| Day |
Route |
Duration |
Highest Point/m |
| 1 |
Arrival Kathmandu |
All day |
1300m |
| |
Meet with our representative at the
airport. Drive to hotel. |
| 2 |
Kathmandu |
all day |
(1300m) |
| |
Sightseeing Day see Kathmandu Day Trips for ideas
of what to do. |
| 3 |
Kathmandu - Besi Shar |
6 hours |
(760m) |
| |
rivate or public transport to Besi
Sahar (via Mugling Bazaar and Dumre) along the Trisuli river
bank and then turning north along the Marsyangdi valley. Over
night at lodge or camp. |
| 4 |
Beshishar – Bahundanda |
7 hours |
(1310m) |
| |
Start walking along the Marsyangdi
valley through rice fields, banana and mango orchards. We occasionally
cross bridges over the river - the lower stretches are one of
the finest rafting routes in Nepal. Then we have a mild climb
to Bhaundanda and our over night camp or lodge. |
| 5 |
Bahundanda – Chamje |
5 hours |
(1430m) |
| |
Today we leave the more Hindu lower
villages and start to see Tibetan Buddhist culture dominates.
Starting with a downhill section to Syanje, we again cross the
Marsyangdi River and then a mild climb up to Chamje. |
| 6 |
Chamje –Tal |
5 hours |
(1700m) |
| |
The trail snakes up through a deep
gorge, one side the massive Manaslu range, the other the Lamjung
Himal (a sub-range of the Annapurna). Passing waterfalls and
temperate rainforest we camp or lodge at Bagarchhap. |
| 7 |
Tal-Bararchhap |
6 hours |
1430m |
| |
From Bagarchhap we take the main trail
along the valley floor, as it turns west and begins to wind
behind the mighty Annapurna range. There is a couple of trail
options, a higher route which gives us some great views of the
surrounding ranges, or a river-side route where bird life is
abundant. |
| 8 |
Bagarchhap-Koto |
6 hours |
(2600m) |
| |
The trail from Koto heads north through
a spectacular gorge carved by the Phu Khola. At first the gorge
is quite wide and fir trees form a dense forest down to the
rivers edge. Then we begin to cross back and forth over the
river as the gorge narrows before the trail climbs a little
steeply. Just before we get to Dharamsala the trail winds behind
a large waterfall and then a slight climb to our camp for the
night. |
| 9 |
Koto Qupar-Dharamsala |
7 hours |
(3230m) |
| |
Bagarchap is just beneath
another short climb which brings us up and over an ancient
terminal moraine, and the plateaus of Chyako. These winter
season herding areas are split into Upper and Lower villages,
one belonging to Naar and the other to Phu. With time to spare
we'll camp here and explore the now vacant homes. |
| 10 |
Dharmasala-Kayang
|
6 hours |
(3740m) |
| |
The trail is less steep today, but the gradual
ascent never tires. We'll traverse the Chyako valley on its
eastern side and then climb another terminal moraine to then
look down upon Khyang and our evening's campsite. |
| 11 |
Kayang-Phu |
5 hours |
(4050m) |
| |
The trail now plunges into
another gorge, which in the morning will be cold and in deep
shade. It seems as if nothing could live in the valley, but
grazing areas can be spotted on the higher slopes. Winding
along the rivers edge leades us to the spiritual gateway to
the Phu valley - an enormous standing rock cover in unerving
face-like shapes. A short, steep climb brings us to the Phu
gateway and a collection of chortens, and finally to the awesome
village of Phu. |
| 12 |
Phu-Rest day |
|
|
| |
Phu is an amazing collection
of dry stone walled homes and steep alleyways. Across the
river is the famous Gompa which is our goal for the morning.
During the afternoon we'll explore the village and try some
Tibetan salt butter tea. |
| 13 |
Phu-Junam |
7 hours |
(3550m) |
| |
Retracing our steps
down the Phu Khola, through Khyang and Chyako brings
us to the Naar bridges. One ancient wooden bridge is
for those who feel brave, the rest of us will take the
new suspension bridge and gaze into the 80 meter deep
gorge. Then it's a long climb to Naar but the views
will keep us distracted from the seemingly unrelenting
up. |
 |
|
| 14 |
Junam-Naar |
5 hours |
(4110m) |
| |
Naar is a beautiful village built in a natural
bowl and surrounded by terraces. The locals are warm and friendly
so we'll have lots of fun exploring. |
| 15 |
Naar-high camp |
|
|
| |
The valley slowly rises towards
the west, so it's a relatively easy walk today. There are
two campsites that we can choose from: one at the end of the
valley before the climb to the Kang La, or another smaller
campsite about 80m beneath the summit of the pass. |
| 16 |
Naar-Ngawal |
|
(3650m) |
| |
If we camped low yesterday
it will be a long slow climb to the razor sharp pass, if we've
camped high then it will take less than an hour to reach the
terrific view point of the Kang La. It is just possible to
see the top of Machhapachare rising above the mighty Annapurna
wall. Directly in front of us is Annapurna 2 and 4 - with
the Annapurna circuit lying 1800m below. For us, it's the
long secent to the circuit to Humde airport. |
| 17 |
Ngawal-Manang |
5 hours |
(3540m) |
| |
From Ngawal there will be views of the village
of Pisang, Humde airport, and lots green pine trees. |
| 18 |
Manang – Yakkharka |
5 hours |
(4200m) |
| |
The upper reaches of the
Marsyangdi valley is a tough place to live. Thanki village,
which we pass through today, is full of homes designed to
cope with the extremes that the Himalaya can throw at a settlement.
The low, mud-roofed homes have a stable on the ground floor
- the animal dung being a prime source of fuel for the kitchens.
The trail climbs and we enjoy magnificent views of the Annapurna,
Gungapurna, Tilicho and the Chulu peaks.
|
| 19 |
Yakkharka- Thorung Phedi |
3 hours |
(4400m) |
| |
Today we head up to the last camp and lodges before
the Thorung La. If camping and the group is strong enough, we
will trek through Thorong Phedi and sleep a little higher to
make the ascent a bit easier in the morning. |
| 20 |
Thorung Phedi-Muktinath |
10 h |
(5416m) |
| |
Today is the hardest on the trek;
we first ascend steeply to 4590m, and then trek along an undulating
trail to the flat top of Thorung La (5416m.) From here there
are stunning views of the Annapurna range to the south and Mukut
Himal bordering Dolpo to the West. The trail descends steeply
over glacial moraine, which gives way to grassy meadows before
we reach Muktinath. This is one of the most important pilgrimage
sights for Hindus and is home to many ethnic Tibetans and Buddhist
monks who live in monasteries scattered around the valley. The
nearby temple with 108 carved spouts from which holy water flows
is famous for a fire that miraculously burns in a stream of
water. |
| 21 |
Muktinath - Jomsom |
7 hours |
(2670m) |
| |
A long descend through Jharkot, Khinga
Gurung and Thakali villages brings us to the windy Kali Gandaki
River at Jomsom where we stop for camp. |
| 22 |
Jomsom-Pokhara by plane over night at hotel |
|
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| |
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| 23 |
Drive or fly Pokhara- Kathmandu |
|
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| 24 |
Free day shopping in Kathmandu |
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| 25 |
Final departure |
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