The Manaslu and Annapurna Cicuit and tilicho lake trek is one of the best trekking in Nepal. Manaslu Circuit Trek is one of the best remote trekking areas in Nepal, predominated by Baudha Himal, Gorkha Himal, and Himal Chuli, bordered by two major river systems: the Budhi Gandaki to the east and the Marshandi Khola to the west. The Annapurna and Manaslu ranges, including the two major alpine high passes: Larkya La Pasa (5,160 m) and Thorong La Pass (5,416 m), are the significant highlights of the Manaslu and Annapurna circuit trek that begins in Gorkha, which follows the Marshyangdi River for the first few days and moves along the rugged gorge of the Budhi Gandaki River via indigenous Gurung villages with a vast number of Buddhist monasteries. A few sections of the trek also feature numerous high waterfalls cascading on the main river, while the valleys shelter several ancient temples, some of which represent the pre-Buddhist Bon religion, rising slowly with the minimum chance of altitude sickness. As the river changes course to the west, so do the landscapes, with steep, rocky gorges and pines covering the forest.
Manaslu and Annapurna Circuit Trek with Tilicho lake-25 Days
- Duration 25 Days
- Trip Grade Moderate
- Starts/Ends Kathmandu to Kathmandu
- Group Size 2-10
- Max. Altitude 5416
- Best Season all the Month
Itinerary
A representative from Adventure Himalayan Travels and Treks will pick you up and take you to your predetermined hotel upon your arrival at the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu.
In your free time, you can wander around the lively streets of Thamel and buy essential gear and equipment for your upcoming trek.
In the evening, you will attend a welcome dinner and a short briefing session led by our tour leader or guide.
Kathmandu, the capital city of Nepal, is home to seven UNESCO World Heritage Sites for cultural and religious significance, which is often renamed the city of temples, and you can see why.
So, on the second day of your arrival in Kathmandu, you will visit Pashupatinath, Boudhanath, and Swyamnhunath, along with the interesting alleyways of three cities famous for their fine arts and aroma of Nepali spices: Kathmandu, Patan, and Bhaktapur
The drive today begins after an early morning breakfast along the Prithivi Highway west from Kathmandu through the stunning scenery of rivers and hills across the Trishuli River, joining the asphalt roads to Dhading.
After lunch on the way, you will head for the Arughat Bazaar, which is a 2 to 3-hour walk from Dhading in the event of monsoon rain obstructing the vehicles following the Budhi Gandaki River and take a jeep for Machha Khola
This day, you will travel along the slope of farm fields and rice paddies, further ahead to the wider valleys with great views of Sringi Himal, also known as Chamar (7,187 m).
Then, the path lowers down to the shores of white sand and passes several more villages to reach Kholabesi.
After a few more villages following the narrow path, you will be at Tatopani, with a hot spring to chill and relax your spines, and finally at Jagat
Today, you will yet again cross a suspension bridge, pass a forested area, and move along a rock-carved path to reach Doban.
Soon after passing over a shaky bridge in Doban Khola, you will keep ascending and descending till Deng and spend overnight in the tea house.
You will leave Deng village with a steep uphill hike that goes down to the river bank, which offers a pleasant walk through dense bamboo forest up to Deng Khola.
The trail then descends to the river bank and valley, surrounded by cliffs, when you keep moving on to the forest, crossing wooden bridges a few times over the river of Budhi Gandaki, which is steeper until Namru village.
From here, the Tibetan border is only a few kilometers away to the north.
On this day, you will come across Hinan Khola after passing several villages and then to Sho village after crossing the streams, where you will get spectacular views of Manaslu North Peak, Naike Peak, and Manaslu, while Lho possesses wide farm fields on the gentle mountain.
Lho is a large village with ample houses and a fine gompa that assures an excellent view of the surroundings.
The settlement seen starts widening after crossing the Pungn glacier, and you will start to move from one chorten to another till you reach Sama.
The Sama is distinguishable even before arrival due to its large number of Mani stones, Chhortens, and the Gompa atop the hill. Worth a visit!
Crossing by the foot over the great Manaslu Glacier, you pass the trail that branches off to Manaslu Base Camp, where you enter a woodland with marmots in the birch and juniper bushes.
A final steep ascent brings you to the charming village of Samdo, with a well-established Tibetan refugee community—Tibetan is only a morning’s walk away.
You will take the day to explore and acclimate your body to the altitude. Walking north from Samdo, climbing gradually along the Athahra Saya Khola, then descending gently towards the river bed, crossing a side river on a wooden bridge, Then you will climb again and go beside the river on its western side.
After 3 hours of walking from Samdo, the Athahra Saya Khola turns west. You will cross the bridge and begin to climb the slope. At its bottom, the trail may seem unclear as several Yak trails are going up, but as you climb, it is clear that your way is up. The climb to the top of the Rui La Pass is 4,998m.
Along the way, there are raw sights of Manaslu in the distance, as well as the Hindu and Fukang glaciers just behind you as you climb. The Rui La Pass is a "classic" U-shaped mountain pass. Prayer flags mark the pass, and a border stone marks the border between Nepal and "Dzong Who" (China).
After an easy first part of the day, you will cross the Budhi Gandaki for the last time before gradually rising off the trail through juniper and tundra to a viewpoint overlooking the Larkya La Glacier.
An early morning start is needed for a strenuous yet rewarding day. A pre-dawn start to avoid the anticipated heavy wind is important.
After a long, gradual climb alongside the moraine, you make a short descent to a glacial lake and reach the head of the moraine (4,700 m), which you will cross to climb to the ridge top. Four frozen lakes lie below, and then it is up to the crest of Larkya La (5,100m).
The award for these difficult trekking conditions is the brilliant westerly views of Himlung Himal, Kangurru, and Annapurna II, as well as the looming omnipresence of Manaslu.
On the steep descent, you will drop around 600m in less than an hour, which then levels off onto yak pastures before finally reaching Bhimthang, a collection of typical summer Kharkas
You will now start to descend on much easier terrain through meadows, pine, and rhododendron forests until you reach Hampuk.
Then, the path drops further, following the course of the Dudh Khola. Crossing the stream fed by the snows of the Kichke Himal, you will arrive at Karche and continue to the village of Gho, where rice is back on the menu and Nepalese ‘dhal bhat’ is revisited.
Keeping to the west bank of the river, your afternoon is one of gradual descent to the Gurung settlement of Tilije. From here, the trail descends to Thonje. Crossing the Marshyandi River leads you to the village of Dharapani.
Right after breakfast, you will start to move for Chyamje (2,713 m), surrounded by verdant forest and massive mountains.
You will travel through a thick forest, enjoying the waterfalls on the way to your destination, working as a trade center for the Manang district, Chyamje, to stay overnight at a guesthouse.
To hike from Chyamje to Pisang, you will follow the path over a tighter river valley with a great number of trees.
The exhaustion fades away as you start to receive the mesmerizing views of Pisang (3,292 m). To sum up, it takes about three hours to arrive at Pisang and spend a night at the guest house
Pisang consists of two routes; both routes can be approached, yet the views of Annapurna II, III, IV, Pisang Peak, Gangapurna, Tilicho, and Chulu Peak are astonishing fromthe upper trail.
Afterward, you will cross the Jharsang Khola with a Khangsar, a Gurung village on the way, and prayer flags on the top of a small monastery
It is an interesting and exciting day to acclimatize to the high alpine climate, which begins after a delicious breakfast.
You can use this day to visit the monastery or hike Gangpurna Lake and viewpoint with the clear blue sky, delight to the heart, and camera to capture all the soaring mountains, hills, and villages.
After spending some quality time, you will return to the guest house and explore the area to energize yourself for further treks in the coming days
On this day, after attending a morning yoga session, you will grab a hearty breakfast and head to the summer settlements of herders, Shree Kharka, which is a grazing place for livestock.
The trekking trail of the day is a little climb from Manang village following the upper route, which is a descent after a few steps up to the riverside to cross a suspension bridge and continue through pine trees until you arrive at Khangsar village, inhabited mostly by Tibetan people. Here you will enjoy a short lunch break and continue walking until you arrive at Shree Kharka
The trekking path of the day is relatively easy; however, some sections are through the landslide-prone area where you have to be extra conscious, especially during the monsoon/summer season, along the impressive rock formation above, eventually leading to the Tilicho Base Camp.
From the base camp, you can see the majestic Tilicho Peak and other neighboring snowy peaks in stark contrast to the barren lands below and the starry sky above
It is one of the major highlights of the Annapurna Circuit with the Tilicho Lake Yoga Trek when you will finally ascend to the high-altitude, serene, glacial Tilicho Lake. The day begins as usual with a yoga and hearty breakfast, and you follow the ascending trail until you reach the bottom of the surrounding area, offering 360-degree complete mountain views.
After spending some time in the culturally, naturally, and spiritually significant landmark of the Annapurna Trekking region, Tilicho Lake, you will descend to Shree Kharka for the night, retracing the route that you used to ascend, enjoying the beautiful scenery and mind-blowing view one more time.
Like usual, yoga and breakfast in the morning before officially continuing the round trip around the 10th highest mountain peak in the world, Mt. Annapurna (8,091 m). On this day, you will first descend to Khangsar Village before passing through holy ancient monasteries and gompas.
In here, feel free to ask for blessings or simply enjoy the serenity and cross the river to hike up to the plateau to reach Yak Kharka with alpine meadows in the heart of the magnificent Annapurna and Gangapurna ranges
Early morning is yoga time. Thereafter, you will gradually ascend to Thorong Phedi, the last stop before the mighty Thorong La high mountain pass. As you move forward from Yak Kharka to Ledar and then to Phedi, you will see the awesome sunshine view over the legendary mountains along with a change in air.
In between, you will also cross the thrilling river with the help of a suspension bridge usually adorned with prayer flags, offering a touch of spirituality in a serene atmosphere
This day trek is comparatively lengthier than previous ones and begins quite earlier than usual to reach the highest point of the journey, the Thorong La Pass at 5,416 m. The steep climb makes it strenuous, along with the rugged terrain that can be icy and snowy until you arrive at the top marked by a Buddhist flag with a tea shop. In here you can enjoy the hot drinks of your preference before descending to Muktinath.
On the way, you can see the ice lake at the bottom of Thorong Peak, from where the trail descends steeply to the holy sanctum of Muktinath, the renowned Vishnu temple and Buddhist monastery with 108 taps and natural burning gas in about 4 hours of walking. The magnificent views of Mt. Dhaulagiri accompany you throughout the trek of the day, with some high-altitude points providing even the closest sight
After Breakfast drive to Pokhara Via Hot spring. It will take 7-8 Hours from Muktinath to pokhara By drive.
By now, you are almost at the end of the Annapurna Circuit with the Tilicho Lake Yoga Trek. Early in the morning, however, you will practice yoga and then board a tourist bus back to Kathmandu, which goes along the Seti River at first and then the Trishuli River by the Prithvi Highway with the sweeping views of verdant hills, traditional villages, and terraced farms until you make it to the Kathmandu city
from Hotel to airport
This itinerary is not suited for you? Plan your own trip.
What's Included
- 20 nights and 21 days of food ( Breakfast, Lunch and dinner) and accommodation during trek (local lodge)
- Transportation from Kathmandu to trekking departure point and Muktinath to Pokhara by Local bus and Pokhara to Kathmandu by tourist bus.
- English speaking local expert guide, porters(porter carry maximum 20 k.g and one porter between two person)
- Trekkers’ Information Management System (TIMS) fees
- Special restrected permit for Manaslu region
- Annapurna Conservation permit (ACAP)
- MCAP permit (Manaslu Conservation Area Project)
- Tourist service charge, VAT
- Three nights’ accommodation in Kathmandu at bed and breakfast, one night accommodation in Pokhara at bed and breakfast
- Airport transfers and escort
- Farewell dinner in Kathmandu
- Equipment & clothing for porter & staffs
- Equipment (sleeping bag, first aid kit, oximeter etc.)
- Insurance for all staff & porters.
- Trekking achievement certificate
- Adventure Himalayan Tshirt
- Nepal visa - Multiple Entry 30 days - USD 50 (Details in Visa Page)
- International flight
- Insurance for clients (i.e. helicopter evacuation, etc.)
- Lunch & dinner during hotel stay in Kathmandu and Pokhara
- Electronic charging fees at guest houses during the trek
- Hot shower during trek
- Alcoholic drinks, candies, etc.
- Extra accommodation and meals outside of itinerary
- Personal gears & clothing (available on hire)
- Tips, any expenses incurred in emergency evacuation/road block due to any reason, table drinks, snacks while walking.
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Dates and Prices
| Date | Price | Availability | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Start DateStarts: ThursdayApr 24, 2025 | End DateEnds: SundayMay 18, 2025 | PricePriceUS$1875 | StatusStatusAvailable | |
| Start DateStarts: MondayApr 28, 2025 | End DateEnds: ThursdayMay 22, 2025 | PricePriceUS$1875 | StatusStatusAvailable |