Manaslu Region

The Annapurna Circuit as it used to be

People describe Manaslu as what the Annapurna Circuit was before the road, and for once the comparison is accurate. A long walk up one river system, a high pass at the top, a descent into different country on the far side — and, because it is a restricted area, a fraction of the traffic.

The trade is comfort. Lodges here are simpler, the gorge section is genuinely rough, and you cannot walk it alone or without an agency.

The permit rules, which decide whether you can come at all

The two-trekker minimum that used to apply to restricted-area permits was removed in March 2026, so travelling alone is no longer a barrier to getting one. The agency and guide requirements remain.

Two routes, one region

The Manaslu Circuit runs up the Budhi Gandaki from Machha Khola, through Jagat and Philim to Samagaun at 3,530 m, then over Larke La (5,106 m) and down to Dharapani, where it joins the Annapurna Circuit trail. Fourteen to eighteen days.

The Tsum Valley branches north at Lokpa, into a Buddhist beyul — a valley the tradition treats as a sacred refuge — where the community keeps a vow against killing animals. It needs its own restricted-area permit on top of the Manaslu one. Fourteen days on its own, or eighteen to twenty combined with the circuit.

Combining them is the better trip if you have the time, and they are genuinely different in character: Tsum is contemplative and low by Himalayan standards, the circuit is a high-pass expedition. See the Tsum Valley page for the valley itself.

The gorge, and what the walking is like

The first four or five days follow the Budhi Gandaki through a deep, narrow gorge, on trail cut into the hillside above the river and crossing repeatedly on suspension bridges. It is dramatic, it is exposed in places, and in the monsoon it is genuinely hazardous with landslides.

Above Philim the valley opens and the country turns Tibetan — mani walls, chortens, barley terraces and flat-roofed stone houses. Samagaun at 3,530 m is the natural acclimatisation stop, with side walks to Manaslu Base Camp and Birendra Lake.

Larke La

Crossed from Dharamsala at around 4,460 m, starting before dawn. It is a long day — four to five hours to the pass at 5,106 m and then a descent of more than 1,500 m to Bimthang on the far side, which is harder on knees than the climb is on lungs.

The pass holds snow into spring and can close after heavy weather. Any sensible itinerary keeps a spare day for it, because the only alternative to crossing is walking the whole gorge back out.

Manaslu or the Annapurna Circuit?

If you want quiet, a stronger sense of remoteness and a single continuous route, take Manaslu. If you want better lodges, no permit restrictions, the option of shortening the trip partway, and side trips like Tilicho, take the Annapurna region — and be honest with yourself about the road.

When to go

Late September to November is the most settled, with Larke La usually clear. March to May works well and is quieter, though the pass holds snow into April.

Winter closes the pass and empties the high villages. The monsoon is the one season to rule out entirely here, because of the gorge rather than the pass.

Where to go next

• Tsum Valley — A sacred Himalayan valley closed to outsiders until 2008, where killing animals has been forbidden by community agreement for over a century
• Kathmandu Valley — Seven UNESCO Monument Zones within an hour of each other
• Annapurna Region — The most varied trekking region in Nepal and the most accessible

Related activities: Trekking in Nepal, Cultural & Heritage Tours, Photography Tours in Nepal.

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