Manaslu Circuit Trek

Begin your adventure at the Royal Singi Hotel in Kathmandu, the start point for many of our Himalayan treks over the years. Around 6pm, bid namaste to your tour leader and fellow travellers, when we gather as a group for the first time to get to know each other and learn more about the adventures ahead during a full trek briefing. Your tour leader then ensures a big Nepalese welcome by arranging a group dinner. Want to explore Kathmandu further? Secure pre-tour hotel nights through your sales representative.

We have an early start for the long drive to Arket Bazaar (approximately seven hours). We drive out of the Kathmandu Valley and head west following the Trisuli River towards Pokhara. At Dading, we turn off the main road and drive into the hills through Dading Besi and Arughat in the Buri Gandaki Valley. From Arughat, we continue on a rough road to Arkhet Bazaar (be prepared for an adventure). From here, we walk (approximately two hours) to Soti Khola.

The first few days of this trek are quite long in terms of hours walked due to the lower altitudes and availability of decent lodges. It can, therefore, be very hot, especially in the spring trekking season. Our route begins by following the Buri Gandaki Valley north. There is a road being blasted out of the hillsides and we try to avoid it where possible. From Soti Khola, we drop to the river and cross to the other side of the valley where the trail climbs steeply for a while through forested areas and small villages and then undulates through farmland and finally drops to cross the river again to lunch at Lapu Besi. From Lapu Besi, we follow the undulating jeep track to Machha Khola

We have another quite long day as the trail undulates throughout, sometimes by the river and sometimes high above the river, passing several small hamlets and farms. The valley narrows and there are spectacular waterfalls. We start with a short climb followed by a descent to Khorla Besi. From here, we follow the wide track to Tatopani (which means hot water). The water from the natural hot springs here is funnelled through a few taps in the centre of the village. We continue up to Dovan and then to Shyauli, where we have lunch. From there, we face more ups and downs (some quite steep sections) until we drop to the river at Yaruphant. The trail levels out for a while and then we cross a suspension bridge, after which the trail undulates to Jagat, a well-kept paved village, where we see the first signs of Tibetan Buddhism.

We have a long day due to the lack of decent lodges. From Jagat, the trail continues up the valley through the villages of Salleri, Sirdabas and Ghate Khola, offering great views of Chamar ahead. We then drop down to the river, cross a long suspension bridge and climb steeply up to lunch at Philim (5,135ft/1,565m). From Philim, the trail undulates spectacularly with impressive waterfalls on either side of the valley. Passing the small settlements of Chisapani and Eklabatti, where we have lunch, we descend a little and cross the river by suspension bridge. The trail splits at the bridge, the right-hand side of the valley leads to the remote Tsum Valley. We cross to the left and continue following the Buri Gandaki, climbing up at first as the trail rounds the valley, which becomes narrower. We cross the river twice more as we undulate up the valley through forest to Phewa, and further on to the small village of Deng.

A shorter day today. From Deng, we descend to the river and cross by bridge. After the river, our route climbs, steeply in places, up onto a spectacular trail. We pass through small settlements as we ascend the impressive valley. We see mani stones (prayer stones) carved into wayside rocks, a sign we are now in a Buddhist area. We pass through the small settlements of Rana and Bihi Phedi. The trail continues ascending (sometimes steeply) but at one point descends to cross the river. We get to Ghap by lunchtime; in the afternoon, there is an optional walk up the hill behind the lodge for spectacular views across to Prok and of the whole valley.

Today is quite a strenuous day with a lot of ascent. The valley widens and there is extensive farmland all around where we may see the occasional lookout platform, built to ward off bears. From Ghap, we cross the river three times and have a long steady climb through the forest (look out for langur monkeys) to Namrung. A short descent followed by another climb brings us to Lihi, where we have a simple lunch. Another descent to the river and climb brings us to Sho, after which we climb further to Lho. We are now passing through Tibetan-style villages and we start to see the magnificent mountains all around. From Lho, we get our first view of the Manaslu and Naike peaks