Manaslu circuit trek and side trips

During the 8 hours drive into the western mountains, we enjoy the view of Nepalese landscape, villages, farms along with the mountain sceneries. We will be riding on a paved route from Kathmandu to Dhading Bensi, but the drive from Dhanding Bensi to Machha khola will be partly a bumpy dirt road ( about 30km).

The trail is undulating, crosses streams and rocky ravines and reaches Khorla Besi. After walking for a short while, we come across a small Hotspring in Tatopan. A suspension bridge leads us to the eastern bank where we climb on a wide well crafted staircase to Dobhan. Resuming on a steep rocky trail, we skirt landslips in challenging landscape to cross a suspension bridge over Yaru Khola. We climb numerous stairs to reach Thado Bharyang from where we cross to the west bank of Budhi Gandaki to climb towards our night’s perch at the village of Jagat.

We descend to Setibas and continue to Ghatta Khola where we cross a hanging bridge to reach the Gurung village of Philim. Passing along the millet fields to Ekle Bhatti from where the trail enters a steep, uninhabited gorge. As we keep walking the valley widens through bamboo forests to the Deng Khola. As we cross the Deng Khola, we arrive at a tiny village called Deng to spend the night.

We head west up the Budhi Gandaki valley crossing various streams and rivers to reach the Sringi Valley. We traverse up and down in the forests and Mani Walls to spend overnight at Ghap. We can also make a side-trip to visit Tibetan Gompas at Prok

cross the river roaring down a narrow gorge . We continue on the narrow path through the forest to Namru with its check post, then continue through the forest path past small Tibetan villages towards Lihi. A Chorten with detailed paintings welcomes us to the Sho village with cluster of stone houses. With increasing altitude, the mountain views become more sensational. Manaslu, Manaslu North, Himalchuli, Saula Himal and Dwijen Himal rise either side of the trail as we move towards the village of Lho to spend the night.

Walking through the shady fir forest, we climb to the Village of Shyala on a plateau. The village is surrounded by gigantic mountains offering us the splendid panorama of Himal Chuli, Peak 29 (Ngadi Chuli), Manaslu and Ganesh Himal. As we move forward as we pass a large chorten into a little dip where two rows of houses makes the main part of the village of Samagoan. We spend our night at Samagoan which holds well known monastery called Sama.

We can walk to Pung-gyen Gompa, a renowned monastery from where we can enjoy the great views of the glacier. We spend our day exploring and immersing oneself into the daily lifestyle of the village.

We take the trail towards Larkya la and pass several Mani walls as the valley begins to widen. We enter a forest of birch, juniper and rhododendron, cross a wooden bridge and climb steeply onto a promontory between two forks of the rivers before reaching Samdo to spend the night.

After crossing a couple of streams, the Larkya Glacier appears on the opposite bank. We steadily climb, skirting around the Sarka Khola towards the stone guest house called Dharmashalaat Larkya Phedi.

from where we can enjoy great views of Cho Danda and Larkya Peak. We walk across the moraines of the glacier while making a gradual ascent to the pass where the outstanding views of Himlung Himal, Cheo Himal, Kangguru and the Annapurna II awaits us. Savoring the spectacular view from the pass, we continue our walk onto yak pastures towards Bimtang enjoying the evening mist.

We cross the Dudh Khola walking along the river bank until we again pass over the wooden bridge to the northern side of the river. We pass a chorten shaped arch and Mani Wall to the village of Thonje and continue towards Dharapani where we will rest for a night.

First, we drive to all way down to Beshisahar by local sharing jeep. It takes 4-5 hours. Then we continue driving by bus along Prithivi Highway. We offer you drive by bus to either Kathmandu or Pokhara as per your further travel plan. Towards Pokhara it is 5-6 hours drive and towards Kathmandu it takes 7 to 8 hours drive along the banks of the Marsyangdi and Trishuli rivers. We enjoy the splendid views of green hills, mountains, farming terraces and villages as we drive back to Kathmandu.