30-Day Annapurna Via Manasalu Trek & Chitwan Jungle Safari

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Today you'll visit Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and Lalitpur. The three cities provide a beautiful religious and cultural experience with the temples, palaces and other World Heritage sites. This is also the day when all the arrangements are finalised and briefing is done for the entire trip ahead of your trek.

It's a 5 hour drive from Kathmandu to Gorkha, then a 42 km drive from there to Arughat. Overnight stay at Arughat, a major city of the region, divided by the Budhi Gandaki River. It's a 5-hour drive from Kathmandu to Gorkha, then a 42-kilometre drive from there to Arughat.

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Today, you'll trek from Arughat to Soti Khola (710 metres) which takes 5-6 hours. After completing all the paperwork in Arughat (the starting point for most trekkers), the trek begins after breakfast. The initial terrain of the circuit is a flat, easy ground, which is followed by crossing a river than a steep flight of stone steps clinging to a hill. Once you reach Soti Khola, you'll check into a hotel and stay overnight.

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Today, you'll trek from Soti Khola to Machcha Khola (900 metres) which takes 6-7 hours. You pass through beautiful Sal forests before crossing a ridge above huge rapids on the Budhi Gandaki to reach Khursane. The rocky trail then weaves up and down, past two tropical waterfalls on a steep rocky trail clinging to the side of a cliff. The rocky trail then weaves up and down and once you pass through the rice terraces, you'll reach the Machha-Khola village where you'll spend the night.

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Today, you'll trek from Machchha Khola to Jagat (1410 metres) which takes 6-7 hours. After some steep ascents and descents, walking past tobacco and buckwheat fields, across handmade wooden bridges through edgy landslide areas, you'll reach Tatopani. Taking a suspension bridge to the right side of the river, you'll reach Doban. To reach the village of Jagat from there, you have to cross to the west bank of Budhi Gandaki, climb over a ridge and trek across the river.

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Today, you'll trek from Jagat to Deng (1804 metres) which takes 6-7 hours. You'll resume hiking to Sirdibas. Another short walk takes you to the longest suspension bridge of the trek and on the other side is the Gurung village of Philim. The trail then turns north and stays in level as it traverses millet fields to Ekle Bhatti. Then the route enters a steep uninhabited gorge to an intersection where the Tsum-valley trek and Manaslu trek meet.

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Today, you'll trek from Deng to Ghap (2165 metres) which takes 3-4 hours. After crossing another suspension bridge at Deng, you take a steep path with handmade wooden steps and curvy slopes that take you to the windy Bhiri Phedi. After a few hours walk, the path bends slightly to left towards Ghap. You can make a side trip to visit the Tibetan Gompas in Prok and then stay overnight at Ghap.

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The trail follows the river upstream through a dense forest. Then, you cross the river you have a pleasant climb till you reach a steep ascent to reach Namru. You get to see the Himal Chuli peak from here and again moving steadily in the shade of a forest, you reach Lchorihi, a village with many chortens, mani walls and barley terraces. The trail drops further, crosses the side valley of the Simnang himal and after climbing a steep slope you reach Lho with houses that are lined up on a ridge.

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Today, you'll trek from Lho to Samagaon which takes 5-5 hours. From Lho, you'll follow a small tributary in the shady fir forest. After a short climb to a plateau, you reach the Shyala village surrounded by Himal Chuli, peak 29 and Manaslu and glaciers straight ahead. From Shyalal, the valley opens up to a wide area with the view of Samagaon at the foot of the Manaslu Mountain. The final walk across the plains is easy and you reach the remote village of Samagaon with about 1000 inhabitants.

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You can take this day to rest and acclimatise at Samagaon. Explore the mani stones, the people and their culture of Samagaon. If you take a side trip, you'll get to visit the Pungyen Gompa with a great view of the glacier. Pungyen means bracelet, a suitable description for the two peaks.

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Trek from Samagaon to Samdo (3860 metres) which takes 4-5 hours. After descending the Budhi Gandaki, the trail leads to the Manaslu Base camp. The Larkya pass consists of many mani walls as the valley begins to widen. The trail is an easy one on the shelf above the river passing through juniper and birch forests of Kermo Kherka. Once you cross the wooden bridge and climb onto a steep promontory, there is a stone arch with the view of a Kani. You reach Sambo after crossing the Kani.

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Trek from Samdo to Dharmashala (4460 metres) which takes 4-5 hours. As you continue your walk down the edge, cross the wooden bridge over Budhi Gandaki and walk upwards to cross two streams, you can witness the Larkya Glacier. Once you go around the valley of Salka Khola and climb up again, you come to a stone guest house which is actually a shelter called Dharmashala, also known as Larkya Phedi. You'll camp here to rest and prepare for the next day’s crossing of the famous Larkya Pass.

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Today, you'll trek from Dharmashala to Larkya la (5100 metres) and Bimthang (3720 metres) which takes 8-9 hours. After a short climb, you reach the ablation valley on the north side of the Larkya Glacier where you can see the Cho Danda and Larkya Peak. Finally, you walk across the moraines of the glacier, making a gradual ascent which becomes steeper towards the last section of the pass. From the pass, one can enjoy the outstanding views of the huge Annapurna II.

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Today, you'll trek from Bimthang to Lho (2560 metres) which takes 4-5 hours. After reaching to Dudh Khola, you descend into a rhododendron forest and follow a trail through a narrow valley until you reach the valley of Karche at 2785 metres. From here, you cross a slide then move across fields before making a steep climb over a ridge. The trail comes off the ridge into a big, sweeping arc to a riverbank at 2580 metres. A short distance’s walk from there takes you to Gho village.

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Today, you'll trek from Lho to Dharapani (1920 metres) which takes 3-4 hours. From the Gho village, you continue through the fields, over a clear stream, pass through the houses and fields on the north bank of the river to trek into Tilije. From there, you cross the Dudh Khola and trek along the river embankment, cross a wooden bridge back to the northern side of Dudh Khola and climb up through a chorten-shaped arch to reach Thonje. Continues to Dharapani to start another trek the next day.

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Today, you'll trek to Chame (2670 metres) which takes 6 hours. Following the south bank of the river Syal Khola at 2210 meters, you cross the river over a cement bridge near a spectacular waterfall. The route crosses several landslide-prone areas as it works its way uphill through walnut trees and apple orchards till it reaches Chame. Throughout the day, you can have a nice view of the Lamjung Himal, Annapurna II and Annapurna IV.

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Today, you'll trek from Chame to Pisang (3354 metres) which takes 5 hours. You first pass the older part of Chame and climb up to Telekhu at 2480 metres and continue with a long, pleasant, levelled walk through the forest to Brathang, which lies at 2950 metres. After the trail bends here, you see the first view of the dramatic Paungda Danda rock face. After this, the trek will be reasonably levelled as it heads to the upper part of Manang Valley to Pisang.

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Today, you'll trek to Manang (3520 metres) which takes 5 hours. The trek slowly climbs to the Tibetan style village of Braga at 3500 metres following the valley floor. The Gompa, perched on a high crag overlooking the village is the largest in the district and has an outstanding display of statues. Then you come across an arid countryside, dominated by weird cliffs of yellow rock to the village of Manang where you get to refuel on your supplies.

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Today, you'll trek from Manang to Letdar (4245 metres) which takes 4.5 hours. Trekking slowly upwards to Thorung La, you will leave the large trees behind and see the vegetation consisting mainly of junipers and alpine grass and a few meadows where horses and yaks are found grazing. Blue sheep can also be seen grazing on the steep slopes of Yak kharka. You arrive at Letdar an hour after passing through Yak kharka.

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Today, you'll trek from Letdar to Thorung Phedi/high camp (4450 metres) which takes 3-4 hours. You get used to the altitude before crossing the highest point in the trek. From Letdar you continue to climb along the east bank of the Jarang Khola to Thorung Phedi, a rock-strewn meadow surrounded by vertical cliffs at 4420 metres. Blue sheep and snow leopards can sometimes be spotted in this region while the sight of lammergeyers and Himalayan griffons circling above is quite common.

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Crossing over an altitude of 5416 metres could be difficult due to strong winds otherwise the highly trodden trail is very easy to follow as it has been used for hundreds of years to bring sheep and yaks in and out of Manang. It takes around 4-6 hours to reach the pass from Thorung Phedi. From here, you start a long descent of about 1600 metres with outstanding views of Dhaulagiri mountain until you reach Muktinath temple.

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Today, you'll trek from Muktinath to Jomsom (2815 metres) which takes 6 hours. You follow the Jomsom trek in reverse order. You first go down to Kagbeni, a descent through meadows, streams and fruit trees. You keep going down to Jomsom, Kali Gandaki valley and then to Marpha. Marpha is the place where you end your trek to fly to Pokhara the next morning, but it is also home to many apple orchids and apple brandy is a local speciality that you will get to taste if you are lucky.

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After breakfast, you'll catch an early morning flight to Pokhara. The panoramic flight of 25 minutes goes through gorges of Kaligandaki Valley offers a great view of semi barren lands, mountains, Poonhill and finally of beautiful Pokhara. Upon arrival, you can choose a guided tour of Pokhara or just chill out in the lakeside tourist area.

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This morning, you'll catch a 25-minute scenic mountain flight to Kathmandu from Pokhara. Upon arrival, your driver will meet you and take you to your hotel. In the afternoon and evening, you can explore the city on your own or take a guided tour of the cultural city. There's lots to see here but you may just wish to relax after your trek.

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Wait a minute! There are still some hidden worlds in Kathmandu city to discover. Today, your guide will take you to two ancient Newari cities, Kokhana and Bungamati. The cities are wonderful examples of ancient Newari life and tradition. You'll meet the elderly people and friendly children eager to greet or just wave at the tourist as they see you looking at the monuments quite keenly.

This morning, after breakfast, you'll have a little bit of free time before you begin the six-hour drive to Chitwan, the heart of Nepal's jungle. Upon arrival, you'll check into your lodge and then have some free time to take part in some jungle activities or just relax and take in the scenery.

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This morning, you'll embark on an exhilarating journey deep into the jungle of Chitwan on this Jeep drive. Over three hours, you'll feel the real thrill of the jungle as you explore in a 4WD truck, looking out for birds, animals and plants. You'll observe many rare endangered animal from your cosy open jeep. You'll then have the afternoon to engage in more jungle activities before you attend a unique cultural Tharu show in the evening.

After breakfast, you'll return back to Kathmandu by tourist bus. You will have a comfortable window seat and a good view along the way to enjoy the scenery that you pass. Upon arrival in Kathmandu in the late afternoon, you'll have the rest of the day and evening to spend as you wish.