Manaslu Circuit Trekking | Larky Pass / Itinerary / Cost 2017

Manaslu Circuit Trekking | Larky Pass / Itinerary / Cost 2017


There seems to be little reporting on the Manaslu Circuit, so I have decided to write of our Trek from Nov2 thru Nov 22, 2016. My wife and I are both in our early 60s and had questioned our ability to do a good Nepalese Trek. After reading these boards, we decided that Annapurna may have been too busy and we did not like the idea of a road around the circuit. We also felt that Everest Base Camp was probably too touristy so we opted for the more untouched Manaslu Circuit. There is a book published on this trek and was out early 2013. Other than that we did not have a lot of info on the trek. This book seems to have a rather large flair for the dramatic and certainly left me uneasy about our ability to do the trek. In retrospect we are extremely happy with our decision. We did finish the last four days on Annapurna, and while it was certainly more luxury, it did not have the true "feel" of Manaslu. While trekking Manaslu we found absolutely no places selling trinkets etc. The local hill people were genuinely nice and outgoing, but we had both a guide and porter who helped with any conversations. The scenery was breathtaking and we would only run into 1 or 2 other groups in a day of walking. We certainly saw more yaks and donkeys than trekkers. This was not true of our days on Annapurna, and some of the people on Annapurna certainly lacked the physical fitness to trek in Nepal. Manaslu seemed to attract a more motivated type of person, and my wife and I were the tail enders. The book on this hike mentions the exposure that is encountered. I am afraid of heights and I had problems with two sections of the hike. I was able to hug the inner wall and look straight ahead and made it pass the cliffs. We carried a Garmin 60 and it showed us as doing 126 miles with 35,000 ft of elevation gain, a lot of up and downs. We used a trekking company to set up our hike. They are nepalguideinfo.com. The base cost was $1500 per person and included 2 days before the trek and 4 days in Pokhara after the trek.

Meals,while trekking and tea was covered as well as tea houses, in country transportation, guide and porter, all logistic (which was very important with the election and subsequent strikes) Manaslu permits, help thru the airports etc, down coats, sleeping bags, liners, trekking poles, water purifyers etc. I think that most of the groups that trekked with us believed that our guide, Santa, was the most professional of all the guides. They probably felt that some "old buzzards" like us must have had a good guide to get them over Larkye La pass. He gave us space when we wanted it, and he was always within a few feet if the path was icy or hazardous. A large storm had hit the pass 3 days before we went over, and many people got medical flights out, but Santa always kept us safe and was not just along for the hike. We spent a few weeks in the Andes last year and the level of guiding was not even close to that provided by Santa.

Several other strange tidbits on the larger cities (KTM and Pokhara). Watch out for the driving. I am certain that the local drivers would not hesitate to "ding" you if you were not paying attention while crossing a street, but if a pigeon or water buffalo is on the highway, all traffic comes to a halt. The shopping in KTM and Pokhara is certainly interesting. The prices seem extremely low, especially for handmade items. We purchased many of the "Super down" or Puffy jackets that seem to be so popular in Oregon. The prices were superb and they seem to be holding up well. The paintings were also inexpensive and after going to some of the schools we became educated on what was good quality.