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Manaslu Circuit Trek

A restricted-area crossing of the Larke La at 5,106 m, round the eighth-highest mountain

  • Soti Khola · Machha Khola · Namrung · Samagaon · Larke La · Dharapani
  • 15 days, 14 nights
  • Packed pace · Active
  • 4.9(97 reviews)

Overview

In short

Manaslu is the eighth-highest mountain on earth and the circuit round it is the closest thing Nepal still has to the Annapurna Circuit of thirty years ago — eleven walking days, no road for most of it, and villages where Tibetan is the first language. The route starts in subtropical gorge at 700 m and finishes over a 5,106 m pass, which is an altitude range no other Nepali teahouse trek matches. Say the legal position plainly: this is a restricted area. You cannot walk it alone, you cannot walk it as a solo trekker paired with a guide on paper, and the immigration office issues the permit only for groups of two or more trekking with a licensed agency. The permit costs USD 100 per person for seven days from September to November and USD 75 from December to August, with USD 15 for each additional day, and MCAP and ACAP fees on top.

Trek specification

Challenging
Grade
Challenging
Maximum altitude
5,106 m
Distance on foot
177 km
Walking per day
6–8 hours
Nights on trail
Teahouse lodges from Soti Khola to Dharapani, simpler than Everest or Annapurna — twin plywood rooms, shared toilets from Jagat, and a two-building unheated bunkhouse at Dharamsala before the pass
Best seasons
Mid-September to late November and late March to mid-May. The Larke La is snow-closed through winter, and the Budhi Gandaki gorge is landslide-prone and leech-ridden during the June to August monsoon.

Permits arranged for you

Larke La, 5,106 m is the high point of this route. Manaslu Restricted Area Permit — USD 100 per person for 7 days September to November, USD 75 December to August, plus USD 15 per additional day, Manaslu Conservation Area Permit (MCAP), NPR 3,000 (about USD 22), Annapurna Conservation Area Permit (ACAP) for the Dharapani exit, NPR 3,000 (about USD 22). We file these on your behalf; the cost is inside your package price unless the exclusions say otherwise.

The altitude profile

Where you sleep each night, day one to day 15. This is the chart worth reading before the itinerary — it is what determines whether you enjoy the trek.

5,106 mDay 1Day 15
Highest point: Larke La, 5,106 m. Flat stretches are acclimatisation days, not filler — the profile is drawn from the overnight stops in the itinerary below.

What you will actually do

  • Larke La at 5,106 m, an eight-to-ten-hour crossing into the Marsyangdi valley
  • Samagaon at 3,530 m, a Tibetan-speaking village below the Manaslu icefall
  • Birendra Lake and the optional climb to Manaslu Base Camp at 4,800 m
  • The Budhi Gandaki gorge, walked on cliff-cut trail and suspension bridges for four days
  • An altitude range from 700 m to 5,106 m, the widest on any Nepali teahouse trek
  • Pungyen Gompa and the Tibetan trade route at Samdo, an hour from the border
  • Restricted-area status keeps trail numbers to a fraction of the Annapurna Circuit

Day by day

15 days planned in full. Drive times and walking hours are stated so you can judge the pace before you book.

  1. Day 1

    Arrive Kathmandu and permit processing

    Kathmandu
    Met on arrival and driven to your hotel at 1,400 m. Manaslu permits are issued by the Department of Immigration against original passports and photographs, so we take your documents the same afternoon and file them the next working day. Gear check follows, with a hard look at your pass-day layers and gloves.
    Meals included
    No meals included
    Overnight
    4-star hotel, Kathmandu
    Transfer
    Airport to hotel, 30 minutes

  2. Day 2

    Drive to Soti Khola

    Soti Khola
    Eight to nine hours by private vehicle: the Prithvi Highway to Dhading Besi, then a rough unsealed road along the Budhi Gandaki to Soti Khola at 700 m. The last three hours are slow and dusty. Soti Khola is subtropical, humid and full of insects, which makes the contrast with day twelve almost absurd.
    Meals included
    Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
    Overnight
    Teahouse, Soti Khola
    Transfer
    Kathmandu to Soti Khola, 8–9 hours

  3. Day 3

    Soti Khola to Machha Khola

    Machha Khola
    Six hours and 230 m of net gain, though the profile rises and falls constantly. The trail runs through sal forest and terraced millet, crosses the Budhi Gandaki twice and traverses a cliff-cut path above the river at Khursane. Machha Khola at 930 m is a single street of lodges beside the fish river it is named after.

    Budhi Gandaki gorge ·Khursane cliff path

    Meals included
    Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
    Overnight
    Teahouse, Machha Khola

  4. Day 4

    Machha Khola to Jagat

    Jagat
    Six to seven hours climbing 410 m through the narrowing gorge, past the hot springs at Tatopani and the police checkpoint at Doban. Jagat at 1,340 m is a flagstone-paved Gurung village and the Manaslu Conservation Area entry point, where your restricted-area permit is checked in detail for the first time.

    Tatopani hot springs ·Jagat flagstone village

    Meals included
    Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
    Overnight
    Teahouse, Jagat

  5. Day 5

    Jagat to Deng

    Deng
    Six hours and 520 m up. Past Salleri the valley walls close to a slot barely twenty metres wide at Yaruphant, then the trail climbs to Philim, a large Gurung settlement with a Japanese-funded school. Beyond the Tsum valley junction at Ekle Bhatti the culture shifts from Hindu to Tibetan Buddhist within a day's walk.

    Philim ·Tsum valley junction

    Meals included
    Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
    Overnight
    Teahouse, Deng

  6. Day 6

    Deng to Namrung

    Namrung
    Six to seven hours and 770 m of gain, the first day that feels properly Himalayan. Mani walls, chortens and prayer wheels line the trail through Rana and Bihi Phedi, and pine replaces the subtropical forest. Namrung at 2,630 m has a permit checkpost, a bakery and the first clear view of Himalchuli and Ganesh Himal.

    Mani walls ·Namrung checkpost

    Meals included
    Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
    Overnight
    Teahouse, Namrung

  7. Day 7

    Namrung to Lho

    Lho
    Four hours and 550 m, kept short because altitude now governs the schedule. Through Lihi and Sho, past barley terraces and yak pasture, to Lho at 3,180 m. Ribung Gompa above the village catches the last light on Manaslu itself, 8,163 m, which appears here for the first time and dominates everything after it.

    Ribung Gompa ·Manaslu north face

    Meals included
    Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
    Overnight
    Teahouse, Lho

  8. Day 8

    Lho to Samagaon

    Samagaon
    Four hours and 350 m through Shyala, a hamlet ringed by Himalchuli, Ngadi Chuli, Manaslu and the Larke peaks. Samagaon at 3,530 m is the largest village on the circuit, with flat-roofed stone houses, several hundred residents and Tibetan as the working language. Your guide will slow the pace considerably from here.

    Shyala ·Samagaon village

    Meals included
    Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
    Overnight
    Teahouse, Samagaon

  9. Day 9

    Acclimatisation at Samagaon

    Samagaon
    A rest day with a choice of climbs. Birendra Lake at 3,450 m is a flat hour each way; Manaslu Base Camp at 4,800 m is a hard five to six hours return and the better acclimatiser; Pungyen Gompa at 4,000 m sits in a side valley below the glacier. Whichever you pick, you sleep back at 3,530 m.

    Birendra Lake ·Manaslu Base Camp ·Pungyen Gompa

    Meals included
    Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
    Overnight
    Teahouse, Samagaon

  10. Day 10

    Samagaon to Samdo

    Samdo
    A deliberately easy three to four hours for 345 m, following the Budhi Gandaki north through juniper scrub past the old mani-walled Kermo Kharka. Samdo at 3,875 m is a Tibetan refugee settlement founded in the 1960s, an hour's walk from a trading pass into Tibet that villagers still use for salt and livestock.

    Kermo Kharka ·Samdo village

    Meals included
    Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
    Overnight
    Teahouse, Samdo

  11. Day 11

    Samdo to Dharamsala

    Dharamsala
    Only three hours and 585 m, and everything about the day is about arriving early and resting. Dharamsala, also called Larke Phedi, at 4,460 m is not a village — it is two stone bunkhouses and a dining shelter with limited beds and no reliable water. Dinner is at five and everyone is in a sleeping bag by seven.
    Meals included
    Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
    Overnight
    Basic lodge or bunkhouse, Dharamsala

  12. Day 12

    Larke La at 5,106 m, descend to Bimthang

    Bimthang
    Eight to ten hours, and the reason the whole trek is graded Challenging. A 4am start for the 645 m climb to the Larke La at 5,106 m over four to five hours of moraine and, often, snow. The western descent is steep and loose for 700 m before easing across glacier flats to Bimthang at 3,720 m.

    Larke La ·Ponkar Glacier

    Meals included
    Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
    Overnight
    Teahouse, Bimthang

  13. Day 13

    Bimthang to Dharapani

    Dharapani
    Seven hours and a knee-punishing 1,860 m of descent through rhododendron and pine to Gho, Tilije and finally Dharapani at 1,860 m, where the trail joins the Annapurna Circuit. The change in vegetation across one day — from glacier moraine to broadleaf forest — is the sharpest transition on the route.

    Tilije ·Marsyangdi confluence

    Meals included
    Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
    Overnight
    Teahouse, Dharapani

  14. Day 14

    Drive Dharapani to Kathmandu

    Kathmandu
    A long day on the road: three hours by jeep down to Besisahar on a rough track, then five hours by vehicle to Kathmandu, arriving late afternoon. Showers, a change of clothes and a farewell dinner in Thamel with the crew, where the pass day gets retold with the cold slightly exaggerated.
    Meals included
    Breakfast, Dinner
    Overnight
    4-star hotel, Kathmandu
    Transfer
    Dharapani to Besisahar by jeep 3 hours, then 5 hours to Kathmandu

  15. Day 15

    Depart Kathmandu

    Kathmandu
    Transfer to Tribhuvan International three hours ahead of departure. If you have the morning, Bhaktapur Durbar Square is 45 minutes away and its brick lanes are the best-preserved medieval townscape in the valley. Late departures can keep the room until noon for a small supplement.
    Meals included
    Breakfast
    Transfer
    Hotel to airport, 30 minutes

What the price covers — and what it does not

Included

  • 14 nights' accommodation — 2 nights 4-star Kathmandu, 12 nights teahouse lodges and bunkhouse
  • All meals on trek plus breakfast in Kathmandu and a farewell dinner (14 breakfasts, 12 lunches, 13 dinners)
  • Manaslu Restricted Area Permit — USD 100 per person for 7 days Sep–Nov, USD 75 Dec–Aug, plus USD 15 per extra day
  • Manaslu Conservation Area Permit, NPR 3,000 (about USD 22)
  • Annapurna Conservation Area Permit for the Dharapani exit, NPR 3,000 (about USD 22)
  • Government-licensed guide for 13 days, mandatory in a restricted area
  • One porter shared between two trekkers, 24 kg combined limit
  • Private vehicle Kathmandu to Soti Khola and jeep plus vehicle from Dharapani
  • Pulse oximeter monitoring from Namrung and a comprehensive guide-carried medical kit
  • Pre-booked beds at Dharamsala, where capacity is severely limited
  • All Kathmandu airport and hotel transfers

Not included

  • International flights to Kathmandu and the Nepal visa fee
  • Travel insurance with helicopter evacuation and medical cover to 5,500 m — mandatory on this route
  • Hot showers and device charging in teahouses, USD 3–8 each above Namrung and unavailable at Dharamsala
  • Bottled or boiled drinking water on trail, USD 1–4 a litre
  • Lunches and dinners in Kathmandu apart from the farewell meal
  • Tips for guide and porters, about USD 14–18 per trekker per day for the team
  • Extra nights or a helicopter exit if the Larke La is closed by snow
  • Tsum valley extension, which needs a separate restricted-area permit
  • Personal trekking gear, laundry, alcohol and anything not listed above

Upcoming departures

Small group, minimum 2 and maximum 8 — the minimum is a legal requirement. Seat counts are live at the last catalogue update; we confirm availability in writing before taking any payment.

  • Fri25SEPT2026

    Departs Kathmandu

    Available6 left

    $2,140Hold a seat
  • Fri16OCT2026

    Departs Kathmandu

    Last few seats3 left

    $2,240Hold a seat
  • Fri06NOV2026

    Departs Kathmandu

    Filling fast5 left

    $2,180Hold a seat
  • Fri09APR2027

    Departs Kathmandu

    Available8 left

    $1,980Hold a seat
  • Fri07MAY2027

    Departs Kathmandu

    Available8 left

    $1,980Hold a seat

Questions about this trip

Can I trek Manaslu on my own?

No. Manaslu is a restricted area under Nepali law. The Department of Immigration issues the special permit only to groups of at least two trekkers, filed through a registered agency, and a government-licensed guide must accompany you for the whole restricted section between Jagat and Dharapani. Solo permits are not issued and checkposts do verify names against the permit.

What if I am travelling alone — can you still take me?

Yes, by joining you to a fixed departure so the group meets the legal minimum of two. All our Manaslu dates are published for this reason. If no date suits, we can issue a permit for one trekker plus a second name at the additional-person cost, which adds roughly USD 200 to your price. We will tell you which applies before you pay.

How does Manaslu compare with the Annapurna Circuit?

Harder, quieter and more remote. The Larke La is 310 m lower than the Thorong La but the approach is longer, the lodges are simpler, and Dharamsala before the pass is a bunkhouse rather than a village. There is also almost no road, which is the single biggest difference. Trail numbers run at roughly a tenth of Annapurna's.

What are the teahouses like on this route?

Better than they were five years ago and still basic. Twin plywood rooms with shared toilets from Jagat upward, heated dining rooms in most villages, and reliable dal bhat everywhere. Samagaon and Namrung have the best lodges on the circuit. Dharamsala at 4,460 m has two bunkhouses, no heating and beds that must be booked in advance.

When is the Larke La passable?

Mid-September to late November and late March to mid-May. Snow closes it through winter and it can shut for several days after any autumn storm. If your guide judges the crossing unsafe you wait at Samdo or Dharamsala, and if it stays shut the only exits are back down the Budhi Gandaki, seven walking days, or by helicopter at your own cost.

What travellers said

Manaslu is hard and they said so

The quotation described Larke La as challenging and it absolutely was. Being told the truth beforehand meant I trained for four months instead of two. Guide-to-group ratio was better than the permit requires.

Bishal KarkiChitwan · 3 trekkers

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