Manaslu Circuit Trek 12 Days

Welcome to Kathmandu! Your adventure begins in this historic valley, which is packed with UNESCO World Heritage sites and important centers of both Buddhist and Hindu worship. After meeting your guide at your hotel, you’ll set off for the road trip to Soti Khola. This trip should last about six or seven hours, and you’ll enjoy pleasant views of picturesque Nepali countryside along the way. About halfway through the trip, the highway will turn into an unsurfaced road, and the views will begin to get even more spectacular. Upon arrival in Soti Khola, we’ll check into the first of many comfortable guesthouses, where you’ll meet some friendly locals and enjoy your first taste of Himalayan mountain cuisine.

Are you ready to hit the trail? Our first real day on the Manaslu Circuit Trek serves as a gentle introduction to the spellbinding trails which wind their way through this part of the Himalayas. We’ll ascend and descend throughout the day, stopping to appreciate several gorgeous cliffside waterfalls before eventually crossing an exciting suspension bridge and following the course of the Buri Gandaki river on the approach to Machha Khola. We’ll stop here for the night after spending about four or five hours hiking. We’ll select the best available trekking lodge or teahouse to enjoy a home-cooked meal and lay our heads to rest on our second night in the mountains.

After savoring a hearty teahouse breakfast, we’ll set off for another day of hiking along the Manaslu Circuit Trek. Our path today follows the watercourse of the Buri Gandaki, passing the hot springs at Tatopani and leading us across a series of suspension bridges. As we trek through the river valley, we’ll enjoy increasingly spectacular glimpses of the mighty Himalayas towering over the green hills of the Manaslu region. We’ll stop for the day in Jagat, which is best known for its striking flagstone village square. Jagat also serves as the entrance to the Manaslu Conservation Area, and we’ll have our permits checked here before proceeding further into the mountains. Make sure to get plenty of sleep tonight in preparation for tomorrow’s trek—you’ve earned it!

Leaving Jagat behind, we’ll begin today’s hike with a short climb through a few small villages before descending to reach a picturesque waterfall and swiftly flowing alpine stream. We’ll use a wooden bridge to cross the water, moving deeper into the mountains and passing through a number of small settlements. Keep your camera handy—the forests of pine and bamboo in this part of the region are especially evocative when steeped in the mist steaming from the river’s edge. After approximately six hours of trekking, we’ll find ourselves in Deng, or Dyang. This is a particularly small village, but you’ll find that its inhabitants are friendly and welcoming, and the views of the valley’s surrounding natural beauty are nothing short of awe-inspiring. We’ll stop here in Deng for another night’s rest.

Today’s path continues to follow the line of the Buri Gandaki river, and we’ll descend and ascend alternately before crossing the river on the first of several suspension bridges. If you’re trekking during the springtime, the green hills rising above the river will really come alive with the colorful blooms of rhododendron blossoms. But this part of the trail is beautiful at any time of year, and we’ll be hiking through Tibetan-style villages and verdant forests of pine, fir, and juniper as we draw closer to the settlement of Namrung. We’ll stop for the night here in Namrung, where we’ll enjoy spectacular mountain views from our cozy Himalayan teahouse.

As we ascend higher into the mountains, we’ll get to feast our eyes on increasingly superb alpine scenery. You may also notice the prevalence of Buddhist monasteries in this region—as we climb to higher altitudes, the cultural influence of the Tibetan Plateau becomes even more pronounced. Hiking through little villages and fields of barley, we’ll eventually reach a glacier-fed river before climbing to wide-open pastures where yaks graze freely beneath the towering peaks of the Mansiri Himal. Chief amongst these summits are the mighty mountains of Manaslu and Himalchuli. After about six or seven hours of trekking, we’ll reach Samagaon. At 3,530 meters, this is the highest point on our trek so far. We’ll spend the next two nights at the best available teahouse or trekking lodge in this scenic village.

Now that we’ve started to reach some serious altitude, we’ll use today to allow our bodies the time they need to adjust to the increase in elevation. Fortunately, Samagaon is a surpassingly beautiful place to spend our short layover in the mountains. The chief point of interest is undoubtedly the small but-striking monastery called Pungyen Gompa. The gompa is nestled against a picturesque hillside festooned with prayer flags, and our visit here is sure to rank amongst your favorite memories of the Manaslu Circuit Trek. If you’re keen to stretch your legs, we can also undertake a day hike to the freshwater alpine lake called Birendra Tal or even to Manaslu Base Camp. When you’ve explored the surroundings of Samagaon to your heart’s content, we’ll return to our guesthouse to spend a second night.

With our bodies properly acclimated to the high altitude, it’s time to take our next steps on the Manaslu Circuit Trek. We’ll follow the south bank of the Buri Gandaki after breakfast this morning, trekking across a landscape of low-lying shrubs as we climb closer and closer to Manaslu itself. We’ll pass mani walls carved with Buddhist mantras and stands of birch and juniper before crossing a wooden bridge and reaching Samdo. The views from this town are astonishing, and you’ll have plenty of time left in the day if you choose to ascend the hill above the village for an even better look at Manaslu. We’ll select a comfortable guesthouse here in Samdo to enjoy a hot meal and a warm bed.

This is a short day of hiking compared to the rest of the Manaslu Circuit Trek, but that just means we’ll have even more time to enjoy the remarkable views of the Himalayas—which are now closer than ever. After breakfast, we’ll begin our trek with a short descent through alpine fields, crossing a handful of small streams and passing the old market known as Larkya Bazaar. We’re now very close to the border with Tibet, and local traders still use nearby mountain passes to travel across the border. We’ll climb from here, taking the very first steps on our ascent to Larkya La—but we’ll save that pass for tomorrow. Today, we’ll stop in Dharamsala. Not to be confused with the much larger city of Dharamsala in the Indian foothills, this Dharamsala is much smaller—and much closer to the mountains. We’ll spend the rest of the day at our leisure, preparing for tomorrow: the most exciting day on the Manaslu Circuit Trek!

This morning, we’ll begin the epic ascent to reach the mountain pass called Larkya La, or Larke La, just in time for sunrise. It’s a short-but-steep hike that takes approximately three hours to climb the barren, windswept landscapes on the way to the pass. You won’t want to miss the perpetually frozen alpine lakes as we tread higher into the mountains, as the air grows thinner and a sense of magic begins to infuse the atmosphere with anticipation. Larkya La itself sits at approximately 5,100 meters and offers far-reaching vistas of Manaslu, Himlung Himal, Annapurna II, and their many glaciated neighbors. After stopping to catch our breath—and take plenty of photographs—we’ll begin our descent on the other side. The way leads down scree-covered slopes and valley trails for over 1,000 meters before arriving at Bimtang. The village once served as an important center of trade with Tibet, and it’s worth looking around—but you might just find yourself heading straight to bed after today’s unforgettable hike. We’ll overnight at a trekking lodge here in Bimtang to get some hard-earned rest.

This morning, we’ll bid a wistful farewell to the mountains and begin our descent back into the rhododendron and oak forests of the foothills. We’ll trace the riverbanks of the Soti Khola and Dudh Khola, where a few small villages are clustered. The settlement of Gho makes a good stopover for lunch; afterward, we’ll trek through scrub forests and fields to pass through Tilje and cross the Marsyangdi river on the last of the suspension bridges that have become such an iconic part of our Manaslu Circuit Trek. We’ll stop for the night when we reach Dharapani, where our path connects with the Annapurna Circuit Trek and the trail begins to grow busier. Our lodgings tonight will be at another cozy teahouse or trekking lodge, where we’ll swap stories of our success on the Manaslu Circuit Trek before retiring for our last night on the trail.

On our final day of the Manaslu Circuit Trek, we’ll make the seven-hour drive from Dharapani to Kathmandu, stopping at the trekkers’ hub of Besi Shahar for lunch along the way. As we travel back to the capital city, we’ll leave the rough mountain roads behind us and travel on smooth tarmac. But that doesn’t mean we have to leave the views behind us—any road trip in Nepal is guaranteed to keep your eyes glued to the windows as terraced fields, hills and mountains, and pastoral scenes of timeless village life sweep by our vehicle. When we arrive in Kathmandu, we’ll check into our hotel for some rest before getting together in the evening to enjoy a final celebratory farewell dinner. And when it’s time to depart Nepal, we’ll bring you back to the Tribhuvan International Airport in plenty of time for your flight—we can’t wait to welcome you back!