Arrival and transfer to hotel. Discussion of plans.

A full day of sightseeing in Kathmandu. (Pashupatinath Temple, Boudhanath, Swayambhu, and Kathmandu Durbar Square) with an Adventure Outdoor tour guide.

Gearcheck, and drive to Besishahar at 790 meters where we will begin our journey.

The journey starts at Besishahar, from where the trail makes a climb to Khudi at 790m. Here, we reach our first Gurung village (the Gurungs being a group of Nepalis famous for their bravery in the Gurkhas). The trail offers astounding views of Himalchuli and Peak 29 (Ngadi Chuli). It climbs to Bhulbhule at 825m; before taking us to Ngadi and finally reaching Lampata at 1135m and nearby Bahundanda at 1310m.

We follow the trail as it drops steeply to Syange at 1070m from Bahundanda, crossing the Marsyangdi River on a suspension bridge. We then follow the river to the stone village of Jagat before climbing through the forest to Chyamje at 1400m.

The day begins with the rocky trail following the Marsyandi River steadily uphill to Tal at 1675m, the first village in the Manang district. After crossing a wide, flat valley, the trail then climbs a stone stairway to 1860m until we reach another stairway. The journey continues up and down-hill till we get to Dharapani at 1890m. Here, we find a stone entrance chorten typical of the Tibet-influenced villages that lie to the north. We then visit Bagarchhap at 2160m, that has typical flat roofed stone houses of local Tibetan design, at this transitional junction before the dry highlands.

The often rough and rocky trail climbs to Tyanja at 2360m, and then continues through a forest along a river, to Kopar at 2590m. As we reach Chame, headquarters of the Manang district, we can see fine views of Annapurna II and visit two hot springs by the town.

The day starts through deep forests in a steep and narrow valley, as the trail crosses a river on a long bridge at 2910m. We then cross another bridge at 3040m, from where the view of the soaring Paungda Danda rock-face really begins to appear. Here the trail leads us to climb to Pisang, which sprawls between 3200m & 3300m.

Today we continue through the drier upper parts of the Manang district, cut off from the full effect of the monsoon by the Anapurna Range. People of this region herd yaks & raise crops for part of the year while they also continue to enjoy special trading rights gained way back in 1784.

Leaving Pisang, we have alternate trails north and south of the Marsyangdi River which meet up again at Mungji. The southern route by Hongde, with its airstrip, at 3325m involves less climbing than the northern route via Ghyaru, though there are better views on the trail that follows the northern bank of the river. From Mungji, the trail continues past the picturesque but partially hidden village of Bryanga at 3475m to nearby Manang at 3500m.

Today we spend a day acclimatizing in Manang. We walk around the village soaking up its astoubding views, and have a good night's rest.

Today we leave Manang, and the trail makes an ascent of nearly 2000m to the Thorung La pass. We make the climb steadily through Tenki, leaving the Marsyangi Valley. Continuing along the Jarsang Khola Valley, we reach Ledar at 4250m, there we see the vegetations steadily grow sparser.

The trail descends to cross the river at 4310m before climbing up to Phedi at 4420m. At High Camp, the elevation is 4600m.

The journey from Phedi “foot of the hill” or at the foot to the 5416m Thorung La pass, begins this day. We make the steep climb that is regularly used and easy to follow. However, problems may arise due to the altitude and snow. Snow often causes huge problems while making this pass. About a four hour climb up to the pass marked by chortens & prayer flags, we reach the top where the views are magnificent.

We trek back to Jomsom (2713m) to a guest house where our trek ends.

We take the short scenic flight from Jomsom to Pokhara where we check-in at a hotel.

We take time to wander around the city, buy souvenirs and relax, while necessary travel arrangements are made, and we drive back to Kathmandu.

Departure