Manaslu Circuit Trek

Welcome Package

You’re going to Nepal

Get stoked!

We’re stoked to be embarking on this journey together. To help you prepare for the adventure of a lifetime (no hyperbole!,) we’ve put together this digital welcome package. It’s got everything you’ll need to know, arranged chronologically as it relates to preparation for your trip around the Manaslu Circuit.

Once you’ve explored the welcome kit, we’ll set up a video consultation so that you can ask questions, get clarity, and discover even more to stoke your fire.

Things to Do, Now

Now that your trek is booked, there are a few things that are better done now, rather than later.

Complete your personal profile

Let’s get to know each other! Submitting this form will help us to best accommodate your preferences and needs while in Nepal.

Check your passport’s expiration date

Covid was a time vortex! If your passport will expire within six months of our trip (or if you don’t currently have an active passport,) go ahead and sort out a new one now—just to be safe. The more of a buffer that you have to do this before the trip, the easier, less stressful, and less expensive the process will be.

Book your flights

To get the best price, book your flights to-and-from Nepal ASAP. You should arrive by October 1st, and depart after October 15th. You’ll want to fly into Kathmandu (KTM.) The best flight option is usually via Qatar Airways, with a connection in Doha (DOH.)

The journey tends to take around 24 hours each way (give-or-take a few,) but fortunately, Qatar Airways operates one of the nicest commercial fleets on the planet—and Hamad International Airport is routinely voted as the best in the world.

You’ll be crossing lots of time zones as you travel, so be sure to pay close attention to the landing dates. You’ll want to account for two days of travel en route to Nepal; and one day for the return home.

If you anticipate wanting to spend some extra time in Nepal after the trip, Pokhara is Nepal’s second-largest and most-scenic city; and it’s a great place for digital nomads—so plan accordingly.

Condition your body to move

We’ll be doing a lot of walking on the Manaslu Circuit Trek; and a lot of it will be uphill. Sixteen weeks out from the trek, Transcendent will provide a detailed training plan that’s tailored to our goal, but it’s a good idea to start conditioning your body right now.

Do some sit ups after you roll out of bed. Get your 10,000 steps in. Take the stairs. Walk the dog—twice. These easy-to-integrate practices will pay dividends down the line.

summer Checklist

Getting warmer.

Start training

We’ll send you a specialized training plan, created by Summation Athletics, to start on-or-around June 11th. It’s not mandatory to follow the training plan, but it will provide some fantastic structure and a gradual path towards fitness in the months leading up to the trek. It’ll get you moving, it’ll get you outside. And it’ll make the walk up to nearly 17,000’ over Larke La infinitely easier.

Get your gear

If you’ve already done some hiking and backpacking, chances are, you’ll own a lot of the gear that you need for the Manaslu Circuit Trek. For anything else you might require, consider shopping during Memorial Day, 4th of July, or Labor Day to get the best deals and discounts.

Complete your balance payment

The remainder of your trip balance payment is due on August 15th, via electronic transfer. We’ll send an email reminder as well as payment instructions three weeks before it’s due.

Wake me up when September ends.

Last month before go-time!

These are the vaccines that the CDC and WHO recommend for Nepal:

COVID-19

Hepatitis A

Hepatitis B

Typhoid

Cholera

Yellow Fever

Rabies

Polio

For more information, check out the CDC Nepal page.

Consider Travel Vaccinations

Aquire travel insuranCE

We recommend World Nomads’s Standard Plan coverage for the entire duration of your trip.

This is not required for the Manaslu Circuit Trek, but in the event that you want to rent a car or motorcycle during a personal extended stay, the IDP is inexpensive and easy to acquire from your local AAA.

Buy an International Driving Permit

The Week Before

So. Damn. Soon.

Share your travel info with Transcendent

Use this form so that we can coordinate your airport pickup, hotel transfer, and initial rendezvous.

Complete your packing list

We’ve made a Google Sheet template to make it easy. Just make a copy of it as a new Sheet and fill in your deets.

Pack!

Use the packing list to ensure that everything makes it into your bags. Don’t forget to take one of those fun layout pics!

The Big Day

Here weeee go!!!

Withdraw some cash

It’s always good to travel with some of your national currency, in case of emergencies. We recommend bringing $200, tucked away somewhere safe; only to be used if absolutely necessary.

Additionally, bring $50 cash to cover the Visa On Arrival Fee

Nepal is a cash-centric country, but fortunately, it’s easy to make ATM withdrawals in the local currency, Nepalese Rupees (approx. $1 = 131 NPR) for souvenirs, snacks, etc.

Arrival

The arrival process after disembarking in Kathmandu can feel a little chaotic, but we’ve got you covered. Follow these steps and you’ll make it through:

  1. Use a kiosk to complete a Tourist Visa form. Chances are, it won’t print, so take a picture of the completed screen with your phone.

  2. Proceed to the Bank Counter. Show them the picture on your phone, pay $50 to get a 30 day visa-on-arrival. Get the payment receipt.

  3. Proceed to the Immigration counter. Present the following:

    1. Passport and boarding pass

    2. Arrival Information Form

    3. Visa Application Form Receipt

    4. Payment Receipt

  4. Get a visa sticker with an arrival date stamp.

  5. Proceed to the baggage claim area. It’s going to be a shit-show, but the carts are free. Take one. Breathe. Find your bags. Breathe.

  6. Exit the airport via the elevator or escalator.

  7. Look for the driver with a Transcendent Expeditions sign.

  8. Take the cab to Hotel Kailash Kutee.

  9. Check-in. Relax.

Where the f*ck is Nepal?

Kathmandu

To describe Kathmandu—the largest city and cultural center of Nepal—in a word, it’s chaotic. But there is beauty in that cataclysmic cultural maelstrom. Nepal and its Himalaya are the literal geophysical and geopolitical border between Asia’s two superpowers: India to the west and China to the east. As such, Nepal’s people, culture, and customs adopt elements from each and adapt them into something uniquely Nepalese.

The country is only slightly larger than New York, but it contains more than 30 million people—the majority of whom work in agriculture; many of them as sustenance farmers. Thus, Nepal is one of the least wealthy countries, per capita, in the world.

Kathmandu rests in the valley of the same name; it’s surrounded on all sides by mountainous terrain. On a rare clear day, the Himalaya are visible to the north. The city itself is home to 1.4 million people.

Thamel

Before and after the Manaslu Circuit trek, you’ll stay in Thamel—a district synonymously-known as Kathmandu’s adventure hub. The area is home to hundreds of hotels, shops, and restaurants—all in support of a burgeoning outdoor recreation industry.

Throughout Thamel’s tightly-packed corridors, you'll find any gear you may have forgotten; inexpensive cashmere to take back home; and a variety of both international and local cuisines.

Restaurants have set menu prices. Expect to pay $10-15 for a meal at a nice restaurant; $5-7 at a low-key spot; or less at a local dive. For shopping, taxis, and everything else, never accept the first-offered price—barter!

People in Nepal are generally quite friendly, nice, and helpful, but expect to be heckled by street hawkers while walking through Thamel. If you ignore them, they’ll quickly move-on.

While walking, you’ll also encounter an endless barrage of motorcycle, car, and pedestrian traffic. It’s madness—but the key is to commit, and move without trepidation. It feels counter-intuitive, but the chaos will flow around you. That being said—wear closed-toe shoes.

Getting to Manaslu

A full day of overland travel will be required to reach the Manaslu Circuit Trek start. We’ll either travel by private bus, or by private SUV. Either way, expect an adventure. It takes a couple of hours to get out of the Kathmandu Valley; a coffee stop awaits atop the pass—along with possible views of the Himalaya.

From there, we’ll have a few hours of hectic highway driving before turning off the main thoroughfare. Lunch at a local restaurant will follow, before the quality of the roads begin to degrade.

Soon, the pavement will fade away; and this is where it starts to get exciting. There will be narrow bridges, creek crossings, cliffs that fall away from the road, and tight squeezes for vehicles traveling in opposite directions. Relax, breathe, and hold on tight.

If you get motion sickness, bring Dramamine.

Manaslu Circuit Trek

150 km / 93 mi

+15,000 m / +50,000’

-13,500m / - 44,000’

Our journey will span a multitude of geographical climate zones: Subtropical, Temperate, Subalpine, Alpine, and Nival—all possible because of Nepal’s latitude and its uniquely characteristic altitudes, which span from 194’ above sea level all the way to 29,029’ on the summit of Everest—making for the most dramatic elevation differences on the planet.

These geographical climate differences are one of the major factors that make the Manaslu Circuit Trek unique: at the start of the trip, we’ll be sweating in shorts; and a week or so later, we’ll be freezing our asses off at the top of Larke La!

Down Low

These will likely be some of the more difficult days of the trek. We’ll be adjusting to the rigors of hiking; the air will be hot and humid (although, the relation of difficulty to that factor could be subjective!;) and there will be a lot of elevation gain (and descent) required to get out of the canyons and into the sub-alpine.

Expect a few long, hard days of walking. If you run warm, this will be a great time to hike in shorts.

Up High

Once we reach a certain elevation threshold and make it into the Boreal forests of the sub-alpine, the unrelenting up-and-down and corresponding lengthy travel distances will be tempered by the rate at which our bodies can acclimatize to the increased elevation.

Expect shorter distances; and less time to reach our stopping points for each night—with optional side quests in the afternoon to explore temples, villages, and viewpoints.

LarkyA La

This will be the longest, hardest, highest, coldest—but most awesome—day. Basically, we’ll knock out most of the superlatives all at once. We’ll get an alpine start—beginning the hike well before sunrise. This part will be the coldest, and likely the toughest. Remember to break out the hand and toe warmers from the comfort of bed.

We’ll keep it slow-and-steady leading up to the pass. Hydrate and snack regularly.

Once the sun pops out, the air will warm and we’ll be close to the highest point of the trip. From Larkya La, it’s all downhill. Mostly.

Got Questions?

We’ve got answers. Make some notes; we’ll fill in any gaps during your pre-trip video consultation.