Starting 1st Sept
Overview
The Round Manaslu Trek
The Round Manaslu Trek circles Mount Manaslu (8,163 m), the world’s eighth-highest peak, following the Budhi Gandaki River from subtropical lowlands into high alpine terrain before crossing Larkya La at 5,106 m. Opened to trekkers only in the early 1990s and still a restricted area, the route sees far fewer visitors than Everest or Annapurna and offers a close look at traditional Gurung and Tibetan Buddhist village life.
The trail begins low, in the terraced rice fields and subtropical forest around Machha Khola, and climbs steadily along the Budhi Gandaki gorge — crossing swaying suspension bridges, passing waterfalls, and threading through Gurung villages where the pace of life is set by the river and the seasons. By Namrung and Lho the landscape has shifted into pine and rhododendron forest, and the culture with it: mani walls, chortens, and prayer flags mark the transition into the Tibetan Buddhist Nubri valley, where monasteries such as Ribung Gompa sit above villages that have changed little in generations.
THE TREK
Samagaun and Samdo, the trek’s highest villages, sit in the shadow of Manaslu itself, with yak pastures, glacial moraine, and views that open wider with every day of altitude gained. The centerpiece is the crossing of Larkya La at 5,106 m — a long, cold, early-morning push rewarded with a sweeping panorama of Manaslu, Himlung Himal, Cheo Himal, and Annapurna II, before the trail drops through Bimthang and Gho into the greener Marsyangdi valley near Dharapani.
OFF THE BEATEN PATH
What sets this route apart from Nepal’s more famous circuits is its sense of remoteness: teahouses are simpler, encounters with other trekkers are rarer, and the villages feel lived-in rather than set up for tourism. It rewards trekkers who want genuine wilderness and cultural immersion alongside serious high-altitude scenery, without the crowds found on Everest Base Camp or the Annapurna Circuit.
