Nar Phu Valley Trek with Annapurna Circuit - 13 days

Today we walk over the off road yet there is a walking path in the meantime. We could directly travel by jeep to Koto but starting trekking from low altitude helps our body to acclimatize.  We pass thought beautiful villages Bagarchhap and Danaque and reach to Koto, overnight lodge  

Our trek to Nar Phu valley begins from Koto, we just leave off Annapurna circuit route and join the rug trail towards north west. The trail leads us through the pine forest, rocky topography in the surrounding and the views of Annapurna and Lamjung Himal. We will have a lunch stop at Dharamhala Village and further walk to Meta, an overnight lodge.

Today is a bit of a long day as there is no proper lodge to stay in between. Traverse through the past Buddhist chortens with the picturesque view of nature and alpine flora fauna. We pass canyons, small gorges and Tibetan like forts within today and crossing a suspension bridge gets us to Phu Village, an overnight hotel.   

The Village has Beautiful and barren landscape, Tibetan influenced architecture in the Gompas and monasteries, natural diversity and the lifestyle of the locals are highlights. This hidden valley shall display the religious practices of the local Lama, Gurung, and Ghale community, the Tashi Lakhang Monastery (supposedly the last monastery built by Karmapa Rinpoche) along with the marvelous view of the Himlung peak and its sibling peaks in the region.Today is a bit of a long day as there is no proper lodge to stay in between. Traverse through the past Buddhist chortens with the picturesque view of nature and alpine flora fauna. We pass canyons, small gorges and Tibetan like forts within today and crossing a suspension bridge gets us to Phu Village, an overnight hotel.   

The Village has Beautiful and barren landscape, Tibetan influenced architecture in the Gompas and monasteries, natural diversity and the lifestyle of the locals are highlights. This hidden valley shall display the religious practices of the local Lama, Gurung, and Ghale community, the Tashi Lakhang Monastery (supposedly the last monastery built by Karmapa Rinpoche) along with the marvelous view of the Himlung peak and its sibling peaks in the region.

The day begins after crossing the suspension bridge. We traverse through the cultural Nar Phu valley with amazing alpine terrain. Today we can attend the evening prayers with nuns in the local monastery. We may try to share dinner prepared by nuns. We are suggested for donations or charity to the local monastery, it’s always welcoming- it is globally said that “charity makes rich”.   

Today is a very useful day for us as we have to reserve the energy and stay mentally strong for the Kang La pass expedition.

Beautifully settled farming village Nar –a bowl like valley good for cultivation such as barley, potatoes, cabbage and carrot. The local people speak “Sino Tibetan language” which is a different dialect from the rest of Manang. Overnight lodge

We start our journey early today as we try being at pass to get the sun rising. First one hour to Kangla Phedi is easy going and then it’s long and hard ascending uphill to Kang La Pass, the height of Kang La pass is 5306m/17,404ft. Panoramic views of Annapurna, Pisang Peak, Gangapurna, Lamjung Himal and many snowcapped peaks are seen from the pass.

A straight forward but steep descent is encountered down the pass as a part of the path consists of moraine and some part has grassy terrain as we move towards Ngawal and continue walking to Manang. The straight descent could be strenuous.

We will have a marvelous breakfast with fresh beans and coffee at the hotel and start a short hike to Gangapurna glacial lake by crossing Maryangdi river, well this river seems a little creaky now. The lake is sometimes covered with snow and frozen, which looks like an ice skating spot. We further walk towards glacier moraine which comes through Gangapurna peak to capture the picturesque view of Manang village, Tengi Manang including a rocky hill standing next to Manang.

We have a few more options to explore from Manang likewise walking around the village and walking to old Mnanang village. Or we ascend to the Lama Cave to see the panoramic Himalayan vistas in the opposite direction of Gangapurna Lake. The Lama cave is just nestled in the rocky formed hill from which you see the wide and droned like view of Manang Valley, glaciers and panoramic white Himalaya series one after another.  This Lama Cave is also known as the hundred rupees Lama Cave where a Lord Buddha blessed Lama Couple used to stay. People who visit here are supposed to contribute 100 rupees. This contribution helped them to live and keep a cave neat and clean.  

We follow the main Annapurna trek by leaving Tilicho Base Camp and Tilicho Peak climbing route at Manang, the height of Tilicho Peak is 71,34m/23,400ft. Gradual ascent to Yak Kharka is easy going, yet we feel our breathing as we are at the high altitude. We pass through the nice tea shops during the day. Yak Kharkha is not a special village, there are only a few lodges for trekkers to stay overnight. 

We broke through tree line vegetation from Nar Phu Village. We are walking through the stark landscape, and there is a landslide area in between and stones are falling down from the mountain, close attention is required.

The mountain deer, Himalayan Thar and Snow leopard can be seen during the day. Take a lunch at Thorong Phedi and be ready for another an hour steep climbing to reach high Camp, overnight lodge

We start our journey with a cup of coffee and take a packed lunch that we had ordered last night. Take a couple of boiled warm water in thermos for the day. To reach the Thorong La Pass may not be that hard as we did Kang La a few days back and we started our today’s journey from high camp. The altitude of Thorong La Pass is 5,416/17,764ft

The Aquakang peak just above your head is towering. We explore the majestic view towards Mustang and White Mountains beyond the mustang valley. Trekking from Thorong La Pass to Muktinath could be strenuous for those who has problem with knee or ankle as it’s long way down.

Whilst descending we will have picturesque landscape towards Mustang area, Kali Gandaki valley and many white Himalaya peaks in the border of Nepal and Tibet.
Once reaching Phedi, we can have a cup of tea or coffee with come snacks and we follow the rugged and rocky path to Muktinath temple. This temple is reflective religious significance for Hindus and Buddhist both. We will have a lunch break at Muktinath and take a local jeep sharing to Jomsom through Kagbeni village along the Kali Gandaki River, overnight at lodge.

We take a thrilling mountain flight to Pokhara, it’s about a 25mnts flight. During this flight we can see the towering Himalayan peaks such as Annapurna and its series, Dhaulagiri, Nilgiri, Tukuche Peak, Lamjung Himal, Fishtail and many more snow-captured white peaks. Flying over the world's deepest gorge in Larjung Village and massive Dhaulagiri glacier view through the window is tremendous looking. Landing in Pokhra and transferring to a hotel.

We will have an early breakfast at the hotel and take a deluxe tourist bus to Kathmandu. We leave beautiful Pokhara city and travel through the Prithvi Highway along the Seti River and Trisuli River.  Pass small towns like Khaireni, Tharpu, Damauli and reach Dumre. Road splits at Dumre for Besisahar. Road journey from Dumre to Kathmandu is the same as we took in the beginning to start the trek. Bus ride takes about 7-8 hours to reach Kathmandu, overnight hotel