Day 01: Arrival day (1,300m/4,264 ft)
Our airport representative with the Treks Planner Nepal signboard will be receiving you at Tribhuvan International Airport, Kathmandu (outside the airport terminal). You will be then transferred to your respective hotel in our private tourist vehicle. If possible, we also schedule a meeting at our office for the briefing regarding the trek followed by an introduction session with other team members (especially Sherpas and guides).
Day 02: Drive to Besisahar (760m/2,493ft) 7 hours
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Besisahar is the destination set for the day. Early in the morning, our guides will pick you up at your hotel and escort you to the bus station to catch a bus to Besisahar. The bus heads west, leaving the Kathmandu Valley and the journey continues on a winding Prithvi Highway along the Trisuli River till Dumre. From Dumre, the bus heads north towards Besisahar, following the Marsyangdi River. After about 7 hours ride we reach the destination, Besisahar. The bus will stop twice, once for breakfast and then for lunch, before reaching Besisahar. The night will be spent at a lodge in Besisahar.
Day 03: Trek from Besisahar to Bahundanda (1,398m/4,586ft)6-7 hour
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Bahundanda is the destination set for the day. Following the dusty road from Besisahar, the journey continues north towards Bhulbhule. The trail passes through rice terraces and the sub-tropical forest. Khudi and Bhulbhule greet us with the first view of Manaslu, Himchuli and Nagdi Chuli. Enjoying the view of the mountains and the waterfall, we then soar up to the Nadi Bazaar on the trail along the Marsyangdi River. Leaving Nadi Bazaar, we cross the bridge across the Nadi River and a steep hike past the Landslide area and Lampata will finally take us to Bahundanda. The evening can be spent exploring the settlement of Bahundanda. The night will be spent at a lodge in Bahundanda.
Day 04: Trek from Bhaudanda to Chamje (1,410m/4,625ft) 5-6 hours
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Chamje is the destination of the day. From Bahundanda, we hike down to Syange through the rice terraces, following the east bank of the Marsyangdi River. Syange greets us with a view of 111m long waterfall. Enjoying the view of the waterfall, we now cross the bridge across the Marsyangdi River and continue on a tough trail along the west bank of the river up till Jagat, which greet us with another beautiful view of the waterfall. From Jagat, a steep climb on a trail along the river will finally take us to Chamje, which again greets us with a beautiful view of 202m long waterfall. The night will be spent at a lodge in Chamje.
Day 05: Trek from Chamje to Bagarchhap(2,080m/6,824ft) 6-7 hours
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Bagarchhap is the destination of the day. Crossing the bridge across the Marsyangdi River, we first hike up to Sattale. Enjoying the fields of Marijuana, we now ascend on the steep stone trail towards the Manang district, leaving the Lamjung district behind. The trail still along the Marsyangdi River takes us to the first village of the Manang district, Tal, which greets us with a typical entrance gate influenced by the Tibetan culture. Leaving the village of Tal, we hike up to Kyodo, crossing the landslide area, where we cross a bridge across the Marsyangdi River and continue up till Dharapani. From Dharapani, enjoying the forest of Pine and Fir, we walk up to Bagarchhap. The evening can be spent exploring the village of Bagarchhap. The night will be spent at a lodge in Bagarchhap.
Day 06: Trek from Bagarchap to Koto (2,720m/8,923ft) 5-6 hours
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Koto is the destination of the day. Taking the higher route, we first hike up to Danakyu that offers dramatic views of the mountains. A steep hike from Danakyu will take us to the village of Timang. Passing through the forest of Pine, we descend to the settlement of Latamro. We cross the bridge to the village of Thanckok. A gentle ascent, from the village, will finally take us to the settlement of Koto. Chame, the district headquarter of the Manang district is very near to this village. The night will be spent at a lodge in Koto.
Day 07: Trek from Koto to Meta (3,560m/11,680ft) 7-8 hours
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
After breakfast at the lodge, we first register our area permit at the police checkpoint in Koto and without any delay we proceed towards the Naar Phu Khola gorge. Staying on the right side of the river we walk for about 2 hours. The trail then passes through beautiful pine forest, many small streams and suspension bridges, before Dharmasala. In fact, a very beautiful waterfall greets our arrival, before reaching Dharmashala. Soon after Dharmashala, the climb towards Meta begins. The route, now climbing away from the river, passes through the forest, ascending steeply up till the Meta Village, situated on a Tibetan Plateau. Meta is the first of a few ex-Khampa settlements on this route. This steep climbing leaves us tired at the end of the day. Therefore, the night will be spent here in Meta in a teahouse that provides both dinner and accommodation.
Day 08: Trek from Meta to Phu Gaun (4,250m/13,944ft) 7-8 hours
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Phu Gaon is the destination of the day. After breakfast, the journey continues on an up and downhill trail and on various suspension bridges over different streams. Staying on the true left bank high above the Dho Khola, we will soon reach Junam Goth- the next ex-Khampa settlement. The trail then descends steeply to the side valley with two parallel streams. Crossing the stream we continue on a trail ascending to Lower and Upper Chyako – another Khampa settlement. Beginning with a small ridge above Chyako, the trail passes through a steep slope and after a few up and downhill climb the trail descends to Kyang –another Khampa settlement. The trail from Kyang is rocky and dangerous; however, we continue on the same trail for about 3-4 hours, before reaching a huge wall, a steep climb from which takes us to the entrance gate of one of the hidden valleys- the Phu Valley. Soon after the valley widens and we cross the bridge, walk past some old chortens and mani walls, before reaching a beautiful village perched on the hill at the confluence of Phu River. The houses of this village are very well maintained, therefore, despite the availability of camping site by the river we spend the night in the teahouse.
Day 09: Acclimatization day at Phu Gaon (4,250m/13,944ft
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
A day will be spent in Phu, both for the purpose of acclimatization and exploration. Therefore, after breakfast, we visit Thashi Lakhang Monastery –believed to be the last monastery constructed by Karmapa Rinpoche. We also visit Yak pasture below the glacier. We then explore the landscape and also the settlement of the Phu valley, in order to understand the lifestyle, culture, and tradition of the ethnic groups living in the village. After, exploration of the village, we get back to the tea house for overnight stay.
Day 10: Trek from Phu to Nar (4,110m/13,484ft) 6-7 hours
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
After breakfast at Phu, we walk all the way down to the Naar Phedi to cross the suspension bridge over the Gorge of Lapche River. We cross a number of small streams and suspension bridges, before reaching this bridge. Once we cross the bridge, we will have to continue upwards on a winding, steep trail, up till the scenic terraces. We further climb ahead on the level path above the terraced field to get to the Nar Village- a very beautiful settlement with neat houses. Various Buddhist stupas greet us on the way to the village of Nar. The night will be spent in a teahouse.
Day 11: Acclimatization at Nar (4,110m/13,484ft)
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Tomorrow we will be climbing the Kang La Pass (5,322m). It’s very important to adapt to the thinning air, before climbing the pass. Therefore, instead of hiking further, the day will be spent doing side trips and other activities that help in the process of acclimatization. We explore the settlement and the lifestyle of people in the village. The night will be spent in a teahouse in Nar Gaon.
monasteries, chortens, and mani walls.)
Day 12: Trek from Nar to Kang La Pass (5,322m/17,460ft) to Ngwal (3,660m/ 12,008ft) 7-8 hours
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner
Today, we start our day earlier than other usual days. First, we proceed towards the Kang La Phedi or the base of the Kang La Pass, which takes about 2.5 hours from the Naar village, following the wide level valley and yak pasture. You can enjoy the sight of many grazing yaks, while heading towards the Kang La Phedi. From the Phedi the trail steeply ascends, passing a number of landslide areas to the Kang La Pass, which takes about 3 hours. The top greets us with a mesmerizing view of the Annapurna Range and other small peaks. After spending some time enjoying the view, we descend crossing the steep moraine towards the grassy path, which is quite steep and usually dangerous in hard snow. The beginning of the grassy path presents us the view of Chulus waterfall. Then a steep descent through the grassy path for about 3 hours will finally bring us to the destination, Ngawal. The night will be spent in a lodge.
Day 13: Trek from Ngawal to Chame (2,670m/8,759ft) 5-6 hours
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Chame is the destination of the day. A steep descent from Ngawal will bring us to the settlement of Humde. From Humde, we ascend through the forest, past Mani wall to get to Ghyaru that greets us with a pleasant view of Annapurna II and IV. The trail steeply descends towards the Marsyangdi River, which then following the river, heads towards the beautiful settlement of Pisang. Enjoying the view of the peaceful forest on the other bank of the river, the trail now crosses the bridge across the Marsyangdi River to get to the south bank of the river. The walk continues through the forest on the south bank till the bridge named Swargadwari, past Dhikur Pokhari. The trail now follows the north bank of the river through the pine forest and we now head towards Thaleku after passing the beautiful Apple Orchards. From Thaleku, we further walk until we reach Chame, the district headquarter of Manang. The night will be spent at a lodge in Chame.
Ghyaru, Pisang, Chame and insight on their lifestyle, culture and religion through the glimpses of their settlement, temples, monasteries, and Manes.)
Day 14: Trek from Chame to Tal (1,700m/5,577ft) 7 hours
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Tal is the destination set for the day. From Chame, we retrace the path used earlier to climb up till Chame. The trail, following the south bank of the river initially descends to Latamro past Koto, which then slightly ascends to Timang. From Timang, steep descent through the forest of Pine and Fir will take us to Dharapani, crossing Bagarchhap. Leaving the stone gateway at Dharapani the trail finally descends to the village of Tal. The night will be spent at a lodge in Tal.
Day 15: Trek from Tal to Besisahar (760m/2,493ft) 8 hours
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Today is the last day of the trek and our destination is Besisahar. Right from the altitude of 1700m at Tal, we hike down to the altitude of 760m at Besisahar. Following the trail along the Marsyangdi River, sometimes on the east bank and the other times on the west bank of the river, we walk down all the way Besisahar through the forest of pine and fir, cultivated terraces, of rice, marijuana, and other seasonal crops and the beautiful settlement of people flaunting their lifestyle, hospitality and culture. The night will be spent at a lodge in Besisahar.
Day 16: Drive from Besisahar to Kathmandu (1,300m/4,264ft7) 8 hours
Meals included: Breakfast
After successfully completing the trek, we now come back to Kathmandu. Early in the morning, we catch a bus to Kathmandu. The bus heads south till Dumre, which then follows the Prithvi Highway until it reaches Kathmandu. We stop twice, once for breakfast and once for lunch. After about 7-8 hour ride, you will reach Kathmandu. Once you reach Kathmandu, you will be escorted to your hotel, where you can freshen up and rest for some time.
Day 17: Departure day (1,300m/4,264ft)
Meals included: Breakfast
This day is the last day of your trip in Nepal with Treks Planner Nepal. If your flight is scheduled early morning, then one of our company representatives will escort you to the airport as per your flight departure time. But, if the flight is scheduled later in the evening, you can go shopping and collect a few mementos or simply hang around shopping areas in Kathmandu. However, if you are planning to spend some extra days in Nepal, Treks Planner Nepal can also make the arrangements for some other top adventurous activities that you can attend while you are in Nepal.