Nar Phu Valley Trek - 19 Days

The representative of Himalayan trekkers will receive you at the Tribhuvan International Airport. They will be in possession of your nameplate or the companies name as per your correspondence with us. You will be transferred to the hotel and the trek guide will meet you in the evening for dinner. During the meal, you can discuss your queries (if any). He/she will brief you about some cultural issues and some necessary things to keep into consideration during the trek.

Early in the morning, the staff from Himalayan trekkers will meet you to collect your passport copy and photographs (if not sent via email) for the preparation of Trekking permit and TIM’s card. After breakfast you will be taken for half-day sightseeing of the Kathmandu Durbar Square and Swayambhunath temple, also referred to as the Monkey temple. Both are UNESCO world heritage sites. In the afternoon you can have some free time with the guide around Thamel to do some last-minute shopping for things you might need for the trek.

With the right amount of enthusiasm and spirit, we start the trek. We will drive along the Prithvi Highway to Dumre. From here we take a rough road by the Marshyangdi River. We pass through a few low-lying villages and rice fields and drive for around 6 hours until we reach Besi Sahar. Besi Sahar, a small market area on the banks of River Marshyangdi is the Headquarter of Lamjung District. From Besi Sahar, our drive will be adventurous and in between mountains regions with a varied landscape and natural beauty. We will drive a further 3 hours to reach Chyamche for our overnight stay.

We will descend until the trail reaches the river and then walk through a lush green forest. After an hour of walking, we will come across Chamje village. We will further continue to Sattale. On treading along a succession of rock-strewn trails, we descend to a grassy riverbank that leads to Tal. As we walk away from Tal, the path becomes more rugged and winding. From here we reach Karte that is located in the midst of a forest. Walking along the cliffs and waterfall we will reach the Dharapani, our final destination for an overnight stay.

After breakfast, we will proceed further and continue through the narrow village trail keeping the Dudh Khola to our left. The Dudh Khola originates from the southern face of Manaslu. Further on, the Marshyangdi River enters a gorge and the trails follow the rock-strewn path. We will stop for a while to enjoy the majestic and impressive view of the Manaslu before the inclined ends and the forest of rhododendron starts. Walking further up we will reach the hamlet of Koto, from where you can have the most awe-inspiring view of Annapurna II and surrounding peaks.

The walk today starts amidst the smaller jungle paths, contrary to the bigger trails around Annapurna. After a couple of hours walk, we climb up gradually towards Choto (2840m). After crossing the frequent ups and downs we reach the Nar Phu Khola. At an altitude of 3090m, we cross a suspension bridge; here the valley is very narrow and just before the bridge there are some hot springs. The rock-carved path now becomes very exciting, as the trail seems more adventurous and there are hot water springs along the trail.

After breakfast, we will cross the Methang River and start walking through the Methang pastures. This area is dotted with a lot of small and big Chortens and also offers a panoramic view of the Kang Guru. Further, on we pass the abandoned Methang village (3,560m); from the village, there is a path to Kang Guru BC. The next village we pass by is Chaku village, with a thin population of about 150 inhabitants. Further on we reach our overnight destination, the upper Chaku village. The walk will last for about 5 hours today.

We begin our 6 hours long walk and take the hard steep climb to the abandoned Kyan village Vhaku. We continue to walk on an amazing tunnel carved rocky path 70 meters above the river and then go down to the riverbed. Walking by the river, we will pass some Mani Chortens. We then climb up from hereto the Phu valley entrance door (Phuohii Yalgoe). About an hour from the valley entrance we cross the Phu Khola and begin climbing up to the village. Phu village consists of about 30 houses, which are home to about 150 people.

We have walked many days to reach Phu so we will spend one extra day here to enjoy the natural beauty of the area and to meet the local Phu people to know their culture and hospitality. From here, Tibet is two long days away so it is fair for a visit, however; we walk up the valley to the summer grazing settlement or “Kharka” at Ngoru, which is a couple of hours walk past the Gompa. Phu itself is the most stunning village and we can easily spend a day here by sitting with the local people or playing with the local kids. Phu people might be busy with spinning the Yak and Sheep wool, Pound mustard seeds into a paste for oil or engage in fields or grazing the animals. For those who love photography, the light is impressive and the sky is deep blue or even you can see some Blue Sheep on the hillside.

Himalayan trekkers provide another option for those which have lots of energy can hike towards the east through glacial valley heads up to Himlung Himal Base Camp (4520m), which is recently open for climbing. There are very few expeditions for this peak as well as nearby Gyanji Kang. Views are mouthwatering. For another group of people, hike west past Phu towards Chortens on the hillside gives marvelous views down over Phu and the surrounding valleys, fields, forts and of course peaks. A stroll through the village will involve an invitation into someone’s place for some typical and authentic Tibetan salt butter tea or maybe some glass of local “Raksi” if you want to taste.

Today, most of the trail goes down passing through many suspension bridges and streams until we reach Mahendra Pul, takes us approximately 4 hours. We also cross the high suspension bridge of 80m over the gorge of Lapche River. In the meantime we have lunch at Mahendra Pul and start walking, the trail sharply ascends crossing many Buddhist stupas until Nar Village which takes approximately 2 hours. Moreover, we find many Buddhist Monasteries to visit with the stunning view of Pisang Peak and other snow-capped peaks. We stay overnight at Nar Village, which is one of the small but beautiful villages filled with unique lifestyle and culture of Bhotia and Gurung which is quite similar to Tibetan. These people still follow the ancient civilization and Yak herding, agriculture, farming is their main occupations.

The 7/ 8 hours long walk today starts after a nice healthy breakfast. We have to cross the big Kang La pass (5280m). It is a very steep climb to the top of the pass where there are a nice Chorten and some great views of the Annapurna massif, Chulu peak. Kang La is not a difficult pass as people say in favorable conditions, however; it can be a long and difficult day if the trail is covered with snow. Just before we reach the pass there is a small lake where we take a rest before making the final step to reach the top. From the top of the pass, it is a very steep downhill course, but after an hour we will reach a grassy path which will lead us to Ngawal. On the way, we can see the unique house made up of the big stone roof and many other unique landscapes comprising Massive Annapurna II, Tilicho Peak, Gangapurna and other snow-capped mountains. Here, you can find both restaurants and lodges for an overnight stay.

Note: From this spot you have two options if you have limited time, you can either follow the same route via Dharapani, Besi Sahar and return back to Kathmandu or if you have enough time you can continue your trek.

We can see the beautiful view of Manang Valley and the Tilicho Peak (7132m) as we come down from Manang's airstrip. After walking for some time we reach a spot from where we can see the north-east face of Annapurna III. We will further walk ahead through the Chirkyu Khola Valley, which flows from Ice Lake and is the center of attraction of this place, from where you can have an awe-inspiring view of the grand Annapurna IV, which stands at 7525m. Further on, we cross a wooden bridge, as the Marshyangdi Khola gushes below us after which we enter the village of Munje. We continue to climb down until we reach Manang with the panoramic view of Annapurna II, Annapurna III, Annapurna IV, Gangapurna [7455m] and Tilicho Peak [7134m] all around us.

After a night’s rest, we will be ready to take Thorung La. We start our trek after breakfast. We will climb to Tengi, 120meters above Manang and ascend further past Marshyangdi Valley turning north-west up the valley of the Jarsing Khola and continue further to Gunsang (3960 m), a small village with houses that have flat roofs made up of mud. We will walk past picturesque meadows and rich forests of barberry, juniper, etc. On the way, we would also be able to see horses and yaks grazing. We will continue walking and cross the large stream coming down from the Chulu west and follow the trail until we reach a rich pasture at 4000 meters.

Leaving Letdar, we climb gradually to a ridge that descends to the headwaters of the Marshyangdi. We will take the crossing via a covered wooden bridge. After a short ascent up the mountain path on the right bank, we follow a narrow trail across an unstable steep slope and then descend to Thorung Phedi.

This is the most exciting day of the trek as we will be crossing the Thorung La [5416m], the highest mountain pass. So we start early for the climb and then the downhill trek. The trail is very steep but well defined and easy to track as it has been used by the villagers for hundreds of years now. The walk is uphill and strenuous for the next four hours until we reach a place with prayer flags and a small stupa/ chorten. From up here, we can see the majestic snow-capped mountains, rolling hills of Mustang and the beautiful Valley of Kaligandaki. After a brief rest, we start our descent in the direction of Muktinath (3800m). We take a path along the Jhong Khola Valley to Muktinath, a popular pilgrimage in the Himalayan region for both Hindus and Buddhist.

Coming down the mountain in the morning you will find yourself in Jharkot and Khingar, where there are beautiful monasteries which give you an opportunity to experience the interrelation and similarity of the Tibetan culture to that of the people living in this area. One cannot really get over the awesome view of Dhaulagiri and Nilgiri throughout the trail. We walk past Kagbeni to reach Jomsom along the banks of River Kali Gandaki. Jomsom is the Headquarter of Mustang district and we can spend some time here to explore the area and interact with the locals.

Since Jomsom lies in the mountainous region so there is always an early flight to Pokhara as in the morning the days are clear and also the flight duration is about 20 minutes. Similarly, Pokhara is also known as “city of Lake” and is one of the most popular places for foreigners after Kathmandu. There are lots of interesting things to see in Pokhara. So when you are in Pokhara don’t miss to visit the popular landmarks of Pokhara.

Today either you can fly to Kathmandu which will be 30 minutes worthy flight where you can see the changing natural vegetation with Himalayan Range or you can drive from Pokhara. The drive will be scenic and you will get the opportunity to experience the highway of Nepal.

You can depart from Kathmandu to your home country or extend the trip and head for another trip within or outside Nepal.