Manaslu Expedition 2005

The mountainers climbing Manaslu start their trip first by heading towards Gorkha from Kathmandu. We start our journey in a reserved bus, in the morning. The whole morning the group traveses through the Prithivi Highway, which offers beautiful views of Nepalese countryside. We reach Muglin which is situated on the banks of Trishuli and Marshyangdi rivers. After having lunch in Muglin we leave for Gorkha and arrived there at 2pm. There we hand over the equipments to our porters and we preceded towards Kalikasthan which is to be our night camp site. 

The historical Durbar of Shaha dynasty can be reached within an hour from Gorkha which is just nearby. Gorkha Durbar is situated on the top of the hill. The glory of mountains surrounding it, attracts many tourists as well as the natives to this place. After a 10 min walk from the Gorkha Durbar we reach the Kalikathan camp. Then after having tea, we put up our tents and rest for a while until our cook announce that the dinner is ready. As we were tired from our long journey, we have a bottle of beer each and eat our dinner and then go to sleep. Like the mountaineers other expeditions also go to Manaslu each year. Since the Manaslu trek happens to be in the prohibited zone one needs a special trek permit and an environmental officer appointed by the Immigration Department while travelling in this area. As this route has been opened for only three years, few people have gotten the opportunity to travel this route. The scenery on this area is not only breathtaking but also unique and quite naturally most have said that this trek is very enjoyable. 

Day Two: After breakfast we head for Kanchok. On the way, the charming village, the scenic background and fresh fruits like oranges, bananas etc make the journey enjoyable and we reach Khanchow at 3pm. The Khanchow village was prepared for the camping of the tourists and there are also a few shops in which essential things like salt, sugar, spice, oil, clothes etc. can be found. We camp at Khanchow for the night after eating a hot meal made by the cook 

Day three: Khanchow to Aarughat: After having breakfast our group heads for Aarughat. We reach Motikhola passing Sanokhola and on the way we see maize, rice and millet fields cultivated by the villagers of this area. Then, after a two and half hours walk through streams and fields we reach Aarughat Bazaar. From Khanchow we reach Aarughat after a four hours walk. We reach Aarughat at lunchtime and after having lunch we prepare for staying there. Aarughat is the second biggest hilly business centre of Gorkha district. Aarughat bazaar can be reached from Gorkha after 2 days walk, and it can also be reached from Dhading bazaar after a one day walk. This town is very beautiful because of the Budhigandaki river in its centre.

This bazaar which spreads on both the sides of the river has some tourist hotels, a police office and communication facilities as well. As this is the second biggest hilly business centre of Gorkha district, many villages and workers who cannot reach Gorkha bazaar, come here for shopping and trade. As this place is situated at 9640 feet above the sea level, it is very hot here in summer. We can roam around for 1hour in the bazaar, then we can settle in the camp for the night. Over our dinner, there is special entertainment with Nepali songs and dance. It is quite late when we go to sleep. 

Day four : We head towards Sotikhola at 7am, after having our breakfast. The route which takes us along the banks of Buddhikhola river has many citrus fruits and rice fields in it. Going through Almare and Arkhet we have lunch in Thuni on the way. From there we reach Sotikhola after a straight 3hrs walk. The waterfalls which surrounds Sotikhola are pleasant to watch. The natives of this place like Gurungs, Magars Chettris , Bahuns, Newars, Damais and Kamis are mostly engaged in agriculture for their living.

Sotikhola to Machkhola: In the morning we have our breakfast as usual and head towards Madhikhola river. The rivers, waterfalls which we saw in the way are very attractive. Then by following the banks of the Budhigandaki river, passing the Almara and Riden villages, we reach Labubesi. On the way we can eat the fruits that can be found on the trail. It takes 3 and a half hrs walk to reach Labubesi from Machikhola. Here we rest and have our lunch. Then, at 10am we leave Labubesi which is a small bazaar situated on the confluence of Budhigandaki river and Rochera river. The sounds of the waterfall and the birds chirping make the trip through Khanibesi to Machakhola enjoyable. 

Machkhola is the village on the confluence of the Machkhola river and the Budhigandaki river. As soon as they see the tourists, the natives come to sell things such as beer etc. When one sits in this tranquil place, one can not even imagine the existence of such things as pollution, cities, cars, aeroplanes and big buildings. Many people of this village had not even seen in their dreams, modern things like cars, aeroplanes etc. This area is in the Manaslu trekking area and only a few years ago His Majesty's Govt of Nepal opened it for not only mountaineers, but also expeditions. But expeditions have to take a laison officer along and also pay 75$ to !000$ through the trekking agency. Mountaineers don't have to pay this fee because they pay this at first when they get the permit to scale the mountain. At this village of Machkhola we put up our camp, then after having dinner, we go to sleep at around 9pm.

Day five MachaKhola -Jagat 1250m.: Early in the morning we head towards Jagat from Machkhola. After a 1 hour of walking we reach the village Khorlak Besi. After resting there for a while we again walk for 1hr to reach Tatopani. The village has that name because of the hot spring water in it. Tato pani means hot water in Nepali. Looking at the waterfalls and hills we reach a confluence, where we have our lunch and we start to walk towards Jagat.

With all the foreigners, 10 staff and 45 porters our group looked like a long serpentine line while we walk. It takes 8hrs for us to reach Jagat because the facilities of the places between and the roads are not good. Jagat is a pleasant village which is at the base of Budhigandaki river and it has a well facilitated hotel, a school, a police station, a post office, a grain store and a custom office. This place is at the base of a very high rocky hill and has 50 to 60 houses in a very enjoyable site. As Jagat is a cold place, maize millet potato and many other cereals and vegetables are cultivated here and the workers or farmers of this area are more educated than that of the other villages. After eating our dinner we go to sleep in our tent at around 9pm.

Day six: Jaagat -EkleBhatti. In the morning we head towards Philin from Jagat. First we reach Setibas which is a hilly village. The houses in Setibas are all made up of stones and mud. And the roof is also made up of stones and they look very old. It takes us one and a half hrs to reach here and we roam around enjoying the scenery and eating roasted corn and tea. From there we head for Dharakhola and cross the Budhigandaki river by a rope bridge, which is an exciting experience. After a 20min walk we reach Philim, which is another very beautiful village located on a slope. Each of the natives are farmers here. After lunch and a 1hr walk and passing through villages like Pangsing, Serison we reach Eklebhatti. After a 1hr walk from Philim the prohibited area starts. Ekle Bhatti is a very small place in the middle of a cliff where there is only one shop and a tent can hardly be put up in this place. We put up only four or five tents for the tourists and sleep for the night. We can hear the sound of Budhigandaki, the wild animals and people talking in the single shop.

Day seven Eklebhatti - Namrung : We leave Elkebhatti at 7am in the morning. Looking at the waterfalls and streams we walk along on the road which is difficult to walk for about 2hrs because of the soil erosion the monsoon rain had caused. We stop at the village Dhyap and enjoy its maize and millet fields. After a 1.5hrs walk from here we reach Lamching where have our lunch. From here we reached Namrung at 3pm, going through a path in the forest. Valleys are there in this region and we set our camp there. This, usually, cold place, is surrounded by forests and natural beauty and even though agriculture is done in few places, apples maize and other cereals are cultivated here. There is only a police station and a tea shop here. We take photos and then after dinner go to sleep. 

Day eight: Namrung -Samagaon: We have our breakfast and then head towards Samagaon at 7 am in the morning. On our way we pass Begsam village and Hiron village. We reach Lo village after some time. This village is different from the others because it has very fertile land where maize agriculture does well. The people of this village bathe only sometimes because of the cold weather. The scenery of Samgaon village is very beautiful. We have to wear very warm clothes and after lunch, rest and a 10min walk we reach Sanokhala. There after walking on the slope along the river we reach Syala village which is equally pleasant. In its north west is Mt. Manaslu and in it east only forest. This area's main crop is potato and the villlage which rests on acres of forest has to be seen once in a lifetime by everybody. Animals like yak, goat, sheep are reared here and Tibetan people whose ancestors had settled here long ago, live here. After a 1hr walk from here, the mountainous Sama village can be reached. This village is 3450m.high from the sea level. 

Mt. Manaslu 8161m, Nangdi peak 7871m. and Himal peak 7893m. can be seen in their splendour from this place. This village which is famous for its mountains is situated in a very remote area of Gorkha district of Gandaki Zone. Even though, in the map of the world, Nepal's physical feature is very small, this place of natural beauty has the world's highest peaks -Sagarmatha or Everest. There are 14 mountains above 8000m in the world and 8 of them are in Nepal. Mt. Manaslu of village Sama is one of them. There are about 200 houses in the village Sama and there is snowfall 6 months of the year. The equipment of the mountaineers are taken to the high camp from here and it is one day's work. The porters from Gorkha or lower places are not allowed to go to the high camp. Even though there are some difficulties for the porters while being with the tourists but they work hard and cheerfully.

The natives of this village goes to stay at the base during snow fall. The expeditions from the village Sama go through Larke Pass (5213m.) while mountaineers, through Manaslu base camp go to high camp. There is also a monastery in Sama village which all the native Buddhists go to as a place for protection and hope. The staple food crop is potato and karu and for other occupation the people of this area rear chauri cows, goats, sheep or they become porters. It takes us 6 and half hrs to reach Sama village which is located on the banks of Budhigandaki. This village is said to be very enjoyable by the tourists. The Manaslu mountain region and many other peaks make this Sama village a place where you have to go once. The small peaks around Mt. Manaslu and Larke Pass are the main source of Budhigandaki's water. As the porters of the lower region are not allowed to go further we sent the back and as we were very tired we went to sleep after a hot meal. 

Day nine: Sama village - Manalus (Aadharsiwir) - Base camp. After our breakfast in the morning we hire the Sama village porters and head towards our basecamp or Aadharsivir. After a 1hr walk we reach Manaslu lake which is a very big mountain lake. We had read in news paper about how the lake could burst, what would happen if it would and different other investigations done by scientists. Even then, after seeing this lake from above with the village Sama behind and then seeing the glittering white Mt. Manaslu, it was only natural that one's heart would feel happy. After a 2hrs walk from village Sama camp we reached the Manaslu glacier. 

We could see blocks of ice breaking away and hear loud noises on the glacier. After a 3 and half hrs walk we then reach Adharsivir where other four groups of mountaineers had already set the base camp. In the day we had reached Sama village, a helicopter of a French team had landed there. We can straight away reach Sama village from Kathmandu by hiring a helicopter. From the team guide, Sherpa, we found out that the French team was also climbing Manaslu. The mountaineer guide Ang Rita Sherpa, who had climbed Everest 11 times and many other peaks successfully was also in the French team. 

After reaching base camp, we set up our tents there and our team included nine mountaineers.. The successful Summiters are as follows. 

Italian Manslu Expedition Autumn 1996 

The team Members
1.Mr.Sergio Martini team Leader (Summiter)
2.Mr.Renezo Benedetti Climber (Summiter) 
3.Mr. Luca Campagna Climber (Summiter) 
4.Mr..Abele Blanc Climber (Summiter)
5. Mr. Oberto Paolo Climber (Summiter)
6. Mr. Adriano Favre Climber (Summiter)

The team leader had already climbed 12 of the 14 mountains above 8,000m. leaving only 8516m. Mt.Lhotse 8848m. high Mt. Everest. 

This whole programme was done by Monterosa Treks and Expeditions under the management of Ganesh Neupane. The whole programme of going -coming from Kathmandu and climbing was done in 49 days. The route which all the mountaineers had taken to reach Manaslu was again prepared for them to comeback. According to the Tourism Ministry Mountaineering sections rule and regulation, all expedition team have to Go & back same ways we did not go to Lark Pass. we followed the route to Sam village, Naming, Aright to Grouch which took about 8 days. 

For all treks go to Lark Pass, from Sam village to Seamed village (Tibetan refugees Camp). Lark pass which is in the height of 5,213m. always attracts people. From there they go through Bimdakothi, Tilche (Big Gurung village) and arrive in Thonje/Dharapani in three days. This place is also passed in the Annapurna round trek. Then going through Dharapani, Jagat, Bahundanda, they reach Besi Shahar.

From there a 4/5hrs bus ride on bad road takes them to Dumre bazar. From there we can go to Kathmandu or Pokhara.