Nar Phu Thorong La Pass Trek -21 days

Breakfast and get bus drive to Besishahar for 6 hours. It is also possible to drive by private car or car or Hiance from Kathmandu but it cost addtional cost. Stay night in Besishahar.

Now is the time you move towards a few steep forested ridges along with several landslides en route on the west of the deep valley. You will be treated with some of the most sensational views of Lamjung Himal, Annapurna II, and Annapurna IV (7,525 m/24,688 ft). Small hot springs add relief on your long day hard trek in Chame. Overnight stay in Chame.

Start the day early, as there is a lot of distance to cover. Cross the river and enter the Nar & Phu valleys. Towns on the nearby Annapurna Circuit are relatively well developed, but this is not the case in these valleys. Today’s trekking route passes through beautiful woods, past small cave shelters and pilgrims’ resting places. Emerging from a narrow canyon, the trail passes under a wide waterfall, from which point the woods become thinner and the vistas wider. The last stretch into Meta involves climbing a steep hill, from which there are amazing views of some of the giant snowy peaks in the area. Meta lies on a big open plain and consists of a few lodges, which are simple but clean and offer good meals.

Trekking out of Meta, some of the unique, colorful Tibetan Buddhist chortens that Nar and Phu are famous for begin to appear in sight. The trail meanders along the ridge with a good view of the magnificent Nar Phedi monastery, where you will stay in a few days’ time. After another ninety minutes hiking through scenic canyons and gorges, you’ll reach a monolith that guards the steep trail up to Phu. From here, you can get your first view of the three villages in the area as well as the old “dzong” (Tibetan-style fortress) and the remains of two ruined forts, impressively situated atop the flatlands before the village. Just before crossing the bridge into Phu, a line of wonderful chortens color the landscape. After a rest and refreshments, take a short walk up to the famous Tashi Lhakhang Gompa to pay respects to Lama Karma Sonam Rimpoche who came to Nepal with the Dalai Lama in 1959.

When you hike up either to the summer pasture Ngoru Kharka or to Himlung Base Camp, the view of the majestic Mt Himlung (7125 m) waits you. Explore local culture with awesome life style and visit the most famous Tashi Lhokhang gompa at 4150 m. ‘Phu’ means ‘Head of the Valley’ and the 6364 m pyramid shaped mountain to the north is named after a Nepali wife of Tibetan king Songtseng Gompo, Bhrikuti. Phu village is snow bounded almost completely deserted in winter.

Retrace to Khyang and Jhunam to trail junction which has a clear view of Nar. The trail then drops and passes through the fantastically eroded hoodoos over sandy gules connected by bridge like platform. Look for the ruined Zampa Cho Dzong (a dzong is a fort: zampa is Tibetan for bridge) Cross the bridge to Nar Phedi campsite. Overnight stay in camp or local lodge.

The trail ascends up as you start this day with the view of Kangarun peak passing the Nar gate. The trail curves facing a beautiful view of the Pisang peak. A simple porter shelter with 10 chortens makes a possible campsite, turn to the corner. Then you will see the Nar village curving around barley field in a natural bowl. Nar a home for blue sheep is larger than Phu village. Overnight stay in camp or local lodge.

Explore the Nar Village with the horizon dominated view of Kangaru Himal and Pisang peak. Go to the Guru Cholling Gompa on the top of the village and similarly visit Samten Polgye Ling, Kunsel Dochen choling Gompa and Samdru Choling. Recharge yourself and get prepared for the next day long walk to Kang La pass.

The trail leads through the village with the superb views from Pisang Peak to the yak grazing Alps. Walk through the yak pastures and descend to the head of the valley. Now you have to traverse through a small flat land of Jhambu Kharka alos known as Kang La Phedi. Encounter a stream on a long bridge and climb steeply on Z –shaped path to chorten before curving into the bridge ahead. Climb carefully along the small frozen lake to the pass with the breathtaking view of Pisang Peak over the Annapurna range. Descend down overlooking the picturesque landscape and cinerary which past the yakk and sheep shelters. You finally reach Ngawal after a long-day walk. Overnight stay at local lodge.

Embark upon the Annapurna trail for an easy hike to Manang with the magnificient view of Annapurna II, Gangapurna, Annapurna III, Gandarba Chuli and Pisang Peak. You pass through a famous and huge Braga monastery built way back in the 17th century. It is also worth to make a visit to Gompa on the side of the cliff. After the lunch, go for a short walk through the upstream of the Marshyangdi River to a large modern village Manang with the guest houses having good facilities.

This is day scheduled for climate acclimatization. It is not recommended to stay idle but a short walk to higher altitude is suggested to get acclimatized with the altitude. This is the perfect place to do that as the next two days will be very challenging and tiring trek for us with rapid gain in altitude. We should never be confident with the altitude and always be cautious. Bhojo Gompa or Gangapurna Lake is worth visiting sites from acclimatization point of view. Also worth visiting to the Himalayan Rescue Association after 03:00 PM where we can get some ideas about Mountain Sickness awareness. Overnight stay in Manang.

From the Manang village, the trail crosses a stream climbs to a village of Tenki. It then continues towards the Marshyangdi Valley turning northwest up the valley of Jarsang Khola. The trail follows this valley northward, passing a scrub of juniper trees, as it steady gains altitude. It then reaches near the small village of Ghunsang, a cluster of flat mud roots just below the trailhead also crosses the meadows where the horses and yaks graze. After crossing a small river on a wooden bridge, the trail passes an ancient old Mani wall in a pleasant meadow and then reaches another small village of Yak Kharka. A careful ascent is the best bet to overcome the possible altitude sickness. Overnight stay in Yak Kharka.

As you move to the foot of the pass, Throng Phedi, cross the river at 4310 m then climb up to reach Thorong Phedi. This place, which caters to the needs of trekkers, is also used by some trekkers to go for a hike to the High Camp. But, we do not advice such hike since sleeping in the place higher elevation can pose serious health hazards. As you have a tough day tomorrow, stop at Thorong Phedi so that you can sleep sound. Overnight stay at Thorong Phedi.

We reach the climax of our Annapurna circle trek. It will be a lifetime unforgettable experience- crossing the famous high pass, Thorong La (5416m) Phedi means ‘foot of the hill’ and that’s exactly where it is, at the foot of the 5416m Thorong La. An early start is important to complete the mission. The trail climbs steeply and through the icy high-altitude trail though, the outstanding high Himalayan scenes are such tempting that our eyes love to watch more over the horizon than on our trail. The effort is worthwhile as the view from the top – from Annapurna along the great Barrier to the barren Kali Gandaki valley – is magnificent. We reach Muktinath just before the day light off. . Muktinath is an important pilgrimage place for both Hindus and Buddhist. The area hosts a Vishnu temple and a Monastery nearby demonstrates the religions harmony in Nepal. Overnight stay in Muktinath.

Because of the availability of vehicles (bus/jeep), you can drive today along a plateau above the Kali Gandaki – the world’s deepest gorge. You need to adjust yourself in a public vehicle on a sharing basis. The drive would not be pleasant as the road is rough without any blacktopping. So, it is bumpy and dusty with the magnificent views of Dhaulagiri and Annapurna ranges. . The barren landscape of this area resembles Tibetan Plateau. Upon arriving Tatopani, relax your weary muscles with a dip in one of the hot spring pools. Overnight stay at Tatopani.

While we walk we observe the lifestyle of the people in the midland villages of Nepal. Ghara and Sikha are the villages with terraced and inclined farmlands. We gradually walk steep up to ascent Ghorepani. Passing through the Phalate and Chitre, walking through a no-habitation area through rhododendron, birch, magnolia and some meadows. As we gain height the peaks ahead look wonderful. We stay at Ghorepani to make the climb to Poon Hill (most scenic view point & photographer’s paradise) early next morning. Overnight stay in Ghorepani.

The early morning 45 minutes hike takes you to Poon hill (3210 m/10530 ft). The route offers the appealing glimpses of a rhododendron forest. This brilliant viewpoint provides one with an unobstructed view of the sunrise over the high Himalayas. Mesmerize yourself with the scenes of the far western Himalaya of Dolpo, Mt. Dhaulagiri and Annapurna Himalayas including Mt. Machhapuchre (Fish Tail). After a great time in Poon Hill, trek back to Ghorepani, breakfast and continue trek to Tadapani for overnight.

Today, you walk through the forested and downhill path with the occasional views of the mountain. It leads you towards the Ghandruk village for overnight stop. This is a clean village inhabited by the Gurung community. Explore the surrounding areas, visit the typical museum and simply relax at the hotel.

The trail descends following the stone staircases to Modi Khola and passes through a suspension bridge. It then ascends to the Landrung village. Annapurna South, Hiuchuli and Machapuchhre (Fishtail) are splendidly visible along the route. Walk continues through the scattered trees, bushes and villages to Tolkha. Hereafter, start to ascend steady to Deurali, which will takes approximately two hours. This place offers a breathtaking view of the Pokhara valley including Fewa Lake. Present yourself with another spectacular Himalayan scenery of Annapurna south, right flank Annapurna range and Dhaulagiri mountain, the highest mountain in the westerner Nepal. It is the time to descend gradually through forested slippery red mud trail (during monsoon only) to Pothana, Overnight stay at the hotel.

It is the last day of the trek. Go for an hour-long walk through the ridge with the enthralling views spanning from the right flank Annapurna range to another large village Dhampus. The trail descends down through the scattered villages and paddy fields. Phedi (Pokhara, Baglung, and Highway) Finish the trek before lunch a short drive to Pokhara (22KM, 40 minutes) and transfer to the hotel.

After the breakfast, you’ll visit Nepal Mountaineering Museum & later reach the airport for flying back to Kathmandu. Transfer to the hotel.