Manaslu Circuit Trek – 14 Days

Welcome to Nepal! A driver from our team picks you up at Tribhuvan International Airport for the short ride to your hotel.

Later you meet your guide, who goes over the route and the pass crossing, checks your gear and collects your passport details. Manaslu is a restricted area, so the permits need your documents before you can leave Kathmandu.

If you need anything, Thamel’s shops sell or rent most trekking gear. Get an early night: the drive tomorrow is long and rough.

You leave Kathmandu early in a shared jeep and head west along the Trishuli River, then turn north through Dhading Besi and Arughat, the old market town at the bottom of the Budhi Gandaki valley.

After Arughat the road turns into a rough dirt track that clings to the side of the valley, and the going gets slow and bumpy. In all, the drive takes 9–10 hours with stops for tea and lunch, and loose boulders can fall on the stretch near Soti Khola, especially after rain.

Machha Khola, “fish river”, is a small, warm village at 930 m beside the Budhi Gandaki. Enjoy the mild evening; you won’t be this low again until the end of the trek.

Your first walking day follows the Budhi Gandaki upstream through a deep, narrow gorge. The trail climbs and drops over rocky spurs and crosses the river on long suspension bridges, past Khorlabesi and Tatopani, where a small hot spring by the path is good for washing tired feet.

Beyond Dobhan, the trail passes Yaruphant. Stones and boulders sometimes fall onto the riverbanks here, especially in the rainy season, so your guide keeps the group moving through this stretch.

Jagat, at 1,340 m, is a stone-paved village at the gate of the restricted area, and your permits are checked here. It’s a 6–7 hour day.

After Jagat the valley narrows again. The trail climbs to Philim (1,570 m), a large Gurung village surrounded by terraced fields, then continues through pine forest to Ekle Bhatti, where the trail to the Tsum Valley branches off to the east.

The main trail stays with the Budhi Gandaki, which now runs through a deep gorge with cliffs on both sides. You cross it several times on high bridges.

Deng (1,860 m) is a small village where the first mani stones and prayer flags of the upper valley appear. It’s the end of the low, warm country, and the nights start to cool.

Today you enter Nubri, the upper Budhi Gandaki valley, an area so close to Tibet that it was closed to foreigners for many years. The trail crosses the river and climbs past Bihi and Ghap, beside long walls of mani stones carved with Buddhist prayers. Walk with them on your right, the way local people do.

Above Ghap the path climbs steadily through pine and rhododendron forest, where langur monkeys often feed in the trees.

Namrung, at 2,660 m, has a permit checkpoint and some of the best lodges on the trek. On a clear afternoon you get your first good views of the big snow peaks.

The villages change today. Above Namrung the houses are built of stone with flat roofs, and people wear Tibetan-style dress. You pass through Lihi and Sho to Lho (3,180 m), where the views of Manaslu really open up.

Take the short walk up to Ribung Monastery above Lho. From there Manaslu stands straight across the valley, and on a clear morning it’s one of the best views of the whole trek.

An easy hour more brings you to Shyala (3,500 m), a small village in a wide valley with Manaslu and its neighbours all around.

Today you visit Pungyen Monastery on the way to Sama Gaun. The side trail climbs through juniper and open grassland to the monastery, at about 4,000 m, which sits right below Manaslu and its glaciers.

Afterwards, walk down to Sama Gaun, the largest village in the upper valley and the highest big settlement in the Manaslu area, spread between about 3,530 m and 3,800 m. Its stone houses, potato fields and old monastery sit at the foot of the mountain, which a Japanese expedition first climbed in 1956.

You stay here two nights. Spend the evening resting and drinking plenty.

This is your acclimatization day: you climb high, then come back down to sleep. The trail first passes Birendra Lake, named after the late King Birendra, a cold glacier lake below Manaslu’s huge glacier, just outside the village.

From the lake, a steep path climbs the ridge beside the Manaslu Glacier towards Manaslu Base Camp (4,800 m). The full climb is about 1,300 m, and you can turn back wherever you’ve had enough. Even part of the way gives close views of the icefall and the glacier.

Back in Sama Gaun, rest, drink plenty and get an early night.

A short, easy day, which is exactly what your body needs at this height. The trail follows the Budhi Gandaki upstream past yak pastures and juniper, crosses a wooden bridge and climbs to Samdo (3,860 m), the last village before the Tibet border.

Samdo depends on the trails for its food and supplies, and when snow blocks the Larkya La, the village can run short. In the afternoon, walk a little higher above the village to help your body adjust, then come back down for the night.

Another short day. You cross the Budhi Gandaki one last time and climb steadily across open, stony slopes to Dharamsala, also called Larke Phedi, at the foot of the pass.

At 4,460 m, Dharamsala is cold and bare, with just a few basic lodges, and in the busy months rooms are often shared. Put on your warm layers early, eat a big dinner and get to bed. Tomorrow starts before dawn.

You start around 4 in the morning with your headlamp on. The trail climbs gently at first along the edge of a glacier, then more steeply over rocks and, often, snow. Expect 3–5 hours to the top.

The Larkya La, at 5,106 m, is marked by prayer flags. On a clear day you look out over glaciers and snow peaks, including Himlung Himal and Annapurna II.

The way down is steep and long, about 1,500 m, on loose gravel at first, so take it slowly. A couple of teahouses on the descent serve tea and food before the final stretch to Bhimtang (3,590 m), which sits in a wide valley with Manaslu behind it. If the weather turns or the snow is deep, your guide may decide to wait a day at Dharamsala, so keep 1–2 spare days in your plans.

The trail drops through pine and rhododendron forest along the Dudh Khola, past Karche and Gho, to Tilije (2,300 m), where the road begins. After days above the tree line, the forest feels very green.

From Tilije, a shared jeep takes you down to Dharapani and on through the Marsyangdi valley to Besisahar, about 4 hours on a bumpy road. It’s a long day, and a hot shower in Besisahar is a good way to end it.

After breakfast a tourist bus takes you back to Kathmandu, about 180 km and 6–7 hours depending on traffic. You arrive in the afternoon with time to rest or shop in Thamel.

In the evening, join us for a farewell dinner to celebrate getting all the way around Manaslu.

Your trip ends today. Our driver takes you to Tribhuvan International Airport after breakfast, about three hours before your flight.

If you have more time, ask us about Chitwan National Park, a Kathmandu heritage tour or a few relaxing days in Pokhara.