Upper Mustang or Manaslu

[Kiwi]

Hi
with quite short notice I decided to spend some holidays trekking in Nepal. My favourite area would be upper Mustang or alternatively Manaslu. Starting beginning of October for approx. 20 days. I am female, Swiss, 38 years old and quite fit.
Are there some people who would like to join for this trip? Looking forward to get some feedbacks.
Till soon
Kiwi

[Sharon]

Well out of the 7 treks I have done in Nepal those two are favourites. The two are contrasts- Mustang very easy walking, browns, reds not the peaks and glaciers. Manaslu is an excellent trek, more demanding and higher elevations. There are some great side trips as well. Likekly more developed now compared to my trip in 2003.
If you have already been on some treks, perhaps Mustang. If this is a first time Manaslu.293

[Kiwi]

Dear Sharon

thanks a lot for your informations. This helps me deciding a bit as I have not been to Nepal befor.
Cheers Kiwi

[duploboy]

Too bad I only just discovered this site! Was making the same decision for the same time period, but have ended up shifting my dates to mid-September. Please get in touch if that can work for you at all.

[Kiwi]

Hi there
September is out of discussion for me as my working collegue is on vacation:(
I wish you lots of good hiking experiance.
Best regards from sunny Switzerland,
Kiwi

[Andrew]

I am going to Mustang mid September. PM me if you want details.

Andrew

[JamieW]

Hi Kiwi
A real Kiwi here!
How are your plans for trekking in Mustang going?
I have just my "organised" tour trekking into Lower Mustang cancel, so am looking for alternative. I too am really keen to visit this part of nepali and its culture, so am considering independant options and would be keen to join up with other trekkers, but will be constricted by arrival dates to KTM, i.e. early Oct. PM me if any interest.

Cheers

real Kiwi

[vzzzbx]

I've been to (Upper) Mustang and I loved it there, but the permit costs $700 for 10 days. For extra days, it's $90 per day extra. I don't know if you've been taking that into consideration as well.

[duploboy]

Latest figures for this season are $500 for 10 days then $50 per day thereafter. Party of at least two still required unless you wanna pay twice as much.

I'm still looking for a partner for that trek or Manaslu as well leaving Kathmandu about September 11th.... somebodyyyyy!?

[Kiwi]

Hi real Kiwi

Thanks for your note. I have meanwhile decided to go to Manaslu for approx. 15 to 20 days. Would you be interested to join? Or is Mustang the place to go for you?
I am arriving in Kathmandu the 7. October and planning to leave for the trek by the 10th. Please let me have your view of the thing and maybe tell me a bit about you.
Greetings from another strange bird...
Kiwi

[JamieW]

Hi Kiwi
Good luck in Manaslu!
Due to time contraints, I have opted to spend the first part of the trip in the lower Mustang area, but will spend an extra night or 2 around kagbeni exploring as much as possible.


Cheers
Jamie

[duploboy]

So I'm heading to Manaslu tomorrow... unfortunately on my lonesome after so long looking for a partner. I will be paying $1400 with my agency, which is not as expensive as some, but still probably somewhat overpriced.
Unfortunately I discovered the Kathmandu Environmental Education Project (KEEP) too late. They are a non-profit org that offer honest information about the mountains. www.keepnepal.org.np or go visit their office in Jyatha, Thamel.

The director told me that a porter-guide should cost $20-$25 per day and a porter $10-$15 per day. You could get away with one of each to carry a bit of extra food and one tent but the massive safari team is not necessary apparently. With permit fees included you could spend under $1000 and he also said, surprisingly, that it might not be necessary to pay for two permits. Obviously not what the businessmen will tell you, but I guess government beurocracy is a bit more flexible!

The agencies would want to charge you the same again for another trekker, but realistically, if you need another porter, for example, it might add only a few hundred to that cost. Unfortunately I fell for the "you better pay a
deposit now so we can start booking guides and permits" trick by email, and was stuck with money in my agency's pocket and little room to negotiate. The ended up turning the permits round in 2 days when I arrived! So you may as well wait till you get to town to make the final plans.

Am still looking forward to a fantastic trip so feel free to get in touch in 3 weeks if you want to know more! Mustang can also be done in basic guest houses so this will be cheaper than many options you are offered.

All the best

[mary_hannon_2k]

Hi Kiwi

I'm not familiar with the treks you mention - I'll need to do a bit of research.

I'm flying in/out of Katmandhu 2-25 October & keen to do as much trekking as possible. I'm 40, fit & British. I was thinking about the Annapurna cirucuit & maybe trying to squeeze in the sanctuary as well. BUT... who knows ...

How long were you thinking of trekking for ... without researching ... I'm guessing it's not a teahouse trek but more interesting/challenging - which I'm up for ... ?

I'll do some homework

Mary

[duploboy]

Hi there,
Couldn't find anyone to go to Manaslu with me but just got back from my solo jaunt up the Buri Gandaki and it was fantastic. As with Mustang, if you pay for two permits the agency can sort out a ghost trekker for you. A truly absorbing trek that really gives a taste of rural Nepalese life. It saves the 'big mountain views' for the end of the trek, and perhaps they are not the dramatic panoramas of some other regions, but I think the intimacy of the place more than made up for this. The diversity of landscape, culture and subsistence on the way made every day a novelty. As I've said, I booked a porter-guide and a porter through the very established 'First Enrvironmental Trekking', and whilst I perhaps paid a bit more than I could have organising it on the ground directly with a guide, I was extremeley happy with the service. The are very professional, and I was happy to hear from my guide that they pay their staff well, including porters, and also take care of important issues like staff life insurance and so on (we came across a case of a porter hauling goods for a Manaslu climbing expedition who had fallen into the river and drowned. The less scrupulpous agencies pull these guys off the street for only 400 rupees a day, and without insurance, this porter's family would be left without any income or protection). And although I paid two permit fees since I couldn't find a partner, I was encouraged to hear that 80% of the fees paid to the Manaslu Conservation Area are invested in the local communities, and indeed I saw for myself some very encouraging development along the way. The same is not true for some of the other conservation areas such as Annapurna and Everest. Finally, contrary to my earlier report, the police check points did check BOTH trekker's permits and even the credentials of my guide. Whilst most of the route is fairly obvious and well marked, your guide is a valuable interpreter and if he knows the area well, will take you to some friendly lodges for a good meal and a drink. Also, we crossed the Larke pass in fog and sleet (yes you were right Sharon!) and his experience was invaluable. We did the route in 15 days but not at a ridiculous pace. We had a 'rest day' to slog up to Manaslu base camp from Samagaon. Fascinating but a rough introduction to the altitude and 1200m of steep climbing!
ACCOMODATION
My porter (the rather feeble 16 year old brother in law of my guide) carried a tent and stove but the tent was only used a couple of times.In most cases we slept and ate in the bhattis. These exist all along the route, not for trekkers, but for the local traders on the way to Tibet, Dharapani or up and down to Arughat, and these lodges varied greatly in quality. A few were the cosy private wooden cabin types you find on the AC, most were large lofts with several beds but clean and comfortable enough, and in a couple of cases they were slightly dank places with bed bugs and rats squeaking in the rafters! This is when you may be tempted to sleep in the tent. About half of the places had some sort of electrical lighting. Only a couple had toilets out the back, and usually one used the 'community toilet' (serving a village of several houses). These were fine by me, and with wet wipes and some alcohol hand spray hygeine was not a problem! Also as the season progresses there will be more and more expeditions going up, such that you may intercept a group of 50 porters who will take up all the accomodation. Finally, the Larke Rest House (or Darma Salaa as the locals call it) is a bit grim and you will want to camp here before crossing the pass. This is also the only occasion you will need to use the cooking equipment, and your porter will bring a litre of kerosene from KTM or some firewood up from Samdo. Because of the bad weather, we actually opted for a homecooked meal in Samdo and got up early to hit the pass. At a fair clip it was 2 hours to Darma Salaa, a tough 3.5 H to the pass (passing another rest hut further up), and an interminable 3.5 H to Bimthang. This leg should be spectacular in fine weather (and also the majestic forested valley below Bimthang) although we didn't get to see much!
FOOD
Doing this the local way also avoided the need for cooks and porters to haul food from KTM. I had been warned about the terrible hygeine but found no such thing. Lunch and dinner was usually daal bhaat but I never got sick of it... there was always a nice surprise like wild mushrooms or carrots and cucumber fresh out of the ground. An alternative to rise was 'dido', a sort of polenta made from millet or corn which was very wholesome. The curried potatoes were always a boost and they always piled on more than you could eat. Usually the lodges didn't have much for breakfast beyond a cup of tea, but we would stop an hour down the line for noodle soup with fresh spinach and chili. When you were lucky there would be tasty chapati and eggs, sometimes sweet tibetan bread or nepali ''donuts'... aperitifs in the evening could involve spiced dried meat and a warm cup of 'raksi' or millet wine (kind of like sake). I was delighted with the variety and the cosy experience of sitting around the cooking fire with these very welcoming people. In retrospect I would have added to this by stocking up on dried meat, fruit and nuts in KTM since my porter was carrying a very light load.
EQUIPMENT
In our case (mid-September) there had been heavy rain with several stream crossings and landslides. Although I wished I'd brought Gore-Tex boots rather than leather, this wouldn't have helped when the streams were calf-high! Solid boots are essential though due to the unstable ground. An ankle sprain would be bad news given the relative isolation of the trek. In any case make sure your agency has your insurance details to assure the helicopter service you are covered for evacuation costs, or if they don't do this register with your embassy and make them your point of medivac reverence. A trekking pole was also very useful with all the climbing and descending and unstable ground. In terms of temperatures in mid Sept, the bottom of the valley was steaming hot and the top didn't really get below zero at night. The most that I wore during the day was quickdry t-shirt, long sleeve high-neck, soft-shell vest and Gore-Tex jacket. At night, thermal long-sleev, fleece jumper, down vest and a lightweight sleeping back with silk liner.

So there you have it. I think I've rambled enough, but if you're interested in specific details drop a line. The Lonely Planet was looking for detailed info on the lodges so I took some notes on each location. Hope it helps, and that you feel encouraged to go ahead to do Manaslu the Nepali way!

[Oli]

[...]
Hope it helps, and that you feel encouraged to go ahead to do Manaslu the Nepali way!

Great post! Thank you for sharing. This definitely bumps Manaslu up my "to do" list :D

[duploboy]

Cool. Very glad it helped. I should note that my guide, Ram Krishna Nepal, was actually 'fully-qualified' and getting $30 a day from the agency (and the porter $15). I think he deserved even more... (normally the posh guides won't carry a pack but he was very humble and really enjoyed the experience of not stressing over a whole team). I carried my own load and the porter just the tent and cooking gear. RAm speaks very good English, has a great rapport with trekkers and locals alike. A real gentleman and incredibly well informed. He is one of the few guides at First Environmental with experience of Manaslu, Mustang, Dolpa and NarPhu. He can also be booked independently but may be difficult in the busy season... If you're interested he is contactable here
guru_nepal@yahoo.com and
guru_nepal@hotmail.com
(he is nicknamed guru because he is Brahmin and his father in law a priest!)

PS- if you can't get him, KEEP will advise you on other independent guides. The only person who is losing out is the fat agent in his office in KTM. BE sure to register your travel insurance with your embassy however, as they will then have to give assurances to the heli-rescue rather than the agency.

[Roger hill]

Hi,i am intending to trek the manaslu and annapurna treks,22 days,leaving approx 14 oct.i am a nz guy,40 years old,moderately fit,could be interesred in doing mustang instead.

[julesuk]

Hi,

I am looking for a trekking compansion for Mustang Trek - I am in Kathmandu now (16th Nov) and will be in Nepal until about mid December.

Pls contact me if you are interested.

Thanks

Jules