Trekking holidays into Manang
| country: | Nepal |
| location: | Annapurna |
| trip type: | High altitude, moderate trekking holidays |
| departures: | This trip can be arranged to depart at a time to suit your requirements |
| price: | From GBP1600 (18 days) including domestic flights only, as per itinerary, for a minimum of 6 persons. Price includes all meals whilst on trek & accommodation, permit, guide, transport & transfers |
| vouchers: | Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday |
introduction to Trekking holidays into Manang
Lo Manthang – the name itself conjures up a sense of mystique, and that is what you get. Trekking in the area, walking in the villages, meeting the inhabitants, savoring the local sights and sounds, is completely magical. Its the thinner air (above 3000 meters), the simple friendly people, the stark mesmerizing moonscape, the deeply pious mystique that emanates from deep rooted Buddhism, or something, but its there, and you can feel it.
No photographs adequately capture what you see, and no words can really describe what you experienced on this trip. It is something that stays with you forever – your journey and yours alone. Enough said! A trip into Upper Mustang is a trip of a lifetime! You will never forget it. Period.
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Arrival Kathmandu. Met by representative and taken to Hotel. Evening cultural dinner and detailed orientation. |
| Day 2: | Kathmandu. We leave this day for orientation and planning of the trip, but secretly its also a padding to account for any delays in flights. We make best use of this day by conducting a tour of the city to see the melting pot that is Kathmandu valley. A quick eye-opener on what Kathmandu has to offer. |
| Day 3: | Pokhara. Today we travel to Pokhara, the lake town, set in the foothills of the Annapurna Massif. We can do this either by road transport, slightly greener, but long (6 hours), or flight, where our footprint will be bigger, but its short (20 minutes). Overnight Pokhara |
| Day 4: | Jomsom – Kagbeni. We fly early to Jomsom, collect our porters and start the short 2.5 hours trek to Kagbeni, at the border of Upper Mustang. We visit the 500+ year old monastery here and start getting a taste of things to come. |
| Day 5: | Tsaile. Today we check in at the ACAP offices and register our permits for Upper Mustang and start the trek up the Kali Gandaki to Tsaile. Six hours. |
| Day 6: | Syangmochen. This is a uphill day, as we go uphill first to Samar for lunch and then select either the “nepali flat” way via Bhena or the one via the cave Gompa. Six hours. |
| Day 7: | Tsarang. It’s a long day today, as we go over three mountains passes, two before we reach our lunch location of Ghami, and one when we make the final trek to Tsarang. |
| Day 8: | Lo Manthang. This morning we start a bit late, exploring the Gompa and the Palace at Tsarang first before we do the four hour or so trek to Lo Manthang. |
| Day 9: | Lo Manthang. A day of exploration at Lo Manthang. |
| Day 10: | Lo Manthang. Free day at Lo Manthang to make side excursion on horseback to Chhoser and Chhonup or to just rest and continue the exploration of Lo Manthang. |
| Day 11: | Ghami. Our trudge back comes via another route, the higher one going over two high mountain passes and visiting the 8th Century Mingma sect Gompa at Lo Ghakar. |
| Day 12: | Samar. We retrace our steps, the only new part being to choose the alternative route from Syangmochen to Samar. |
| Day 13: | Chhuksang. A relatively easy day as we come back to the Kali Gandaki river and walk the river bank to Chhuksang. |
| Day 14: | Muktinath and Jharkot. Today we take a diversion and walk uphill to reach the fabled temple of Muktinath, and stay overnight at the lovely village of Jharkot. |
| Day 15: | Jomsom. We slowly retrace our steps to Jomsom. We can also do this with a jeep if we so want. |
| Day 16: | Pokhara. Early morning flight back to Pokhara and rest. |
| Day 17: | Kathmandu. Flight back to Kathmandu and rest. Evening farewell dinner. |
| Day 18: | Departure. |
travelling with a local operator
This holiday is operated by a company based in the holiday destination and they will be able to provide expert local knowledge. They will be able to tailor make your holiday to suit your requirements not only concerning the dates of travel but also typically the standard of accommodation, and thus price. It is rare for local operators to be able to help with the booking of your flights.how this holiday makes a difference
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We are Nepali company and travel through this company makes a direct impact in the economy of Nepal. We also try to maximise its contribution to the local economy by hiring local guides and porters for these trips and staying in smaller lodges to spread the income.
The company does not vertically integrate and sub-contracts all support activites like transportation, lodging etc. so that the money gets spread in the economy. It conserves on paper minimising paperwork in the office and by giving out electronic brochures. When required, brochures are printed on both sides of the paper and are in a folder format so that only relevant inserts need be given. We also have in place a development support system whereby 10% of its profits go to charities like the Joy Foundation Nepal who conduct free cataract eye camps in rural areas of Nepal and Antardristi Nepal, which is developing a fund to start a incest and rape care centre for minors. 10% of the company's profits also goes directly into employee benefits. Through the snow leopard trek, part of proceeds will support snow leopard conservation efforts. In the field, guides, porters and clients are all oriented in responsible travel. A zero litter policy is in place so that it minimises wastage in the region. We also only take out very small groups with a maximum of twelve participants per group. All trips also focus on culture. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |