788ft) 06:00hrs.
After breakfast, trek down to Khudi. Overnight stay in Lodge.

Day 19: Khudi - Kathmandu (1310m/4298ft), drive 07:00hrs.
After breakfast, Drive back to Kathmandu. Overnight stay in hotel.

Day 20: Departure
After breakfast, free till departure. Drop to airport, fly back to Home.

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