Manaslu Circuit Trek

‘Manaslu Circuit Trek’
Tarpan Mukherjee, October 25, 2016
Krishnagar, West Bengal, India.

Two out of six of us have just completed our 15 day long Manaslu Cercuit Trek from September 29 to October 13 with Nepal Alternative Trek. From the experiences of email exchange with Tej I was very confident that we are in good hands. All my queries, worries and suggested plans has been responded in good sprites. Tej arranged permits, hotel accommodations, bus tickets, guide and porters for us very professionally. Thanks Tej for an excellent organization.
The road condition is worst and horrible from Dading Beshi to Soti Khola. The bus got stuck in mud several times. Bus staffs and passengers work hard every time to get the bus through. It was 22 km before Arughat our bus finally surrender to mud. We hired a truck from Arughat with the help of local people and at last reached Arughat at 1:30am midnight. It takes another six hours (normally 2 hours) to reach Soti Khola next day.
The lower part of the trek has been mostly damaged by the quake and it has also with slippery rocky sections with many ups and down and landslides. The sun was intense. It just killed us during the first three days of trek. The upper section of the trail after Namrung is good. Lihi, Sho, Lho and especially Shyala are excellent places to stay before Sama Gaon and Samdo. We had cloud most of the day time and rainy nights. It would be a better idea to trek during late October and November.
I have done a side trip to Pungyen Gompa with our guide Amar Gurung while going to Sama gaon. Although cloud was there we spent some great time. The gumpa is located at the end of a vast grassy plateau on the true left bank of Pungyen Glacier surrounded by dramatic mountain scenery. Certainly the best place to get a view of mount Manaslu and Peak-29 (Nagdi Chuli). But you need a bright clear day for a awesome view.
October 11, we started at 5 am from Dharmashala for the pass. It was one of the few cloudless and brilliant days. After two hours reached a beautiful turquoise lake that reflects the surrounding snowy mountains. An hour later to tea house. From here after numerous tedious climbs for two hour finally I reached the first part of Larke Pass marked by prayer flags. From this section I can not see the other side of the pass but I have to walk for another 20 minutes to get a glimpse of the ‘other world’. Two hour steep slippery decent from the pass was tiresome as the trail was covered by hard snow mixed with rocks. Trekking poles and micro-spikes would be very helpful. Ponkar Lake can be seen down below to the west. I reached Fedi (two huts can be seen from above) after 3 hours from the pass. In another one and half hour I reached Bhimtang medow. Bhimtang is located between the true left bank of the lateral moraine of Bhimtang Glacier and slopes of Larke Himal range. Bhimtang is a stunning place and surrounded by the great snow peaks. It is a great place to stay. From Bhimtang to Gawa the trail is through fantastic scenery of snowy mountains and beautiful lash green Pine vegetation. Gawa to Chamcheya is a 8-10 hours walk.
We are grateful to our guide Amar Gurung for taking great care for our safety and comfort. He is friendly, reliable, knowledgeable and trustworthy. Our porters Samsher and Ram were always smiling and ready to help. The whole support team had done a wonderful and herculean task while escorting down one of our sick aging member to safety to Sama gaon and come back again to join with two of us next day at Gawa after crossing the pass. Hats off to them. The team of Nepal Alternative Trek were fantastic. I would definitely choose them for future venture in Nepal and highly recommended Nepal Alternative Trek for everyone who plans a trip in Nepal.