Day 01: Kathmandu City tour & Trip briefing
Get ready to witness the ancient heritages of medieval Kathmandu city and the neighboring city of Patan. Among the prominent UNESCO heritages we explore today, Pashupatinath Temple is the epitome of Hindu faith and belief at the bank of holy Bagmati River. With several old temples and intricate carvings on their walls, residing saints and display of final rites around its complex, this temple is a masterpiece and excellent site for explorers. Buddhanath Stupa, one of the largest stupas in the world is a haven for ancient Tibetan Buddhism and its legacy whereas Monkey Temple or Swayambhunath Stupa is 2500 years or more ancient with the main stupa believed to be self appearing and provides a beautiful view of Kathmandu valley. Patan Durbar Square is ancient royal resident of Malla Kings with historical palace, stupas and temples, museum, taps and intricate carvings on the monuments. Besides exploring these ancient heritages, we shall also hold a briefing about our trekking and make necessary preparations for it. Stay overnight in Kathmandu.
Day 02: Kathmandu to Sotikhola by bus or private Jeep. 710m (7/8 hrs)
We shall head on for our trekking in the Manaslu region today. Taking the overland route on a bus or private jeep we shall reach our destination. Driving on the twisting and turning roads and passing through the rural settlements, lush and cascading hills, waterfalls, pristine rivers and occasional glimpse of mountains en route we shall reach to Arughat Bazaar. Enjoying the pleasant market town of Arughat that lies on either side of Budhi Gandaki River, we shall reach to the settlement of Sotikhola past scenery of terraced farmlands, waterfalls, greenery and villages having houses with dark slate roofs. Stay overnight in Sotikhola.
Day 03: Trek from Sotikhola to Machha Khola. 900m (6/7 hrs)
Our actual trekking shall begin from this trailhead of Sotikhola from today. This initial section requires trekkers to progress ahead gradually due to the nature of the trail which has several ups and downs with rocky parts in different sections. With some narrow sections and landslide prone areas, occasional interaction with convoy of mules and other animals, we shall traverse through the settlements of Liding to reach Lapubesi village. Further ahead in the trail, we shall pass through more sections of ups and downs and rocky paths, lush tropical vegetation and chilling suspension bridges to reach the settlement of Machha Khola. Stay overnight in Machha Khola.
Day 04: Trek from Machha Khola to Thulo Dhungga. (5/6 hrs)
Accompanied by the mighty Budhi Gandaki River we shall continue our trekking today as well. Similar to the previous day trekking we shall be traversing through the ups and downs in the trail with numerous rocky sections. Crossing the river of Tharo Khola, we shall reach to the settlement of Khorlabesi. The trail takes us through some more ups and downs before we reach to the natural hot springs at Tatopani, believed to relieve people from several skin related disease when taken a dip in its water. Proceeding ahead we shall then ascend to a ridge and cross the river on suspension bridge before taking on the trail with well built stone staircase, section prone to landslide with marks of previous landslides and a ridge before reaching to Dobhan. Continue to the destination of Thulo Dhungga trekking past another landslide prone area and enjoying the beautiful view of Ganesh Himal Peak. Stay overnight in Thulo Dhungga.
Day 05: Trek from Thulo Dhungga to Philim. 1570m (5/6 hrs)
The walk from Thulo Dhungga begins with a gentle climb as we reach to the Yaruphant, a small settlement with some small teahouses where you can witness the Budhi Gandaki River cascading rapidly and the valley opens up to the trekkers. Cross a long suspension bridge over the river and then walk through the strenuous section prone to rock fall. Further ahead in the trail you shall cross another suspension bridge to reach Jagat through a stone paved trail. In a pleasant section of the trail we shall descend to the settlement of Salleri, trek past the Paimo village shortly after Jagat and ascent to another village of Sirdibas. Continue ahead of this tightly settled village to reach Ghatte Khola village where we shall be getting our permits checked. Immediately after, you shall cross Budhi Gandaki on longest suspension bridge of this trek and then take on a steep trail to ascend to Philim. Stay overnight in Philim.
Day 06: Trek from Philim to Chhumling (Tsum Valley). 2386m (5/6 hrs)
Today we shall be entering into the Tsum valley. Continue from Philip to reach a single hotel with a nice view to a river and waterfall after half an hour and to the village of Chiso pani and the settlement of Ekle Bhatti further on. In the landscape ahead of Ekle Bhatti, you shall gradually start experiencing the alpine vegetation. Reach to the point where Chhilung River joins the Budhi Gandaki River and turn right to reach Lokpa trekking after an hour and half. Continue on the trail to reach couple of suspension bridges over the confluence of small streams and Sarti Gorge. Traverse along the trail that twists and turns before passing through rock fall area and a trail junction near Gumlung. Branch off the trail and cross over Siyar River on a suspension bridge to ascend to Chhumling. Stay overnight in Chhumling.
Day 07: Trek from Chhumling (Tsum Valley) to Chhekampar. 3011m (5/6 hrs)
Continue along the upper section of the trail in the Tsum valley and pass through some chortens and small gompas as well as hamlets of Tanju and Kowo before crossing over the suspension bridge onto opposite side. From the trail junction we shall have a steep climb to Chhekampar past the village of Gho and a micro hydropower plant. We shall go in and out of the national park as well. Stay overnight in Chhekampar.
Day 08: Trek from Chhekampar to Mu Gompa. 3700m (5/6 hrs)
Because we are now trekking above the 3000 meters altitude we need to be cautious about altitude sickness. Gradually continue along the trail that climbs to the settlement of Lamagaon past small hamlets and chortens before continuing with your trek to the suspension bridge over a glacial river. Prior to this crossing you may hike to the Milerepa’s cave for exploration and visit some other gompas as well. We shall then continue through the villages of Phurbe, Pangdun and Chule before ascending upstream and reaching to Nile village across a suspension bridge. Cross another suspension bridge and hike past micro hydropower plant, Mani walls and walk along the ridges to reach to the western side of the river across another bridge. Past Chho syong you shall now climb up to Mu Gompa. Stay overnight in Mu Gompa.
Day 09: Mu Gompa to Chhekampar via Rachen Gompa. (5/6 hrs)
Today we shall take on a return trek in our adventure from the historical Mu Gompa in the Tsum valley. Established in 1936 by Dukpa Rinpoche, a Lharama Geshe (a respected saint of higher order) from Tibet, this monastery has been a place of spreading Buddhist teachings since its establishment. Our descent from this monastery shall follow the same route till the small settlement of Phurbe. Ahead of this, we shall trek straight on the trail, instead of crossing over the bridge, to descend to Rachn Gompa. This nunnery was also established along the Mu Gompa that we left behind today. The downhill trek continues till the Ngakyu Leru where the other trail joins. We shall then continue ahead to Chekampar. Stay overnight in Chhekampar.
Day 10: Trek from Chhekampar to Lokpa. 2240m (5/6 hrs)
Today we shall trek out of the Tsum valley. Begin today’s trek with a descent to a small Gompa of Gho after trekking for about 2 hours on a trail previously taken. Crossing several suspension bridges and past gompas, chortens and smaller settlements, you shall reach to the village of Sarti Gorge to move out of the sacred and hidden Tsum valley. Continue further to the settlement of Lokpa across couple of suspension bridges. Stay overnight in Lokpa.
Day 11: Trek from Lokpa to Bhi Phedi. 1990m (5/6 hrs)
After completing the exploration of the hidden Tsum valley, now we shall head on for the circumambulation of Manaslu peak on the classical trail of Manaslu circuit. Cross the Budhi Gandaki River and head on north on the west bank of the river. Accompanied by the tropical atmosphere we continue up the river and cross to the eastern side to avoid cliffs en route and go back to western side on couple of dilapidated suspension bridges with chilling experience. After a short trek we reach to Pewa village. Continue on the trail for about an hour to reach Deng village, perched on a mountain slope, and then explore the small villages of Ranagaon (1980m) which provides you with the view of Budhi Gandaki gorge. Ascend gradually for some time to reach Bhi Phedi for overnight stay.
Day 12: Trek from Bhi Phedi to Lhi. 2920m (5/6 hrs)
We shall have an alternative route to the path pointed out by most of itineraries as well. We can either explore the trail through the forested trail that explores the beautiful Prok village with beautiful traditional houses and gompa or the other route uphill through Ghap village to reach Namrung village. En route the view of Manaslu and other peaks are visible to us. We continue along the trail through the scenic plateau of Bhanzam with stone houses and cultivation fields to reach the settlement of Lihi village. This village has the houses organized similar to the town houses in western countries. Stay overnight in Lihi.
Day 13: Trek from Lhi to Samagaun. 3520m (5/6 hrs)
From the village of Lihi, we shall cross the Hinang River and reach to the settlement of Sho and then to another village of Lho which is marked by a large Gompa and viewpoint of Manaslu with the view of both of its peaks. Ascend through the dense forest to reach the Shyala village which serves as a base to visit Punggen Gompa. We shall then continue ahead to traverse along a slope that drains the Punggen Glacier and a flat area for grazing of Yaks before reaching to Samagaun. This is a beautiful village with scenic surrounding and also the closest village to the Manaslu Base Camp. Stay overnight in Samagaun.
Day 14: Trek from Samagaun to Samdo. 3860m (5/6 hrs)
Descend to the Budhi Gandaki River and follow the river upstream to a trail junction, the trail on left takes you to Manaslu Base Camp. Continue ahead on the trail through the forest of Juniper and Birch trees to reach the Kyonggma Kharka. We shall then descend to the Budhi Gandaki River, cross it over a wooden bridge and then climb onto an outcrop between two forks of a river. We shall then trek further through a large white kani to reach the settlement of Samdo. Stay overnight in Samdo, a village located under the majestic Samdo Peak.
Day 15: Trek from Samdo to Dharmasala. 4460m (4/5 hrs)
Today we shall have relatively short trek as we shall now gradually prepare ourselves for crossing over the challenging Larke La Pass. Beginning our trek, we shall cross the Athahra Saya River and traverse on the trail along the Larke River. Ascend gradually till you reach the highest point before the formidable Larke La Pass to reach Dharmashala, a wide gradual mountain slope. In this spot, trekkers find enough places to build a campsite and some structures needed to them. Stay overnight in Dharmashala.
Day 16: Wake up early morning for Larke La pass (5160m) and Bhimthang. 3720m (8/9 hrs)
A big day for trekkers! Start early in this day of ultimate adventure and begin your climb to the formidable pass through a rocky trail as it goes through a moraine of the glacier. Keep your ascend going through the moraine of Larkya Glacier to reach a beautiful turquoise lake surrounded by snowy mountains. Continue further on the trail for about an hour to reach empty shed. From here on the trail becomes more challenging as you shall trek through several rocky hills and snowy ridges as you progress along the trail. Contour past some shallow and small glacial lakes before the final climb to the first part of Larkya La Pass marked by prayer flags. Continue for more than 15 minutes along the moraines to reach the other side of the pass from where the views of Himalayas are visible to the trekkers. Capture this beautiful landscape and these iconic moments before trekking down from the pass along a steep trail towards the moraine of Salpudanda glacier. Through the grassy moraine, rock fall area and summer grazing areas, we shall descend to the settlement of Bhimtang.
Day 17: Trek from Bhimthang to Tilje. 2300m (5/6 hrs)
We leave the charming surrounding of Bhimtang village and proceed along the lush, colorful and magical trail. Cross the lower section of Bhimtang Glacier witnessing beautiful scenery and ascend to the viewpoint, marked with prayer flags, from where you can see the Manaslu range. Continue through the magical forest of Fir to reach the Yak graze land known as Yak Kharka and further traverse through jungles and landslide areas to reach Soti Khola. Continue exploring the trail as you descend further to the settlement of Gowa with beautiful waterfall adding to its beauty. Through the beautiful forest with varieties of vegetation, we shall reach to the destination for today which is the Tilije village. Stay overnight in Tilije.
Day 18: Trek from Tilje to Tal. 1700m (5/6 hrs)
From the village of Tilije our trek continues along the trail accompanied by Dudh Khola River. Trekking for couple of hours we shall reach to Thonche after crossing the river on a long suspension bridge marking the end of Manaslu trail. Cross another bridge further in the trail to reach Dharapani to join the Annapurna tourist highway and thereby more trekkers and tourists. Follow the Marshyangdi River trail and continue trekking to reach the settlement of Tal past Mani walls, landslide prone areas and across some suspension bridges. Stay overnight in Tal.
Day 19: Trek from Tal to Syange. 1010m (5/6 hrs)
We shall continue along the Marshyangdi River and pass through settlements such as Chamjye where the trail becomes a motor-able road, though we find very less traffic. From here the trail has ups and downs besides some steep sections, cool waterfall and beautiful cultivation fields, and settlements along the river till we reach Jagat. From Jagat we shall trek along a steep trail that shall take us through the Marshyangdi valley. In the final section, you shall cross Marshyangdi River and reach Syange. Stay overnight in Syange.
Day 20: Trek from Syange to Besisahar. 800m (5/6 hrs)
In the final trekking section of this adventure today we shall wrap up at Besisahar. Begin the trek with a short trek to Ghemu and then continue ahead through terraced fields, rural villages along the trail and perched on the hillside. The Marshayangdi valley slowly opens up and trekkers pass through many interesting villages such as Bahundanda, Bhulbhule, Khudi and others. Trek along the flat section of the trail and finally climb to the destination of Besisahar which marks the end of our trek. We shall drive back to Kathmandu the following day and then leave for our respective onward destinations.
