Tilicho Lake Trek

You arrive at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu (1,400 m), where our representative meets you and drives you to your hotel in Thamel.

Your guide runs the pre-trek briefing. The Tilicho Lake trek goes up the Manang valley and into the Khangsar Khola side valley to reach Tilicho Lake at 4,919 m — one of the highest lakes of its size anywhere on earth — and returns the same way, with no pass to cross.

That makes it less committing than the full Annapurna Circuit, but it is not an easy trek: it involves two nights above 4,000 m, a long exposed climb to the lake, and a notorious landslide traverse on the approach to base camp. Your guide checks your kit — warm layers, gloves and a good sleeping bag all matter at Tilicho Base Camp. Overnight in Kathmandu.

A half-day drive west and then north. We leave Kathmandu after breakfast on the Prithvi Highway, following the Trishuli River through its gorge — terraced hillsides, roadside bazaars and rafting groups on the green water below.

At Dumre the road turns north and follows the Marsyangdi valley up toward the mountains. The scenery becomes more enclosed as the valley narrows, with the river running fast below and the first big ridgelines appearing ahead.

Besisahar (830 m) is the traditional starting point of the Annapurna Circuit and the end of the sealed road. It is a small, busy bazaar town full of trekkers, jeep drivers and porters organising loads for the valley above.

The drive takes six to seven hours. Arriving in the afternoon leaves time to walk around the town and get an early night before tomorrow's rough transfer. Overnight in Besisahar.

A rough but spectacular jeep day up the Marsyangdi valley. The road beyond Besisahar is a single lane cut into the gorge wall, with the river far below, waterfalls crossing the track and steep drops on the outside edge.

The route climbs through Bhulbhule, Jagat and Dharapani (1,860 m), where the Manaslu Circuit trail comes in from the east over the Larkya La. It then continues up through Danakyu and Timang, where on a clear day there is a superb head-on view of Manaslu (8,163 m) behind you.

The vegetation changes steadily as you climb: subtropical scrub and banana at the bottom, then pine and blue fir, with the air cooling noticeably and the settlements taking on a Tibetan character — flat-roofed stone houses, mani walls and prayer flags.

Chame (2,670 m) is the district headquarters of Manang, with shops, a bank and small hot springs by the river. The journey takes six to seven hours. Overnight in Chame.

The first walking day, and a substantial one — nearly 900 m of gain, covering ground the classic circuit spreads over two days.

The trail leaves Chame through pine forest into a narrow section of valley, passing beneath the Paungda Danda: an immense curved slab of rock sweeping over 1,500 m up from the riverbed in one unbroken sheet, and among the largest rock faces in the Himalaya.

Beyond it the valley opens out and the landscape changes character completely as you cross into the rain shadow — drier, browner, distinctly Tibetan. The trail passes through Pisang and continues up the widening valley with Annapurna II (7,937 m), Annapurna IV and Gangapurna ranged across the southern skyline.

Manang (3,540 m) is the largest village on the route — a compact Tibetan-style settlement of flat-roofed stone houses with bakeries, gear shops and even a cinema hall. Overnight in Manang.

An acclimatisation day, and a necessary one after yesterday's height gain. The principle is climb high, sleep low — so this is a rest day that still involves going uphill.

The gentler option walks up to the Gangapurna Lake and the viewpoint above it, gaining around 300 m, with a close view of the Gangapurna Glacier calving into milky meltwater. The steeper alternative climbs to Praken Gompa, a small monastery clinging to the cliff above the village at about 3,950 m, where the resident lama gives blessings to trekkers heading higher.

Manang itself repays a wander: narrow lanes between flat-roofed houses, firewood stacked on every roof, and yaks in the streets. The Himalayan Rescue Association gives a free talk on altitude sickness here at 3 pm each afternoon, and on a trek that will reach 4,919 m it is well worth an hour. Overnight in Manang.

A short, gentle day of around 260 m of gain — moving up slowly is the whole strategy from here on.

The trail heads west out of Manang and up the Khangsar Khola valley, leaving the main circuit route almost immediately. Within an hour the traffic thins to almost nothing: this is a side valley, and the great majority of circuit trekkers never come this way.

The path climbs gradually to Khangsar (3,734 m), the last village on this side of the valley — a small Tibetan-influenced settlement of stone houses among barley terraces, with an old ruined gompa on the slope above. Beyond it the country becomes genuinely high and arid, with no trees, sparse scrub and enormous scree slopes on both sides.

Shree Kharka (3,800 m) is a small cluster of lodges on an open shelf with wide views back down the valley toward the Annapurnas. Overnight in Shree Kharka.

A short day by distance, and the one this route is known for — not for the 350 m of height gained but for the ground it crosses.

The trail contours west from Shree Kharka into an increasingly barren, high-altitude landscape of rock and scree. After an hour or so it reaches the landslide traverse: a long path cut across steep, unstable slopes with a considerable drop below.

It is not technical and involves no climbing, but it demands concentration and steady footing, and rockfall is a genuine consideration. Your guide will assess conditions, take the group across in small parties, and generally aim to do it early in the day while the slope is still frozen and settled.

Tilicho Base Camp (4,150 m) is a handful of lodges in a bare amphitheatre of rock with no vegetation whatsoever. It is cold, basic and often windy, and sleep at this height is frequently broken. Eat well, drink constantly and turn in early — tomorrow starts before dawn. Overnight at base camp.

The day the whole trek is built around. We set out around 4:00 am, because the wind at the lake strengthens sharply through the morning and the long exposed climb is far better done in the cold and dark than in a gale.

The trail zigzags up an endless series of switchbacks on open scree — nearly 800 m of ascent with no shelter, no water and no let-up. It is the hardest sustained climb of the trip and takes three to four hours. Sunrise partway up lights Tilicho Peak (7,134 m) and the Grand Barrier ridge above you.

Tilicho Lake (4,919 m) sits in a stark, treeless basin beneath the peak — frozen for much of the year, and an extraordinary opaque turquoise when it is not. There is no vegetation, no birdsong and almost no sound at all; the silence at the lake is what most trekkers remember longest.

We descend the same switchbacks to Tilicho Base Camp (4,150 m), arriving in the early afternoon. Overnight at base camp.

A long descending day back down the Khangsar Khola valley, giving up around 600 m and returning to comfort.

The first task is the landslide traverse again, taken early and carefully while the slope is still settled from the cold night. Crossing in this direction puts the exposure on your other side, which feels different but is no more difficult.

Beyond it the trail descends to Shree Kharka (3,800 m), where we normally stop, and continues down through Khangsar (3,734 m) and its barley terraces. The valley widens and takes on colour as you lose height, and after two nights above 4,000 m the thicker air makes an immediate difference to how you feel.

Manang (3,540 m) is reached in the afternoon. After the bare rock and cold of Tilicho Base Camp, its bakeries, hot showers and lively lodges are a genuine pleasure. Overnight in Manang.

A long day on rough road, retracing the Marsyangdi valley by jeep. The road now reaches Manang, which is what makes an out-and-back itinerary of this length possible.

The track descends past Humde, Pisang and Chame (2,670 m), then continues down through Danakyu, Dharapani and Jagat. It is slow, bumpy and frequently spectacular — a single lane cut into the gorge wall, waterfalls crossing the road, and the river running fast below.

Watching the landscape change in reverse is the pleasure of the day: from the dry, brown, Tibetan-feeling upper valley down through pine and blue fir into the humid subtropical green of the lower Marsyangdi, with banana trees and rice terraces near the bottom.

Besisahar (830 m) is where the sealed road begins again. The journey takes seven to eight hours. Overnight in a lodge.

A comfortable final day on the road, entirely on sealed surface. The drive to Kathmandu (1,400 m) takes six to seven hours with a lunch stop.

The road follows the Marsyangdi down to Dumre and then joins the Prithvi Highway heading east, tracing the Trishuli River through its long gorge. It is the same country you drove up ten days ago, and it looks entirely different on the way back — greener, lower and much warmer than anywhere you have been since.

The last section climbs out of the river valley and over the rim into the Kathmandu Valley, arriving in the capital in the late afternoon.

You transfer to your hotel with the evening free. After a week and a half in teahouses, two of those nights at 4,150 m, a hot shower and a proper meal go a long way. Thamel is a few minutes' walk for anything you need. Overnight in Kathmandu.

Your final day in Nepal. If your flight leaves later in the day there is time for one more part of the Kathmandu Valley — Boudhanath Stupa, Pashupatinath Temple and Swayambhunath are all a short drive from Thamel and each worth an hour.

Our representative will collect you from your hotel and transfer you to Tribhuvan International Airport around three hours before your scheduled departure.

The Tilicho Lake trek reaches one of the highest large lakes on earth without crossing a single pass, through a side valley that most Annapurna Circuit trekkers never see. If you would like to link it into a longer route next time, the full Annapurna Circuit continues from Tilicho over Thorong La (5,416 m) and down into Mustang. Safe travels.