On arrival at the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, you will complete all necessary immigration formalities followed by baggage collection from the designated area in the airport. As you exit, one of the representatives from Aid Journeys, with a placard, will officially welcome you and escort you to your pre-assigned hotel. At the hotel, you may stretch out your legs and relax for few hours from the possible jet lag that you might have experienced after a long flight. Those who are anxious and want to hit the streets right away, may stroll around Thamel and do a bit of shopping or hire gears and equipment for the upcoming trip. Overnight in Kathmandu.
After a good night’s rest, you will be woken up with a morning call, if you desire, followed by a warm bed tea. Once you finish your breakfast, there will be a guided tour to some of the most historicaland spiritual landmarks of the city, all of them being recognized as UNESCO world heritage sites. You will visit the most revered and holy Hindu temple complex of Pashupatinath, the prominent monkey temple, Swayambhunath, one of the largest stupas in the world - a Buddhist shrine at Bouddhanath, and the captivating Basantapur Durbar Square. In the late afternoon, you will visit our office site to make necessary preparations, get your equipment checked, and meet your trip leader, crew members, and other fellow accomplices. You will have a brief discussion about the forthcoming trip and return to your hotel room. Overnight in Kathmandu.
After an early breakfast at your hotel, you will embark on the long, yet scenic drive from Kathmandu via Dhading Besi towards Sotikhola lying in the Gorkha district. Driving through several vibrant villages and terraced fields through the dirt road and green hills, you will enjoy the views of the Nepalese countryside and vivid mountain sceneries. The road from Kathmandu to Dhading Besi is paved and smooth, but from there onwards, the drive is entirely on a rough track. On reaching Arughat, you will drive further towards Sotikhola, which is an important point that leads the Manaslu Circuit and the Tsum valley trek. Overnight in Sotikhola.
After finishing your breakfast, you will start your walk crossing the bridge trekking through beautiful Sal forests, meandering paths through rocky trails and tropical waterfalls clinging to a cliff. Traversing through clean streams, pretty waterfalls and green dales past few terraced paddy fields, you will reach the Gurung settlement of Labu Besi. After a zigzag path behind a rocky projection where the valley opens while the river twists and turns, you will continue by descending to the riverbed. Walking along smooth stones on the river bank for a while, it is a gentle climb over a ridge, from where you will once again drop down to the river to finally reach the Machha Khola Village. Overnight at Machha Khola Village.
After an amusing overnight followed by breakfast in the morning, the trek begins with crossing the Thado Khola after an undulating path leading you to Khorla Besi. Following the same kind of track, you will reach Tatopani, a village with hot springs. From here, you will climb a ridge and cross the Budi Gandaki River over a suspension bridge, then climb up the staircase and pass a landslide to reach Dobhan. Crossing yet another suspension bridge at Dobhan River, the path ascends on a rugged trail to Duman. Rising and falling several times crossing few other rivers and suspension bridges to climb more stone staircases, you will reach Thado Bharyang. Crossing the Budi Gandaki at Lauri again and rising over a ridge and walking along the riverside will lead you to Jagat, a moderately sized farming village with few shops and stores. Overnight in Jagat.
On completion of the ACAP process, you will leave Jagat and begin walking through the rocky landscape over a ridge up to Salleri, and gently descend to Sirdibas. Continuing on a relatively more comfortable path through the broadened trail, you will cross the Ghatta Khola over a suspension bridge. Following the stream upwards and passing through a long hanging bridge, you will lightly climb up to a big Gurung village, Philim. Walking ahead of the Gurung village northwards along the leveled trails crossing the millet fields of Ekle Bhatti, you will encounter another check post. Traversing the steep isolated gorge and walking across the Budi Gandaki after descending the verdant slopes you will reach a juncture; one towards right leading to the Tsum Valley and another towards left leading to Manaslu. You will follow the left route where the valleys begin to widen, and the walk leads through bamboo woodlands to Deng Khola. Crossing the bridge over the river to the east bank and a short trek from here leads you to a tiny village of Deng. Overnight in Deng.
Leaving Deng after breakfast, you will cross the Budi Gandaki to ascend up to Rana and pass the trail up to Bhi. Continuing through canyons and crossing the Serang Khola, it is a steep climb before turning towards the contours to Ghap. You will follow the route through Prok village although there is another course so that you can savor the enchanting views of the Sringi Himal from a viewpoint in Prok village. During the trek, you will cross the Budi Gandaki several times and come across many Buddhist monasteries today. Entering a beautiful forest of fir and rhododendron with different species of birds chirping, your trail follows the river upstream until the main trail starts ascending on well-built stairs. Finally, you will arrive in the clean village of Namrung after crossing the river at an impressive spot following the pleasant walk through the less dense forest and finer trails. Namrung is a historic village with lifestyle and traditions slightly inclined towards Tibetan approach. It is an excellent viewpoint for Sringi Himal, Ganesh Himal and from the village, you can also catch sight of Mt. Himal Chuli in the south. Overnight in Namrung.
Passing through Mani walls, barley and potato fields and houses, you will climb steadily amidst the fir, rhododendron and oak forests to reach Lihi, a neat village with terraced barley fields. Beyond Lihi, the trail slumps down to enter the valley enveloped by Simnang Himal and Ganesh Himal and passing tiny beautiful villages of Sho, Lho, and Syala before reaching Samagaon. You will observe some beautiful paintings in the gate arches that you cross before the village of Sho including peculiar houses and dressing codes. From Lho village, which is your lunch stop, you can enjoy the spectacular views of Mt. Manaslu from the Mani walls at the far end of the village. You will shortly explore the Ribung Monastery on the hill to the west, which is worth the walk up. In Syala village, you will be surrounded by exceptional views of the high mountains like Mt. Manaslu, Himal Chuli, Ngadi Chuli (Peak 29) and Ganesh Himal. This part of the trek caters breathtaking views of mountain peaks as well as offers great cultural spectrum offering you a chance to understand Buddhist culture. The journey today ends in Samagaon after one of the most beautiful trails to previous days’ trek that takes you into the mountains with time to enjoy and acclimatize. Overnight in Samagaon.
exploration Today is your first acclimatization day at Samagaon. After over a week of trekking, it is never a bad idea to get acquainted with the higher elevations. It is also the time when you may get well acquainted with the rich Sherpa cultures with glimpses of thousands of Mani stones with Buddhist texts and pictures. You will also witness plenty of Sherpa women clad in traditional attire and glittering ornaents. As a part of your acclimatization process, you may opt for a hike up to an old monastery on a tiny hillock near Samagaon, the Pungyen Gompa, named after Manaslu. Another option for today’s acclimatization could be hiking up all the way through Manaslu Base Camp passing via Birendra Lake. Overnight in Samagaon.
After acclimatization day in Samagaon, today is a shorter trekking day starting with a gentle descent to Budi Gandaki River walking through yak pastures up a broad valley. As you move ahead towards Samdo, which is almost at the same elevation as Samagaon, you will lose views of Mt. Manaslu gradually. The trail on the left beyond the stream stretches to Manaslu Base Camp, but we will tread on the Larkya La trail through Mani walls, and the valley begins to widen. Passing the juniper and birch forests, you will arrive Kermo Kharka from where you will cross Budi Gandaki across a wooden bridge. It takes some time to reach the white kani above, but immediately behind is Samdo village. Samdo is a very picturesque village dedicated to yak herding. Side valleys and Samdo Peak offers you an exhilarating evening walk with attractive views, but you will need a jacket as cold winds can attack at any moment. Overnight in Samdo.
Today is the second acclimatization day where you will enjoy exploring the elevated regions in the vicinity of Samdo village. Hiking up the valley at the back of Samdo village is highly recommendable as it will take you up all the way through Tibetan border, which is still a trade route for most people from Manaslu area. From here, one can savor excellent views of Mt. Manaslu and other Himalayan peaks such as Simrang, Hiunchuli, Ngadi Chuli, Larkya Peak and other peaks. You will pass several seasonal herding settlements and catch sight of some varieties of mountain birds including the national bird of Nepal, Danphe, and Himalayan griffins. You may also opt for a trip to the Gya La Pass that lies north of Samdo, which used to be the trade route and still exists as one. This option is preferably a more extended hiking option than the former option. Overnight in Samdo.
After another acclimatization day, today you will descend on a broad trail down the edge to cross the much-reduced Budi Gandaki over a wooden bridge, and then begin an uphill walk. Crossing two ravines on narrow tracks and two streamlets, you will witness the Larkya Glacier around the valley of the Salka Khola. Despite what several maps assert, there is no Larkya Bazaar. At one point in time, it is said that traders from Namche Bazaar came here through Tibet for trading their goods. Perhaps some of the scattered stone huts were a part of that trading market, known as Dharmashala, and otherwise called the Larkya Phedi. You may come across other fellow trekkers who might have crossed the Larkya Pass from the other side from Bimthang. Overnight in Dharmashala.
The day begins with a consistent climb over the ridge behind Dharmashala and adjacent to the vast horizontal glacial moraines of the Larkya Glacier. From here you can savor great views of Cho Danda and Larkya Peak. Although the climb is not difficult, it is quite challenging due to its steep rocky terrains especially at the top of the moraine. Following the cairns and the metal snow poles that assist route-finding, you will descend past four frozen lakes before doing a final steep climb up to Larkya La Pass, marked by colorful prayer flags. From the pass, you can witness outstanding views of Himlung Himal, Cheo Himal, Kang Guru and the massive Annapurna II. Descending over the moraine to the west, you will make a long steep downhill walk through loose gravel to a more leveled path covered with grass. The route from here now goes towards left through a beautiful widening valley all the long way to the scenic Bimthang village. The views during the descent are vast – icefalls and mountains on all sides, Pongkar Tal, a medial glacial lake and a couple of glaciers. Overnight in Bimthang.
This morning, you will climb above Bimthang on the lateral moraine to cross the Bimthang glacier. From here, the views of Mt. Manaslu, Lamjung Himal, Himlung Himal, and Cheo Himal are exceptional. Descending rapidly to cross a high pasture, Sangure Kharka along the right bank of the Dudh Khola, it is a pleasant walk through rhododendron forests. You will now follow the path through a narrow valley to continue till the highest cultivated land of the valley at Karche, where we can stop for a tea break. During the next hour, you will observe signs of floods; tree trunks smashed making the track quite rough. Climbing steeply over a ridge, the trail drops down to the river bank, and a short hike from here will lead you to the Gurung village of Gho, the first real village since Samdo. The valley becomes more agricultural as you leave Gho village behind and keep walking past fields, and forests of oak and rhododendron until you arrive at Tilije village. Overnight in Tilije.
Today’s trek begins by climbing up a small ridge and walking along the path paved with stones leading to a beautiful village. You will now exit the village through an arch-shaped gate and crossing a suspension bridge over Dudh Khola, which will lead you to Thonje village past the Mani walls. Leaving this village behind, you will pass a security checkpoint to continue the walk to Dharapani, which lies in the Annapurna circuit section. Climbing down along the Marshyangdi River and crossing an iron bridge at the end of Dharapani village, the trail will lead crossing the river several times before arriving at the Karte village. Additionally, passing some Mani walls, you will reach the Tal village that is situated at the base of a large beautiful waterfall. Overnight in Tal.
It is the final day of your trek today. In the morning, you will start walking down the gentle path and then follow the rocky, undulating trails along the Marshyangdi River till the beautiful Marshyangdi valley opens up with picturesque views of the terraced fields and villages clung at great heights on the hillside. On reaching Chyamje village after crossing a suspension bridge, you will make a brief halt here for lunch. The path then descends until Jagat village through rhododendron and pine forests. Continuing to drop along with some rocky trails and again forested areas, you will arrive at Syange, a small rural developing settlement. Overnight in Syange.
After breakfast in the morning, you will begin the drive from Syange to Kathmandu via Besi Sahar. This scenic road trip offers an opportunity to carefully observe the diversity of terrain and take pleasure in the hilly and mountainous landscapes of Nepal. Your vehicle will drive you along the banks of the Marshyangdi River that adjoins the Prithvi Highway at Dumre, near Bandipur. Enjoying the views of clean, green hills and beautiful terraced fields alongside the Trishuli River, the road radually begins meandering to culminate with an uphill driver to reach the Kathmandu valley. On arrival at Kathmandu, you will be transferred to your hotel where you may take a rest, or wander around Thamel for souvenir shopping to carry back home. If you feel energetic enough after the memorable trip, then you may explore around popular tourist attractions nearby. Overnight in Kathmandu.
Today is the day your holidays in Nepal has come to an end, and you will be flying back home with ample memories of the experiences you’ve had in the Himalayan country. A representative from Aid Journeys will drop you off at the Tribhuvan International Airport well ahead of your scheduled flight for your onward journey. With plenty of time onboard, you may plan your next trip in the Himalayan realms of Nepal. For those willing to stay back and extend your holidays in Nepal, Aid Jounryes will be glad to plan your trip according to your craving.
