Manaslu Circuit Trek

You arrive at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu (1,400 m) and are met by our representative for the transfer to your hotel in Thamel.

Your guide runs the pre-trek briefing. The Manaslu Circuit is a restricted-area trek: it requires a special permit, a licensed guide and a minimum group size, and there is no exception to any of that. We go through the permits, the daily stages and — most importantly — the crossing of Larkya La (5,106 m), one of the longest and most committing pass days on any teahouse trek in Nepal.

Kit is checked carefully. The pass demands a proper down jacket, insulated gloves, a four-season sleeping bag and boots with grip on snow; the lodge at Dharmasala is basic and cold. Anything missing can be bought or hired in Thamel. The rest of the day is free. Overnight in Kathmandu.

A long day on the road heading west and then north. We leave Kathmandu early on the Prithvi Highway, turn north at Dhading Bensi, and follow increasingly rough roads up the Budhi Gandaki valley.

The first half is straightforward highway through terraced middle-hill country. The second half is not: the track narrows to a single lane cut into steep hillsides above the river, with rockfall in places and river crossings on rough bridges. It is slow, bumpy and frequently spectacular, taking eight to nine hours in total.

Machha Khola (930 m) — the name means 'fish river' — is a small strip of lodges beside the Budhi Gandaki, and this is where the walking begins tomorrow. It is low, warm and humid here, which makes the eventual contrast with Larkya La all the more striking. Overnight in a teahouse.

The first walking day, following the Budhi Gandaki upstream through a hot, steep-sided gorge. The trail is carved into the valley wall in places and crosses the river repeatedly on suspension bridges.

The route passes Khorlabesi and reaches Tatopani, where natural hot springs emerge beside the trail — a genuinely welcome stop, though it is warm enough at this altitude that most people just soak their feet. Beyond it the path climbs over a ridge on a staircase cut into rock and drops to Dobhan.

The valley here is subtropical: banana and bamboo, waterfalls dropping straight onto the path, and monkeys in the trees. The day ends at Jagat (1,340 m), a neatly paved village of stone houses that marks the official entry to the Manaslu Conservation Area, where your restricted-area permits are checked and registered. Overnight in Jagat.

The valley narrows dramatically today and the culture starts to change with it.

From Jagat the trail climbs to Salleri and then contours to Sirdibas and Philim, a substantial village spread across terraced fields. Above Philim the gorge tightens into one of the most impressive sections of the whole route — sheer walls, the river far below, and the trail pinned to the cliff on wooden galleries and suspension bridges in places.

At Lokpa the trail to Tsum Valley branches north-east; the circuit continues west. From here the settlements begin to look Tibetan rather than Nepali: flat-roofed stone houses, chortens at village entrances, and mani walls carved with the six-syllable mantra. The first Buddhist gate marks the transition. Deng (1,804 m) is a tiny village of a few lodges in the gorge. Overnight in Deng.

A long climbing day that lifts you out of the gorge and into proper mountain country.

The trail crosses the Budhi Gandaki and climbs through forest to Rana and Bihi Phedi, then continues up the valley past Ghap. The vegetation shifts from subtropical to temperate — pine, fir and rhododendron replace the bamboo — and the air noticeably cools. Along this stretch the mani walls become longer and more elaborate, some of them carved with detailed reliefs of Buddhist deities.

The final climb to Namrung (2,630 m) is steep and comes at the end of a long day. The village sits at a checkpoint with a good lodge or two, and it is the point where the first big peaks appear: Himal Chuli and Ganesh Himal become visible, and on a clear evening you get the first glimpse of Manaslu itself. Overnight in Namrung.

One of the most rewarding days of the trek, climbing steadily into an increasingly open and Tibetan landscape.

The trail climbs from Namrung through Lihi, with its chortens and barley fields, and on to Lho (3,180 m). Lho is worth the stop: the village has a large monastery, Ribung Gompa, on a rise above it, and from the courtyard there is a famous head-on view of Manaslu (8,163 m) — the eighth-highest mountain in the world — filling the head of the valley.

Beyond Lho the trail continues through pine forest and open pasture to Shyala (3,500 m), a small settlement in a broad, flat-bottomed valley. The setting is extraordinary: Manaslu directly ahead, Himal Chuli and Ngadi Chuli to the south, and Naike Peak and the Larkya massif ahead to the west. You are now high enough that the nights are properly cold. Overnight in Shyala.

A short and easy day, deliberately so — barely 30 m of net gain, which lets the body catch up before the serious altitude begins.

The trail crosses open pasture from Shyala with Manaslu in view for most of the walk, reaching Sama Gaun (3,530 m) in a couple of hours. Sama is the largest and most traditional village on the route, a substantial Tibetan-influenced settlement of flat-roofed stone houses, with yaks in the lanes and a gompa above.

Arriving before lunch leaves the whole afternoon free, which is exactly the point. Options include the short walk up to Pungyen Gompa, or out to Birendra Lake (3,691 m), a milky turquoise glacial lake below the Manaslu Glacier that takes about an hour each way. Both help acclimatisation. Overnight in Sama Gaun.

A full acclimatisation day, and the one that makes the Larkya La crossing realistic. Climb high, sleep low.

The harder option is Manaslu Base Camp (4,800 m) — around 1,300 m of ascent, five to six hours up on a steep trail past Birendra Lake and up the lateral moraine of the Manaslu Glacier. It is a serious day out, and the reward is standing directly beneath the south face of an eight-thousander, with the icefall tumbling toward you and expedition tents in season.

The gentler option is Pungyen Gompa (4,000 m), a monastery in a side valley east of the village, set beneath the Pungyen Glacier with a fine view of Manaslu's east face. It is around three hours up. Either way, you return to Sama Gaun to sleep. Overnight in Sama Gaun.

Another short day by design — the itinerary is now pacing the altitude deliberately rather than covering ground.

The trail follows the Budhi Gandaki north-west through a widening, treeless valley. The landscape here is high, dry and open, with juniper scrub, stone-walled potato fields and yak pastures. You pass the ruined village of Kermo Kharka and cross the river on a wooden bridge before the final climb.

Samdo (3,865 m) is the last permanent village on this side of the pass — a compact settlement of around forty households, founded by Tibetan refugees who crossed the border in the 1960s. The Tibetan frontier is only a few hours' walk north, and the villagers still trade over it. The feel here is emphatically not Nepali; it is a Tibetan village that happens to sit in Nepal. Overnight in Samdo.

The second acclimatisation day, and by far the most important preparation for the pass. Two nights at 3,865 m with a high day walk between them is what gets people over Larkya La comfortably.

The standard excursion climbs north up the valley behind the village toward the Tibetan border at around 5,000 m, following an old trading route the people of Samdo still use. It is a steady climb of over 1,100 m taking four to five hours up, on open scree and grass with no shelter.

The view from the top is worth the effort: north into Tibet, and back south over Samdo to Manaslu, Samdo Peak and the Larkya massif you cross tomorrow. It is also a genuine rehearsal for the pass — similar altitude, similar terrain, and a good chance for your guide to see how everyone is coping before committing. We descend to sleep in Samdo. Overnight in Samdo.

A short day — three to four hours — because the point is to arrive early, rest, and be ready for a pre-dawn start tomorrow.

The trail drops to cross the Budhi Gandaki on a wooden bridge and then climbs steadily up the exposed valley toward the pass. There is no vegetation to speak of now, just scree, boulders and the occasional patch of alpine grass. The Larkya Glacier appears ahead, and the valley walls close in.

Dharmasala (4,460 m) — also called Larkya Phedi — is not a village but a single basic stone lodge and a few tent platforms in a bare bowl beneath the pass. Facilities are minimal, it is cold, and sleep at this altitude is often broken. Eat as much as you can manage, drink constantly, and get into your bag early: the start tomorrow is around 4:00 am. Overnight in Dharmasala.

The crux of the trek, and one of the longest single days on any teahouse route in Nepal — expect eight to ten hours of walking.

We leave around 4:00 am by head torch, because the wind on the pass strengthens sharply through the morning and afternoon cloud can close the descent entirely. The climb to the pass is long rather than steep, following moraine and then crossing the frozen surface of the glacier basin, with a series of false summits that test everyone's patience. Sunrise on the way up lights Larkya Peak and Cheo Himal.

Larkya La (5,106 m) is a broad saddle strung with prayer flags, with a huge view: Himlung Himal, Cheo Himal, Gyaji Kang, Kang Guru and Annapurna II across the valley. Then comes the descent — nearly 1,400 m, initially steep and loose across moraine, which is the part most people find hardest on tired legs. Bimthang (3,720 m) is a beautiful meadow of lodges beneath the Ponkar Glacier. Overnight in Bimthang.

Step outside at dawn: the view from Bimthang back to Manaslu, Himlung and the Ponkar Glacier at first light is the best of the whole circuit, and yesterday you were too tired to appreciate where you had arrived.

The day is then a long descent of nearly 1,900 m into the Marsyangdi valley. The trail drops through rhododendron and pine forest — the first proper trees for a week, and after the bare rock of the pass the green is startling — following the Dudh Khola down past Yak Kharka, Karche and Gho.

The vegetation thickens and the temperature climbs steadily as you lose height, and the villages become Nepali rather than Tibetan again. Dharapani (1,860 m) sits on the Annapurna Circuit trail, and arriving here closes the loop in a satisfying way: this is where circuit trekkers pass on their way up to Chame. Overnight in Dharapani.

A long day on the road out. A local jeep takes us down the rough track along the Marsyangdi through Tal, Jagat and Bhulbhule to Besisahar (830 m), where the sealed road begins. This first section is slow and bumpy, cut into the gorge wall with the river below.

From Besisahar we transfer to a road vehicle and join the Prithvi Highway east toward the capital, following the Marsyangdi and then the Trishuli through their gorges. The whole journey takes nine to ten hours with stops.

Arriving in Kathmandu (1,400 m) in the evening, you transfer to your hotel. After two weeks in teahouses — the last of them at 4,460 m — a hot shower and a proper meal are genuinely memorable. Overnight in Kathmandu.

Your final day in Nepal. If your flight is later there is time for one more part of the Kathmandu Valley — Boudhanath Stupa is a natural close after two weeks among Tibetan Buddhist villages, and Pashupatinath and Swayambhunath are both nearby.

Our representative collects you from your hotel and transfers you to Tribhuvan International Airport around three hours before your scheduled departure.

The Manaslu Circuit is, for many trekkers, the best long route in Nepal — it circles an eight-thousander from subtropical gorge to 5,106 m pass, passes through Tibetan villages where the border is a morning's walk away, and sees a fraction of the traffic of the Annapurna Circuit. If you would like to see more of this region, the Tsum Valley branches directly off it at Lokpa. Safe travels.