What To Expect

Day 1: Kathmandu to Soti Khola (710m/2328ft)

• Your guide will pick you up at 8:00 am and we will start our 8 hours drive to Arughat. The first four hours to Dhading Besi, the district headquarters of Dhading (1050m), is on paved roads, but for the section to Arughat, we will be driving on a rougher surface. From Arughat we drive another 1.5 hrs to Soti Khola by public jeep.

  Duration: 9 hours

  Admission Included: YES

Day 2: Soti Khola to Machha Khola (900m/2952ft)

• Today’s walk follows a constantly undulating trail mainly through woodland as we continue to head upstream along the Budhi Gandaki. We then descend to the wide, sandy riverbed and then continue along a winding mountain path overlooking the river.

  Duration: 6 hours

  Admission Included: YES

Day 3: Machha Khola to Jagat Checkpoint (1340m/4395ft)

• After crossing the Machha River and Khrolabesi, we will pass through the hot springs at Tatopani. The trail follows a forested area until we cross Dovan Khola. We then make our way to Budhi Gandaki Valley. As the elevation increases, the scenery undergoes a complete transformation, with white sandy areas along the riverside.

  Duration: 6 hours

  Admission Included: YES

Day 4: Jagat to Deng (2095m/6871ft)

• The trail continues in a well-paved village, and up the valley to Sirdabas, offers great views of the Sringi Himal. We then drop down to the river, cross a long suspension bridge and climb up to Philim. In the afternoon, we’ll explore the village and the surrounding hills.

  Duration: 6 hours

  Admission Included: YES

Day 5: Deng to Namrung (2900m/9512ft)

• Today we will scramble steeply up into a spectacular trail before descending to cross the river. We pass through some small settlements and then climb to an impressive valley. There we will encounter Mani stones (prayer stones) carved into wayside rocks - a sign that we are entering Tibetan territory. In the afternoon, we take a side excursion to the small settlement of Prok - a two hour round trip.

  Duration: 6 hours

  Admission Included: YES

Day 6: Namrung to Samagaon (3500m/11480ft)

• We’ll pass the stone gate and the long Mani stone wall of the village of Lho, with an astounding view of Peak 29 ahead. You can take a side excursion to Pungen Glacier in order to get a close up view of Manaslu from here. The trial follows a lateral moraine of Pungen Glacier towards Sama. It takes a further 20 minutes to reach Sama Gompa for our night halt.

  Duration: 6 hours

  Admission Included: YES

Day 7: Acclimatization day at Samagaon

• This day has been set aside for acclimatization and you can opt for a full or half day walk. The full day walk is towards Manaslu Base Camp (approximately 6-7 hour round trip). Alternatively, there are half day walks either to the glacier across the valley or to Birendra Tal.

  Duration: 24 hours

  Admission Included: YES

Day 8: Samagaon to Samdo (3690m/12103ft)

• The Manaslu Circuit Trek now crosses grazing areas and gradually ascends the valley. Fantastic views of the mountains, especially Manaslu, are ahead of us as we reach Samdo, a Tibetan refugee village. This remote village is only a day's walk from the Tibetan border. In the afternoon, we will explore the village and surrounding hills.

  Duration: 3 hours

  Admission Included: YES

Day 9: Samdo to Dharmashala (4450m/14596ft)

• After crossing a couple of streams, we’ll reach Larkya Bazaar. This is a village which thrived from trade with Tibet years ago. After a steady climb we will arrive at our lodge at 4450m at Dharmashala

  Duration: 4 hours

  Admission Included: YES

Day 10: Dharamsala to Bimthang (3720m/12, 201 ft)

• Leaving Dharmasala behind, we will gradually climb towards glacier moraines that offers excellent views of nearby Larka Peak and surrounding peaks and valleys. Eventually, we make our way through steep terrain and arrive at the highest point of our trek - the Larkya La Pass (5106 m). From this high pass, never seen before view of Annapurna 2, Cheu Himal, Himlung Himal and other surrounding peaks are visible with Manasalu Himal right in front of us. We stay overnight at Bimthang.

  Duration: 9 hours

  Admission Included: YES

Day 11: Bimthang to Dharapani (1860m )

• We will walk south below Bimthang behind the moraine wall for some time before crossing the Bhimtang Glacier. We will climb up the far moraine wall quickly to avoid stone-fall and enter some of the best forests in Nepal. With the gentle riverside walking to Karche (2700m) we take lunch after about 3.5hrs. In the next hour we will see many signs of a glacial flood, with tree trunks smashed and banks undermined - the track becoming quite rough. We will climb steeply over a ridge and drop to Gurung Goa (2560m), the first real village since Samdo. Then we will go towards Dharapani (1860m) and we will rest in one of the hotels at Dharapani

  Duration: 8 hours

  Admission Included: YES

Day 12: Dharapani to Kathmandu (1400 m)