Nar Phu Circuit Trek with Four Passes

Leave Kathmandu after the nice breakfast, we drive to Besi Shahar where your trekking permit is registered, we will have a lunch stop there. Some rest after lunch then continue driving to Jagat. Overnight in lodge

Today, we leisurely start our trek. The trail from Jagat descends until it reaches the river and then continues through a lush forest. Further ascent leads to sharp-edged cliff facing the riverbank. En route, Chyamje comes into picture amidst the glorious backdrop of towering Annapurna mountain ranges, cross a suspension bridge; we climb steeply towards the slippery and physically challenging path to Sattale. On treading along a succession of rock-strewn trails, we descend to a grassy riverbank that leads to Tal. As we walk away from Tal, the path becomes rugged and winding. Then we approach steeply-forested village of Karte. Meandering along the waterfalls and cliffs, we finally reach Dharapani after crossing a suspension bridge. Overnight stay at Jagat. 

An early morning breakfast at Dharapani, we head to Koto from Dharapani.  After some 6 hours walk we arrive at Koto a beautiful village on the bank of Marsyangdi River on the way to Annapurna Circuit trail where will stop for the night . Overnight in lodge. 

Wake up early for the early morning views of Lamjung Himal, Annapurna II and Gangapurna towards the south west and Kangaru Himal facing top towards the north. The clear sky with the views of mountains makes it a perfect ambience to start your day. After breakfast, we walk for about 10 minutes uphill and then descend for another 15 minutes to cross a small glacial river. We cross the river for gradual uphill facing Annapurna II the whole time and keeping Kangaru Himal at the back. As we ascend for 2 hrs. we are greeted by the views of Pisang peak standing majestically above the Pisang monastery from where we take gradual walk all the time facing Pisang peak directly in front of us. We arrive at the Meta pass (4800m).

Pack lunch is recommended today as there is shortage of water before the pass. After lunch at Meta pass, we start to descend towards Meta. It’s a long downhill from Meta pass to Meta with almost 4 hrs. We arrive a river with a small bridge from where we start to ascend for another 1 hr to reach Meta – a small village with few houses.

Ascend: 1450m

Descend: 566m

Today is a moderate but long walk. We get the early morning sunrise view of Lamjung Himal on the south and Pisang peak towards the west. After breakfast we start with a gradual easy walk with view of Pisang monastery on the other side of the hill. We come across a Khampa settlement at Jhunum after 1.5 hrs. This Khampa settlement is now used as a winter stay by villagers of Nar. We continue our walk from here to cross a glacial river and continue walking to arrive at another Khampa settlement at Chyakhu. (Recommend reading: Buddha’s warrior for more info on Khampa war).

We walk further with gradual uphill and then descend to arrive at a small bailey bridge to cross the river from where we start ascending for about 20 minutes to arrive at Kyang. Another Khampa settlement at the valley between huge rugged stone mountains. We will have our lunch here and after lunch we continue our trek to arrive at an interesting trail facing the river and made from cliff carved trail. We continue on this trail with Phu River on the left side for another 3 hrs to meet a wooden bridge. Cross the bridge and continue walking. During the monsoon, if the river is high we continue walking on the same side instead of crossing the bridge.

As we approach the final descend for the Phu, we arrive at big canyon from where a straight uphill of 15 minutes brings us to the gate of Phu village and another 30 minutes’ walk brings us to a suspension bridge and we are official in Phu village.

Ascend: 1213m

Descend: 1030m

It is planned for the rest day to get acclimatized before heading to 3 high passes. We can go for a day hike to Himlung Base Camp or explore surrounding or visit to Ancient Bon monastery in Phu- Nar Phu Valley which is called Tashi Lakhang Gompa. 

Take a morning breakfast; we are served with the views of Himlung Himal and Kangaru Himal. We start our trek through the village of Phu and start ascending through the scree field to gain about 1000m above the Phu village. Continue walking will bring us to the viewpoint from where the Himlung, Bhrikuti and Kangaru Himal are visible quite prominently. The Phu pass is another 1 hour of moderate walk.

We cross the Phu pass (5050m) and start our descend to arrive at the base of the hill to cross a small wooden bridge and start descending for another 1 hour to arrive our camp for today at Loang. Pack lunch is recommended today due to shortage of water along the way.

Overnight in Camp

Ascend: 970m

Descend: 370m

Wake up in the morning to the views of Himlung and Kangaru Himal. We start our trek ascending towards the Nar pass. The view of Himlung and Kangaru Himal stays with us along our way till Nar pass (5400m) which takes about 3 hours of walk. As we approach the pass, the scree fields makes it rather challenging to reach the pass. However, when we reach the top, we are greeted with 360 degree views of the mountains including Bhrikuti, Himlung, Kangaru towards the east and Chulu and Annapurna range towards the south west.

After taking enough photographs and enjoying the views, we descend from here to lose about 1400 m through the scree field to arrive at Checkchu where we camp for the night.

Overnight in Camp

Ascend: 720m

Descend: 990m

After breakfast, we start to descend for about 1 hour until we reach a suspension bridge from where we start to ascend towards the Nar village for another 2 hrs to reach the top. From here we continue for another 20 minutes to arrive a small valley with surround big hills with cave formed on the top of it. A steep uphill here for another 3 hrs will bring us to the beautiful Nar village where we spend our overnight.

Ascend: 315m

Descend: 871m

We start to ascend early morning today towards the Kang La pass in order to reach early for a great views of the Pisang peak and Chulu Far East peak before heading down to Ngawal. We start our walk crossing a small glacial stream. We ascend gradually to the top ridge of Kang La for 3 hrs. The top of Kang La offers amazing views of Annapurna, Chulu range, Lamjung Himal.

We descend from the Kang La pass through the scree field with wide valley and amazing view of the landscape. The descend takes about 3 hrs to reach Ngawal where we spend a night in Ngawal Mountain Home for the night where we will have comfortable beds, hot shower and great food.

Ascend: 1263m

Descend: 1935m

Our rest day at Ngawal today can be spent walking around the village of Ngawal and meeting local people and interacting with them. This small village has the population of roughly 300 people is the one of the seven village development committee in Manang district of Northern Nepal.

Continuing on the south side of the river, the trail includes a long climb over a ridge which passes through Upper Pisang via Ngawal as it guarantees outstanding views of Mt. Annapurna, Pisang Peak. On the way, we pass through pine forests, villages such as Braga and farming terraces. As we walk near Manang, the climate becomes more cold and dry. Overnight in Lodge

We continue our trail that ascents towards the Thorong La pass as we climb steadily through Tenki and leaving Marshyangdi Valley. As we continue along the Jarsang Khola Valley. we arrive at Letdar that lies at the elevation of 4250m. Overnight in Lodge

The first small settlement we reach after a steady walk upwards is Letdar. It is an uphill walk towards Thorong Phedi. We now ascend further and pass through towering cliffs before reaching Thorong Phedi. On the way, we go through the outstanding views of Mt. Ghundang, Mt. Syagang.

Overnight in Lodge

The trail becomes steep as soon as we leave Thorong Phedi. Following rocky ridges, as it ascends to the Thorong La pass, the Great Barrier Ridge appears. We can take a few photos before heading to Muktinath Valley at the foot of the Thorong La pass. The site one can see upon reaching the pass is of traditional Chorten, prayer flags, and cairn, and the panorama of Himalayan giants along with the first view of the immense Kali Gandaki valley to the west.

Today’s trek begins with the downhill walk to Kali Gandaki Gorge having arid landscapes opening on the Tibetan plateau to the north, high mountains covered with snow to the south (Nilgiri and Dhaulagiri Himal). Passing down to Jomsom, we cross Jharkot and Kagbeni which are also worth visiting. Further descending down we reach Marpha, a delightful Thakali village. Its narrow alleys and passageways provide welcome shelter from the strong winds of the Kali Gandaki Gorge.Marpha is well known for its apples, apple cider, apricot and peach wine. We continue our trek towards Jomsom. Overnight in Lodge

Take a morning flight to Pokhara. You have a relaxing time in Pokhara after a big hike in the mountain. Overnight in Pokhara in Hotel. Trek conclusion.