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.
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