Manaslu Circuit Other Routes for off the Beaten Path & Gems of the Hidden.

Manaslu Circuit gives you rugged beauty, authentic culture, and not much else — and that’s a problem, because there’s a secret, off-grid side to this stupendously under-trekked region that an over 99.999% of trekkers can’t be arsed to discover. So many more, so many more I never saw them; for twixt here and Soti Khola and the road to Larkya La pass, there’s a thousand spurs and side-roads and lost monasteries and the tiny villages where the rest of the legends dwell. That’s how you have a better trip — find those places that will never make a top 10 list and see all the things you won’t read in a guidebook. These are the kind of silences and reflections and conversations you can have if you’re sleeping in a rooftop monastery, in a family home-stay, or, as an aside, hiking up to a glacial lake. But they exist, if you’re curious, bend,y, or have friends in the know. So here we bring to you 5 Queer off-the-server trek destinations on the Manaslu Circuit today — where not just your calorie count, but also your soul belly-flops! But if you’re bold enough to deviate even slightly from this well-trodden course, the payoff can be handsome, a vista with views that few others have been motivated to see.

Prok Villags: Many kilometres off, Editorial and Petty, distant.

Prok Hauntingly ignored (and grossly underfunded) by fast-moving trekkers, Prok is a dopey little village on the trail high above Deng and below Namrung; most trekkers get here in a frantic blur of hiking without even realising it’s there. It has the most spectacular views of the Shringi Himal range and a touch more laid-back and authentic (read: less touristy) village feel. Prok is smaller, though, and a rapid ascent that you do not have so many other people, some friendly locals, and a peaceful monastery there to have a first-class sunrise. It’s a great place to take a breather, fuel up — in both the sense that you might get a light lunch at a funky converted-gas station-turned-café and in the sense that you can fill up your car at the station there — and get a sense of local life without the obvious commercialism at some of the busier stops along the route.

Pung Gyen Gompa:” less holy than Manaslu” Pung GyGompampa less holy than Manaslu. Pure monk: a little less holy than Manaslu. The most important of the Gompas in southern Nupri (known for its delectable teahouse) is the Pung Gyen Gompa.

Pung Gyen Gompa The Pung Gyen Gompa sits high on the hillside above Shyala, and it's another non-trekker’s delight. The monastery, rather remote, lies below the huge Manaslu massif and is in a stunning position that feels like real wilderness. It’s a few hours there and back and might have some snow in early spring or late fall, but definitely worth the trek. For days on end, you can think more or less without cease, your only interruptions coming in the form of a gang of flapping prayer flags — oh, and the ceaseless spectacle of glaciers, of sky.

Take Birendra, a peaceful detour to Samagaun. Picture by: Elina Sinisalo.

Samagaun. Just a brief walk up the hill from Samagaun, this gem remains unnoticed by trekkers on their way up to Manaslu Base Camp. Underneath milky cliffs, the valley boasts a cold, azure lake, a paradise to counteract a number of the hardships of tramping. Do it in the morning, as early as you can, when the lake is mirrored glass and the peaks reflected before the wind gets anywhere near the surface. It's a good acclimation hike, and an opportunity to sit in quiet meditation. Grab your thermos of tea, and you’ll have a little beachside Himalayan moment that will stay with you the rest of your days.

And for the explorers, there is Kal Tal — or Kala Lake — an alpine lake high in the valley above Prok village. Stare at the bizarre color of this dark green alpine lake and love it! The baby, more difficult trail is for guides only. But the effort is worth it: pure wilderness, expansive views, and dead silence. This one is right up there, and right out there for anyone genuinely turned off by the (entirely civilized) crowds on Manaslu.

Lihi and Sho: Frozen in Time Villages

Village cluster underneath Lihi and Sho (stepped off the trail coming to Lho from Namrung) that is catastrophic to whiz through, but magic if you loaf. With their delicately chiseled mani walls and weathered-stone houses and fields where the snow peaks can linger, they offer a glimpse of the forever slow cadence of high altitude life. Do stop along the way, for a cup of tea with local families, a visit to the minute little monasteries that fleck the hills, or just for life to deliver itself to you. These aren’t destinations to travel to — they’re things to do, events with a kind of cultural density so dense, if not quite opaque, that it serves to muffle the whirring sounds of everyday life.

Manaslu Circuit V/S Everest Base Camp on Your Trek Pass?

Sure, the Manaslu Circuit is harder than the hike to Everest Base Camp. Each climb to lofty elevations, however, Manaslu endows a more feel of barrenfeelingn, and more of conventional subculture and architecture, even as imparting longer hiking days, a wilder sense, a greater expanse of wild use, and much less improvement. The Larkya La Pass (5160m) is lower than the EBC (5364m), yet the lead up to this is much, much tougher due to less stuff to see/do along the way and much more physical. There are fewer trekkers, and Manaslu is more remote, with less health care and fewer helicopter rescues. That’s Manaslu for you, hard-core trekking for hard-core trekkers, trekking for people with some, but not all, of the wherewithal.

Manaslu Circuit Trek: Do I need a Guide/Porter?

Yes, you can rent a Manaslu Circuit Trek through a camp guide. It’s also a conservation area, which means every hiker needs a guide and a porter (not a guide). Oh, and let’s not forget the special permits (Manaslu Restricted Area Permit, Manaslu Conservation Area Permit, and Annapurna Conservation Area Permit) you also need to organize through a registered trekking agency. No solo walking/hiking in this area.

What Does Manaslu Mean?

Manaslu's name comes from the Sanskrit phrase manasa and is taken from the mountain’s lengthy ridges and valley glaciers, meaning Mountain of the Spirit. So here, rather, is the enveloping “Mountain of the Spirit” for Manaslu. The mountain (it stands at 8,163m) is sacred because it’s tied up with Buddhism; the people who live in the Manaslu Circuit – the bit of the area around the mountain where people who go trekking sleep at night – have, as far back as anyone can recall, lived Tibetan lives and civilizations. It is a sacred place to local Tibetan Buddhist followers.