1. By bus from Kathmandu to Gorkha.
Climb stairway to hilltop above town to visit temple.
Descend to Darondi Khola and encamp near Chorkate on grassy
slopes amid
tall trees.
2. Proceed up broad ridge through
picturesque villages and farmlands.
Views of the Ganesh Himal.
Camp in grounds of school at Chittri Pokhari.
Views of the Annapurna Himal.
3. Continue along and up the ridge with
views of the Manaslu Himal ahead, the
Annapurnas to the west and the Ganesh Himal to the east.
Camp in a grassy amphitheatre below Cilladabi.
4. Continue along and up the ridge with
good views of the Annapurnas, Himalchuli
and the Baudha Peak to Bhachok ( Ghayachak ).
Continue along ridge and camp on terraces before the Tamang
village of Sirandan.
5. Proceed through Sirandan ( the last
village until reaching Ngyak ) and on up ridge.
View over to the Ganesh Himal.
Continue into forest and camp in clearing/ gai kharka ( cow
pasture ) on ridge.
6. Proceed through forest.
From a large clearing there is a good view of Himalchuli and the
Baudha Peak
and the way ahead to the ridge to be crossed.
Exit from forest onto open moorland.
Beyond moorland climb through rhododendron and fir to open,
boulder-strewn
slopes. Camp in large amphitheatre on steep hillside.
View back down valley.
7. A steep 2 hour climb over steep, scrub-covered,
boulder-strewn hillside, ( no path )
to crest of ridge ( c4000metres ).
View across a narrow valley to a snow-covered outlier of the
Baudha Peak and
eastwards to the Ganesh Himal.
Steep descent to stream in valley floor.
Proceed down the valley and make rising traverse up and round a
broad shoulder.
Views of Ganesh Himal.
Continue round then descend through rhododendron into next valley
and camp
beside stream in small clearing amongst bamboo beneath high,
rocky hillsides.
8. Head up valley for short distance and
cross bridge.
Proceed downstream making a rising traverse to top of spur.
Continue down crest of spur.
View down into the Darondi Khola Valley beneath high rocky ridge.
Contour round hillside crossing adversely sloping slabs.
Descend steeply into a narrow side-valley.
Head down to the Darondi Khola and proceed up-river through old
forest.
At a side-stream go up to bridge and cross into pine forest.
Emerge onto open, boulder-strewn scrubland beneath high, rock
mountainsides.
Continue upstream for short distance to Rupina La base camp.
9. Proceed up to valley head and climb
steep hillside.
Camp on grassy terraces of Rupina La high camp. ( 1/2 day )
10. Alpine start.
Ascend steep hillside and traverse onto ridge.
A faint path continues up the ridge to a small plateau.
Make a rising traverse along the hillside onto boulder fields and
continue to
reach the Rupina La ( c4600metres ).
Spectacular view of the Baudha Peak and vast, glaciated
amphitheatre.
Steep descent from col to boulder fields.
( rope, ice-stakes required if hard snow/ ice )
Contour round onto grassy slopes and descend into the Chhuling
Valley.
Camp near stream on grassy flats beside birch forest.
Magnificent situation amongst high, snow-capped peaks.
11. Proceed downstream for a short distance
and climb to crest of a lateral
moraine. Descend the steep, loose scree onto the glacier moraine
and cross
to ablation valley on far side.
Cross pleasant grassy meadows into fir forest.
Good view across a small lake to the twin tops of the Shringi
Himal.
Ascend onto the moraine of the Chhuling Glacier.
Spectacular view up to the Baudha Peak and down the glacier to
the Ganesh and
Shringi Himal.
On far side of glacier descend into birch and fir forest and head
down-valley.
Emerge into and camp in open meadows above the Chhuling Khola.
Good view up to the Baudha Peak.
12. Continue down the valley through
conifer forests.
Emerge onto open hillsides high above the river.
Good view back to the Chhuling Glacier and the Baudha Peak and
ahead to
the Ganesh Himal.
Contour along hillside and descend through small terraced fields.
Camp near a small farm.
13. Climb to a spur for a final view up
Chhuling Valley to the Baudha Peak.
Long steep descent into the Buri Gandaki Valley over open
hillside to the
picturesque, compact, Gurung village of Ngyak surrounded by stone-walled
fields.
Leave Ngyak on a level path between grain fields.
A short climb leads to chorten on the top of a spur.
Long, steep, winding descent to the riverside.
Continue alongside the Buri Gandaki confined in a deep, gloomy
gorge beneath
high rock walls and cross side-stream into the tibetan hamlet of
Deng.
14. Proceed up-river to cross a long,
suspension bridge.
Climb stone staircase to a high level path traversing the
valleyside.
Continue through meagre terraces and scattered dwellings.
Many walls of mani-stones and intricate Buddhist drawings. Also
multi-tiered
chorten some with archways decorated with colourful paintings.
Towering rock precipices comparable to the Dolomites or Yosemite.
Recross river on a metal, box bridge and continue through forest.
Camp at Namru. ( A long day )
15. Police checkpoint. ( There is also a
health post )
After Namru the valley widens into a scenic, alpine one with
terraced fields flanked
by conifer forests and sheer-sided mountains.
Views up side-valleys to snow peaks and ahead to Manaslu.
Continue through the large, straggling village of Lho with its
huge mani-wall.
Descend beyond Lho to the riverside and proceed uphill into
forest.
Continue and camp in a large, level clearing/ yak kharka with
some stone huts.
Good views of Manaslu and its satellite peaks. ( A long day )
16. Continue for a short distance through
forest and across a side-stream to emerge
onto a wide, grassy plain with large, multi-tiered chorten
leading to the compact
village of Samagaon - the main settlement in the upper Buri
Gandaki Valley.
Beyond Samagaon there is gentle walk over level moorland with
superb views
of Manaslu followed by a short steep climb up to the cluster of
houses at Samdo.
Fine view down valley of the long, serrated ridge of the Manaslu
Himal.
17. Descend to the Buri gandaki, now
reduced to a mere stream, and head west up
into a side-valley. Continue to the solitary stone hut of Darma
Sala ( c4460metres )
Views back down valley to Samdo beneath Mt.Pang Puchi and up a
glaciated
side-valley to Manaslu.
Camp on grassy flats beside hut. ( 1/2 day )
18. Early start required to reach pass
before mid-day to avoid high winds.
Proceed up-valley alongside a moraine wall and past a glacier
lake.
Continue onto undulating moraine and on to a second lake.
Final steeper, snow-field up to cairns of Larkya La ( c5200metres
)
Not a difficult pass but there would be route finding problems in
poor visibility.
View back down moraine flanked by a ridge of jagged, snow peaks.
From the col snow fields lead up to the nearby Larkya La Peak.
Cross broad top and descend over steep, rough scree to broad,
meadows of an
ablation valley. View ahead on the descent of the Peri Himal.
Camp at huts at far end of meadow beneath Mt.Phungi - an outlier
of Manaslu.
Climb to the crest of the moraine wall for view up glacier to the
peaks of the
Peri Himal.
19. Proceed down into the forested valley
of the Dudh Khola beneath the huge
snow-bowls, ridges and glaciers of the north-western aspect of
Manaslu.
Continue to the Gurung village of Tilje where there is a nice
campsite in a
secluded orchard at the lower end of the village. A long day.
20. From Tilje it is only a short distance
to the police checkpoint at Thonje in the
Marsayangdi Valley on the main trail of the Annapurna circuit.