Manaslu (8,156m) is the world’s eighth highest peak. This area, situated close to the Annapurna massif, was only opened for trekking in 1992 and is now acknowledged as one of the finest trekking routes. Heading north from Gorkha, along the BurhiGandaki River, this route turns westwards into a high alpine valley with typical Tibetan villages, and a number of fine monasteries. A steeper ascent to Larkya La Pass (5,212m) is rewarded by stunning views of the Manaslu and Annapurna peaks. At Dharapani we join the Annapurna Circuit and follow the Marsyangdi River south. 

 At Kathmandu International Airport, you will be met by a Trek Nepal representative and transferred to your hotel. There will be a full tour briefing in the evening. 

Morning: Walking tour of Kathmandu City, the “City of Glory” visiting Durbar Square and Swayambhunath, known as the Monkey Temple after the tribe of monkeys that guard the temple. Situated in the heart of old Kathmandu city at Basantapur, Kathmandu Durbar Square never fails to impress first time visitors with its ensemble of palaces, courtyards, and temples built during the Malla period. The Durbar Square includes the Hanuman Dhoka Royal Palace, the historic seat of the royalty; the magnificent Taleju Temple towering more than 40 meters; Kumari Ghar, the residence of the Living Goddess, Kumari; Ashok Vinayak, also called Kathmandu Ganesh, a temple without a filial; and Kal Bhairav, the God of Wrath. The capital takes its name from the giant pagoda of Kasthamandap, which is said to have been built out of a single tree. Since the time of the Malla kings, the Durbar Square has been the city’s social, religious, and political focal point. Then we go to Swayambhunath – more commonly known as the Monkey Temple after the tribe of monkeys that guard the temple, with its all seeing eyes of Buddha looking over the entire valley. Resting on a hillock 3 km west of Kathmandu, it is one of the holiest Buddhist Chaityas in Nepal. It is said to have evolved spontaneously when the valley was created out of a primordial lake more than 2,000 years ago. This stupa is the oldest of its kind in Nepal and has numerous shrines and monasteries on its premises. 

Leaving Kathmandu in the morning, we will drive on the Prithvi Highway to Dhading and from there towards Gorkha for Machha Khola where our Manaslu circuit starts. Welcome to the jungle and the start of the Manaslu circuit. 

Today, we begin on the narrow trail from Machhakola with a few minor ascents and descents before reaching Tatopani, a town named after it’s natural hot spring. Tatopani means Hot Water in Nepali. We cross the Budhhi Gandaki river a few more times before reaching the town of Jagat, the first permit check point and pushing on to Salleri. We’ll even spot a few Langur in the forest if we are lucky. 

We leave Poinsettia ringed Salleri and head uphill for views of Shringi Himal (7187m) We pass through bamboo forests, across swinging suspension bridges, and past water wheels grinding grain. This is our third day in the jungle but rest assured, cool mountain air is not far off. We’ll also pass our first Mani wall of the trip. 

After a brief walk beyond Deng, we cross the Budhi Gandaki and ascend to Bihi Phedi where there are a couple of homestays. The trail passes through forests and along mani walls before contouring towards Ghap. Leaving Ghap we keep walking along Budhi Khola on a moderate trail leading us through potato fields, juniper groves, and pine woods. After a few hours, we reach Namrung, where we spend the night. 

With increasing altitude, the influence of Tibetan culture gets noticeably stronger. A couple of Chortens (Buddhist monuments made of stone) and Gompas (Buddhist monasteries) can be seen and visited on the way to Tibetan villages of Sho and Lho. You will enjoy our lunch break at Lho and its magnificent view of Manaslu and the Ribung Gompa. Tonight, we stay In Shyala village. We are surrounded by the high mountains of Himal Chuli and Peak 29 (Ngadi Chuli) to the left, Manaslu and it’s large glaciers straight ahead, and at the far end stands Ganesh Himal which we could see from Kathmandu. 

We head out of Shyala with our eyes set on the massive Simnang Himal Ridge and the Pungyen Gompa. After 45 minutes we turn upward along a loose dirt and rock trail that ascends along vast amounts of Alpenrose before opening into a meadow ringed by ice and snow-capped peaks with Pyungen Gompa at the head. For those with more energy, we’ll head a little higher in hopes of seeing the resident Geyer. 

Today we will visit Manaslu Base Camp where you can see Mt. Manaslu, Glaciers, and lake. 

We will pass many chorten, stupa, and yak on our hike today. and cross over the Budhhi Gandaki once again all while Samdo Peak at 6,335m watches us hike today. A final plateau and large white Chorten greet us as we enter Samdo and our lodging for the night. Today is a relatively short day as our legs definitely need a rest by now! 

Though not a long distance, today’s hike will take us over 4,000m for the third time but we won’t be descending this time. We pass by the Larkya glacier, and over several streams before a sharp climb to Dharamsala, which translates to Pilgrims Rest House and is also called Larkya Phedi. Our destination tonight is a stone lodge and tents are our camp for this short night’s sleep. 

Today is probably the most challenging day of the entire trek, but we get rewarded by magnificent mountain views. As we start walking, the trails leads us moderately uphill for 3 to 4 hours. The perspective from which mountains, such as Larkya Peak (6249m) and Manaslu Himal, are seen changes every once in a while. We pass by an old glacier, ice and stone fields. The trail can get quite slippery at times. By the time we defeat the Larkya La Pass (5,212m), we get to see Annapurna 2 as well as Ratnachuli (6767m). After crossing the pass we walk downhill for approximately 2 hours. One should be very careful as the trail can get quite steep and slippery. The last leg of today is a moderate 2 hours to Bimtang, where we will spend the night. The village with mostly Gurung population has 6 to 7 lodges (some with proper heating system) to choose from and is already part of the Annapurna Conservation Area. 

After glaciers and grasslands, today we enter the jungle again. If trekking in March/April one can enjoy rhododendron trees blossoming in red, pink and white. Apart from rhododendron, which is known as Nepal’s national plant, pine trees are predominating the forest. We walk along DudhKhola, which is joined by several smaller rivers. Lunch break is held in Karche, a Gurung village with a couple of small local restaurants. The trail continues to be mostly downhill as we keep losing altitude. Tilche, our today’s destination is reached after a total of 6 to 7 hours. It is surrounded by apple tree fields and has its own apple brandy distillery. Interested trekkers are most welcome to try some in the lodge. 

For around 1.5 hours we walk mostly downhill towards Dharapani, where DudhKhola flows into the big Marsyangdi River. The local population still consists mainly of Buddhist Gurungs and after some time we reach another Mani Wall – one of the last ones on this trek. We then drive to Besisahar and to Kathmandu.