 Located in Nepal's Gorkha District and rising 8,163 meters, Mt. Manaslu lies just east of the famed Annapurna Region and shares a border with its northern neighbour, Tibet. Opened to trekkers recently, Manaslu's unsurpassed beauty and rich, cultural traditions offer the dedicated trekker a genuine adventure.
Proceeding counter-clockwise around the base of Manaslu, you will begin your trek from the historical city of Gorkha (1,800m). Distant Himal views will tease you for several days as you rise and fall through numerous valleys, along panoramic ridges.
Populated by various peoples, including the celebrated Gorkha soldiers, and giving life to endless fields of dan (rice), kodo (millet) and makai (corn), among others, the trail offers brief glimpses into the simple lives and ancient ways of the areas inhabitants.
The historical town of Gorkha is the starting point of this interesting trek. Manaslu trek takes us to Manaslu Base Camp. The highest point in this trek is Larke La Pass. The trek ends at Beshisahar or Dumre depending upon the availability of transport. This trek is recommended to the experienced trekkers.
This trek was officially opened to tourists in 1991, but mountaineering expeditions have long had access to the area. IN 1959 a party led by HW TIlman trekked from Thonje to Bimtang and Colonel Jimmy Robets croosed the Larkya La looking for an interesting mountain to climb. Manaslu(8156m) was attempted by Japanese expeditions every year from 1952 until 1956, when the first ascent was made. It this became know as a 'Japanese Mountain', and much of the information about the area was available only in Japanese. The Japanese continued to dominate the climbing scene on Manaslu until 1971.
A few trekkers, including the peripatetic Hugh Swift, managed to obtain trekking permits for the region, but otherwise this trek has always bee the domain of the mountaineering expedition. The book 'Honey Hunters of Nepal', by Eric Valli & Dianne Summers, was so popular and makes good background reading of this region.
Though the Larkya La is not a difficult pass, the trek around Manaslu is harder that most in Nepal. In many places the walls of the Budhi Gandaki Valley are perpendicular, so you cannot walk along the bottom of the valley. There is a huge amount of wasted climbing involved during the first part of the trek as you climb up and down over ridges or onto shelves to bypass cliffs. The trail is rough and steep and it often literally hangs on a bluff high above the slightest tendency towards acrophobia. The trek is remote and has no rescue facilities or opportunities to bail out if you are tired. There is only one facility that might conceivably be called a trekkers' hotel, and there are few English signboards between Arughat and Tilje.
No wonder, the trek is geographically spectacular and culturally fascinating. The inhabitants of the upper Budhi Gandaki, a region known as Nupri ('the western mountains') are direct descendants of Tibetan immigrants. Their speech, dress and customs are almost exclusively Tibetan. There is still continuous trade between Nupri and Tibet; Chinese cigarettes for example, are found more frequently that Nepali cigarettes. The mountain views in Nupri are sensational, and crossing of the Larkya La is one of the most drammatic of any pass in the Himalaya. |
