Trek on the Manaslu circuit

“… See and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is, and walk in it, and you shall find rest for your souls.”

JEREMIAH 6:16

                     Just returned from the trek on the Manaslu circuit 2 days back. It lasted for 10 days from Arughat, Gorkha to Besisahar, Lamjung. This was the ancient route used by the legendary kingdom of Gorkha to trade with Tibet (The Tibet border was around 5 hrs walk from Samdo, it was closed in this time of the year). Feel rejuvenated and ready for a fresh start, to take on the hassles of everyday life :) Still not recovered from the sunburnt skin and the bodyache. On a positive note, lost 5 kilos due to the average daily walk of about 10 hrs.
                        As I had mentioned in my earlier post, I wrote a journal/travelogue everyday. Have to admit, it was exciting :) (Even wrote on top of the Larke la pass, 5108 m, as I had plenty of spare time waiting for friends, there were 4 of us) Will try to post something from the journal entries in my future posts. This was my fourth trek after Ghandruk, Goshainkunda and Thorong la pass. Was again spellbound by the awesome natural beauty that Nepal has to offer. Just like they said in the Nepal tourism year 2011, Nepal: Once is not enough :)
                       The first 5 days leading upto Samagaun were probably less exciting than the latter half of the trail. We mostly passed along Budhigandaki river (Upto Samdo, on day 7), hills and forests. After Samagaun (On day 6), we got the magnificent view of Mt. Manaslu (also known as the 'killer mountain' due to the difficulty in climbing it) and other snow capped mountains of the magical Himalayas. We also visited Birendra taal (lake), situated just above Samagaun, on the way to the Manaslu base camp. The local Tibetan/Buddhist people, their culture and friendliness was something we will always remember (Especially Yonten and Pema, 2 young boys temporarily teaching at the school in Samagaun,  who accompanied us upto Samagaun from Dyang, and kept us entertained with their funny gossips and anecdotes). We crossed the highest point on the trail, the Larke la pass, 5108 m on day 9. It was my second time going above 5000 m (After Thorong la). Larke la may be at a lesser altitude than Thorong la (5416 m) but it surely isn't less amazing. The views from the top of the Larke la were probably more awesome than Thorong la. More mountains, more snow and took us a bit longer, to cross the pass. The descent on the other side was more steep as well.
                      One downside on the day we crossed the Larke la was that we encountered a porter's death most likely due to AMS. It was quite a saddening experience, seeing such a young lad, probably a teenager, die carrying others' load. Poverty makes one do tough things to survive. Made me contemplate how lucky we were, trekking for pleasure up in the Himalayas and how unlucky he was, died earning his daily bread.
The lush green coniferous forest, on the other side of the pass (After Bhimtang, on day 10), was also a sight that is etched in my mind forever. Felt like deforestation was a phenomenon that didn't exist in that part of the world. How good it would have been, for all of mankind, if forests were left in such untouched condition, in other parts too. A mere wish! We ended up at Dharapani in Manang district on day 10. It is the place where the Manaslu trail joins the Annapurna trail. It was the end of our trek. The next day we rode a jeep back to Besisahar, Lamjung. It was amazing to see so many tourists (A lot more than we encountered on the entire Manaslu trail) starting their trek up the Annapurna. It's probably due to the reputation that Annapurna has maintained over all these years.
               On a personal note, after completing both circuits, I think Manaslu is easily as good as Annapurna, if not better. If the government decides to open it (The tourists have to pay more than Annapurna to enter Manaslu conservation area currently), it has the potential to replace the Annapurna circuit some day. The lodges are newer and fewer in Manaslu. It is a complete 'tea house trek' now i.e. you don't need to carry a tent and camp, there are lodges throughout the trail. The only trouble is at Dharmashala (Larke phedi), where there is only one lodge. It has a capacity for around 70. So make sure you find out about the number of people going up there from Samdo that day. We were extremely lucky, as in spite of going in the peak tourist season, the lodge owner there was kind enough to treat us as 'Nepali tourists' (A rare breed in that part, in that time of the year!!) and arranged for our lodging and food even though the place was flooded with foreigners/guides/porters. Due to the tourist boom, the people have become more money-minded and we had to bargain at most places to pay 'Nepali rates' for lodging and food.
                      It would be better to avoid the tourist season i.e. Oct. - Nov. and Mar. - Apr., for any Nepali planning to go there. Would recommend this trek to trekkers all over the world. It, for sure, is  a 'once in a lifetime' experience...

The Budhigandaki river, Arughat

Paddy fields, Lapubesi

Avishek sleeping early after a hard day's walk, Jagat

Chhorten?, Jagat

On the way to Sirdibas

On the way to Sirdibas

Wild fruit, on the way to Dyang

It's Dashain time after all :), Call break at Dyang (From L, Sankalpa dai, Bikalpa, Avishek and me)

Prayer flag, on the way to Ghap

Pema & Yonten, at our lunch stop in Ghap

Children in Lho

Early morning in Samagaun

Mt. Manaslu

Birendra taal


Kitchen in Samdo

On the way to Dharmashala

Our tent at Dharmashala, all the rooms were already full!!

Yak skull on a pole, warning signs??, on the way to Larke la

A frozen lake, on the way to Larke la

0 degrees, on the way to Larke la

We made it!!, on top of the Larke la pass

'It's not the mountains we conquer, but ourselves' - Bikalpa

Bikalpa getting his lens ready for the forests after Bhimtang

Look who's been following us!!, near Thonche

Dharapani, end of trek