Can a solo trekker now do the Manaslu Circuit in 2026?

Yes, with one condition. On 22 March 2026, Nepal's Department of Immigration removed the requirement that a Manaslu Restricted Area Permit could only be issued when a second foreign trekker was named on the same application. A single foreign trekker can now book the trek through a government-registered trekking agency, get the permit issued in their own name, and walk with a licensed guide. The licensed-guide rule has not changed — Manaslu sits inside a restricted area, so the guide requirement is national law, not policy. What changed is that you no longer need to wait for a stranger to fly in on the same week to validate your permit.

How much does the Manaslu Circuit Trek cost in 2026?

Plan USD 1,200 to USD 1,700 per person for a guided 13 to 15 day trek on a two-person basis, including all permits, ground transfers, a licensed guide at USD 28 to 30 per day, an optional porter at USD 20 to 22 per day, teahouse lodging across the trail and most meals. A solo trekker pays about 15 to 20 percent more because the guide and porter cost spreads across one person. A group of four drops the per-head price to roughly USD 1,050 to USD 1,400. Add USD 130 to USD 180 for mandatory insurance with helicopter evacuation cover to 6,000 m. Adding the Tsum Valley side loop pushes the trek to 17 to 21 days and lifts the price to about USD 1,500 to USD 2,000.

What permits do I need for the Manaslu Circuit in 2026?

Four pieces of paper, all handled by your trekking agency in Kathmandu. One — Manaslu Restricted Area Permit (RAP), USD 100 for the first 7 days plus USD 15 per extra day in September to November; USD 75 for the first 7 days plus USD 10 per extra day from December to August. Two — Manaslu Conservation Area Permit (MCAP), flat USD 30 regardless of duration. Three — Annapurna Conservation Area Permit (ACAP), USD 30 (covers the final two days from Dharapani onwards). Four — Chum Nubri Rural Municipality Entry Fee, around NPR 2,000 (about USD 15), collected at the Jagat checkpoint in cash. Total permit spend for a standard 14-day autumn trek: roughly USD 280 per person.

Has the road really shortened the Manaslu Circuit Trek?

Yes — by one to two days at the start, depending on how far your jeep can get. The Soti Khola road extension reached Machhakhola in late 2024 and now consistently delivers travellers to Machhakhola (930 m) in a 9 to 10 hour 4WD ride from Kathmandu. The road continues in rough condition toward Jagat and Pangsing, but most agencies stop the jeep at Machhakhola for two reasons: the road above is rocky and slow, and starting the walk at Machhakhola gives you a gentler acclimatisation gradient than skipping ahead to Jagat. The classic 16 day itinerary that started in Arughat (570 m) is now 13 to 14 days starting in Machhakhola. The route stays the same — the cut comes off the first low-altitude road-walking section, which was the least interesting part of the old trek anyway.

Is the Manaslu Circuit harder than the Annapurna Circuit?

Yes, in three ways. Altitude — Larke La sits at 5,106 m versus Thorong La at 5,416 m, so the pass is lower but the approach gives you less time to acclimatise (you go from 930 m at Machhakhola to 5,106 m in 10 trail days, faster than the standard Annapurna Circuit profile). Daily distance — Manaslu averages 14 to 18 km per day with several 700 to 900 m vertical gain days, which is more demanding than the Annapurna trail. Remoteness — the Manaslu valley has fewer teahouses, smaller lodge rooms and patchier 4G signal than Annapurna; rescue logistics are harder. Nepal Mountaineering Association rates Manaslu Grade 4 and the Annapurna Circuit Grade 3. Most travellers who have done both call Manaslu the better trek and the harder one.

What happened on Larke La in October 2025 and does it change 2026 planning?

On 27 October 2025, an extreme snowstorm linked to the remnants of Cyclone Montha dumped over a metre of snow on the upper Manaslu valley in 36 hours. The Larke La (5,106 m) became impassable and Gorkha's District Administrative Office banned movement above Samagaon for ten days. Hundreds of trekkers were stranded at Samagaon and Bhimthang; helicopter evacuations ran from 29 October onwards. No trekker deaths were reported on Manaslu in that storm, though three trekking staff died of altitude sickness in neighbouring Manang District supporting groups near Narpabhumi during the same weather event. For 2026 we are pulling our late-October Manaslu departures back to the second and third weeks of October and stopping the booking window on 26 October. November Manaslu trips are now book-with-warning rather than recommended — the storm was unusual but the cyclone tracks that drove it are forecast to recur.

Should I do Manaslu Circuit clockwise or anticlockwise?

Manaslu runs anticlockwise only. The Budhi Gandaki valley climbs from Machhakhola up the western side to Samagaon and Samdo, then crosses Larke La eastward to Bhimthang and descends to Dharapani — and the gradient on the Dharapani-to-Larke side is too steep to do the reverse safely with normal trekker fitness. Every agency in Nepal books it the same direction. The only routing decision you make is whether to add Tsum Valley as a side loop early on (adds 5 to 7 days) and whether to walk out the last two days to Besisahar or take a jeep from Dharapani.

Is Tsum Valley worth adding to a Manaslu Circuit trek?

For travellers with 21 days, yes — it is the single best add-on to a Nepal restricted-area trek. Tsum Valley is a Tibetan-Buddhist enclave that branches north from the main Manaslu trail at Lokpa (2,240 m), climbing to Mu Gompa (3,700 m) and Rachen Gompa, two of the oldest active monasteries in the Nepal Himalayas. The Tsum people have practised a strict non-violence tradition (no animals killed in the valley) for over 600 years. The side loop adds 5 to 7 days and a USD 40 (Sep-Nov) or USD 30 (Dec-Aug) restricted-area permit on top of the standard Manaslu fees. The valley is also unusual on the Nepal calendar: it sits partly in the rain shadow, so a late-May or early-June Tsum Valley add-on stays mostly dry while the lower Manaslu trail starts getting wet.

When is the best time for the Manaslu Circuit Trek in 2026?

Autumn 2026 — second and third weeks of October — is the safest, clearest window. Spring 2026 — mid-March to early May — is the second window, with rhododendron blooms on the lower trail and stable weather at Larke La. We do not book Manaslu departures between 20 October and 5 November in 2026 (Cyclone Montha lesson), between 25 December and 25 February (Larke La snow risk), or between 10 June and 10 September (monsoon on the lower trail). The early-September window has fewer crowds and the trail is dramatic — but afternoon rain runs 40 to 50 percent of days through the second week and lodge owners are still opening from monsoon, so book it only if you accept some weather risk.

Manaslu Circuit Trek 2026: Solo Permits, the Road to Machhakhola, and What 2025's Larke La Storm Changed

March 2026 ended the two-foreigner permit rule. The jeep road now drops you at Machhakhola, cutting a trail day. The October 2025 Larke La storm rewrote how we book autumn — notes from a Kathmandu team that runs the loop monthly.

22 JUNE 202612 MIN READNEPAL NEXUS

Mount Manaslu (8,163 m) viewed from the Samagaon side of the Manaslu Circuit Trek, with prayer flags in the foreground and the Larkya Himal range stretching toward the Larke La pass.

On 27 October 2025 the Larke La closed. Over a metre of snow fell on the upper Manaslu valley in 36 hours, the District Administrative Office in Gorkha banned movement above Samagaon, and the pass that around 9,000 trekkers cross each year became unreachable for ten days. Helicopters lifted stranded groups from Samagaon and Bhimthang from 29 October onwards. Nobody died on Manaslu in that storm. Three trekking staff did die from altitude sickness in the neighbouring Manang district, supporting groups caught in the same weather system.

That storm changed how we book this trek for 2026.

It was not the only thing that changed. On 22 March 2026 the Department of Immigration ended the two-foreigner rule that had blocked solo trekkers from Manaslu's Restricted Area Permit for two decades. The road from Kathmandu to Machhakhola — open since late 2024 — has trimmed a day off the standard itinerary. The permit fees stepped up in late 2024 and have held steady through this year.

What follows is the Manaslu Circuit as we book it from Kathmandu in 2026: the route, the permits, the cost, the calendar, and the parts of the brochure most agencies skip.

The four things that changed in 2026

The solo trekker rule ended. Before 22 March 2026, the Manaslu Restricted Area Permit required two foreign trekkers' passports on the same application — a rule that pushed solo travellers to either pay double for a 'ghost permit' under a fake second name or join a fixed-departure group. That rule is gone. A single foreign trekker can now book through a registered agency and get a permit issued in their own name. The licensed guide is still required — that is a national restricted-area law, not a Manaslu-specific quirk — but the body count on your application form is now one or more.

The jeep road now reaches Machhakhola. The Budhi Gandaki road extension finally pushed past Soti Khola in late 2024 and a 4WD jeep can now consistently reach Machhakhola (930 m) in 9 to 10 hours from Kathmandu. The road continues in rough condition toward Jagat and Pangsing — we do not use it. Stopping the jeep at Machhakhola gives you a sensible acclimatisation gradient and leaves the trail with the parts worth walking. The 16-day Arughat-start itinerary that operators sold until 2023 is now a 13 to 14-day itinerary that drops nothing meaningful.

Permit fees stepped up and stabilised. The Manaslu Restricted Area Permit moved to USD 100 for the first 7 days in autumn (Sep–Nov) and USD 75 for the first 7 days in the other seasons during the 2024 fee revision. The Manaslu Conservation Area Permit holds at USD 30 flat. The Chum Nubri Rural Municipality fee — a recent addition, collected at the Jagat checkpoint — is around NPR 2,000 in cash per trekker.

The October weather risk got more visible. Until 2024 the standard advice was 'autumn equals safe, book any week from October to mid-November.' Cyclone Montha changed that. Late October cyclone tracks crossing into the Himalayas are now considered a recurring rather than one-off pattern by the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology. Our 2026 booking window for autumn Manaslu departures closes on 26 October. Anything after that is book-with-warning.

The 2026 cost, broken open

A guided 13 to 14 day Manaslu Circuit Trek booked through a Kathmandu agency on a two-person basis lands at USD 1,200 to USD 1,700 per person, all-inclusive of the Kathmandu hotel nights, ground transfers, permits, guide, porter, lodging on trail and most meals. Solo travellers add 15 to 20 percent. Groups of four drop to USD 1,050 to USD 1,400 per head.

Where the spend actually goes, for a 14-day October trip costed in mid-2026:

Permits (per trekker) — Restricted Area Permit USD 100 + USD 15 × 7 additional days = USD 205; MCAP USD 30; ACAP USD 30; Chum Nubri NPR 2,000 (USD 15). Total: USD 280.
Kathmandu–Machhakhola transfer — USD 200 to USD 250 for a private 4WD jeep (split across the group). Public bus is cheaper at NPR 1,500 per seat but takes 12 hours and stops at Soti Khola; we do not book it.
Licensed guide — USD 28 to USD 30 per day × 14 days = USD 392 to USD 420. The guide is hired through a registered agency, which carries the licence and insurance.
Porter — USD 20 to USD 22 per day × 14 days = USD 280 to USD 308. One porter for two trekkers is standard. Solo trekkers can hire a porter-guide combo for slightly less than separate roles.
Teahouse lodging on trail — NPR 500 to NPR 1,200 per night per room, often free if you take all meals at the same lodge. Budget USD 80 to USD 120 across the trek.
Meals on trail — NPR 400 to NPR 800 per dish (a dal bhat at Samagaon runs NPR 750 to NPR 900 in 2026). Budget USD 220 to USD 320 per trekker.
Kathmandu hotels — USD 30 to USD 60 per night for the two arrival and departure nights, twin-share.
Insurance with helicopter evacuation to 6,000 m — USD 130 to USD 180 for a three-week trip. Mandatory. World Nomads, IMG, True Traveller, Global Rescue all underwrite this; check the altitude limit clause carefully.

What is not included in any package quote — pad your budget by USD 200 to USD 300 per trekker for these:

Hot showers above Jagat — USD 3 to USD 6 each, gas-heated bucket. Free below Jagat.
Wifi — USD 3 to USD 6 per device per night where available. Patchy above Lho.
Charging — USD 2 to USD 4 per battery above Samagaon.
Snacks, chocolate, bottled water — a Snickers at Samdo runs NPR 350; a 1L bottle of water runs NPR 200 to NPR 300. Bring a steripen or chlorine tablets and refill from teahouse boiled water (NPR 50 per litre) to halve this line.
Tip pool — USD 10 to USD 15 per day per guide, USD 7 to USD 10 per day per porter, paid in a sealed envelope at the Dharapani end.

Anyone quoting under USD 950 for the full guided trek is paying their guide under the licensed-rate minimum, skipping the Chum Nubri fee, or running the itinerary in 11 days — all of which catch up to the trekker eventually. Walk away.

The route, anticlockwise only

Manaslu does not work in reverse. The Budhi Gandaki valley climbs from Machhakhola up the western flank of the Manaslu massif to Samagaon and Samdo, then crosses Larke La eastward to Bhimthang and drops to Dharapani on the Annapurna Circuit. The Dharapani-to-Larke gradient is too steep and the lodge spacing too thin to do the reverse on a normal trekker fitness. Every agency in Nepal books the same direction.

The real routing decision is one of three:

1. Standard 13–14 day Manaslu Circuit — Machhakhola to Larke La to Dharapani, jeep out from Dharapani. The default. What 70 percent of our travellers book.
2. 17–18 day Manaslu + short Tsum Valley loop — Same base trek with a 5-day Tsum Valley side trip in from Lokpa. Adds USD 350 to USD 500 in permits and logistics. Worth it for travellers with the time.
3. 20–21 day Manaslu + full Tsum Valley — Includes the trek to Mu Gompa at the head of Tsum Valley and proper rest days in Chhokangparo. The hardest sell in terms of holiday time, the best trek in our calendar.

For the rest of this post we cost out and itinerary the standard 14 day version. Tsum Valley add-on details sit in our separate trip page.

Day-by-day, the standard 14-day version

Day 1. Arrive Kathmandu. Briefing at the office; check gear; permits issued the same afternoon.
Day 2. Kathmandu (1,400 m) → Machhakhola (930 m) by 4WD jeep. 9 to 10 hours along the Prithvi and Budhi Gandaki highways. Lunch at Dhading Besi. Arrive Machhakhola by early evening, teahouse night.
Day 3. Machhakhola → Jagat (1,340 m). 5 to 6 hours, 14 km. Suspension bridges, hot springs at Tatopani if the river is low. Restricted-area permit check at Jagat (this is where the agency-pre-issued RAP gets stamped against your passport).
Day 4. Jagat → Deng (1,860 m). 6 to 7 hours. The valley starts to feel high. First Buddhist mani walls appear on the trail.
Day 5. Deng → Namrung (2,630 m). 6 to 7 hours, 18 km. Tsum Valley turnoff is at Lokpa — if you are adding the side loop, this is where you split off.
Day 6. Namrung → Lho (3,180 m). 4 to 5 hours, short on purpose for altitude. First clear view of Manaslu (8,163 m) from Lho monastery.
Day 7. Lho → Samagaon (3,520 m). 4 to 5 hours, through Shyala. Monastery at Samagaon is worth an hour after lunch.
Day 8. Samagaon acclimatisation day. Hike to Manaslu Base Camp (4,800 m) and back, or to Birendra Tal (3,690 m), or to Pungyen Gompa (4,070 m). Do at least one of these. Do not skip the rest day.
Day 9. Samagaon → Samdo (3,860 m). 3 to 4 hours, short. Samdo is the last village before the pass, ethnically Tibetan, settled by refugees in 1959.
Day 10. Samdo acclimatisation day. Hike to Samdo Peak viewpoint (4,800 m) or toward the Tibet border at Larkya Bazaar (4,460 m). One of these, not both.
Day 11. Samdo → Dharmasala (4,460 m). 3 to 4 hours, short. Dharmasala is two stone huts and a kitchen, not a village. Sleep early.
Day 12. Dharmasala → Larke La (5,106 m) → Bhimthang (3,720 m). Start 3:00–4:00 AM by headlamp. 9 to 11 hours total. Six hours up to the pass, three to four hours down to Bhimthang. The single hardest day on the trek, by a margin.
Day 13. Bhimthang → Tilije (2,300 m). 5 to 6 hours of descent through rhododendron and pine. Knees and ankles feel this one.
Day 14. Tilije → Dharapani (1,860 m) → Besisahar → Kathmandu by jeep. 8 to 9 hours of driving on the Annapurna Circuit road.

Buffer day in Kathmandu after the scheduled return is not optional. The Kathmandu–Machhakhola road closes after heavy rain; the Larke La crossing can push a day either way for weather; a single buffer day is the difference between a relaxed last-night dinner at Or2K and missing your international flight.

What Larke La actually feels like

The Larke La crossing is the day everyone trains for and most underestimate.

You leave Dharmasala (4,460 m) by headlamp between 3:00 and 4:00 AM. Six hours of switchbacks lead to the pass — first across moraine and frozen scree, then onto the broad snow-and-ice approach below the prayer flags. The pass itself sits in a wind notch between Larkya Peak (6,249 m) to the north and Mount Manaslu's east shoulder to the south. Wind on the pass routinely hits 40 to 60 km/h on autumn mornings. Temperatures at sunrise on the pass run -10°C to -20°C in October and November.

The descent is the part that breaks people. 1,400 m of vertical loss over four hours, on loose moraine and snow patches. The path is steep, slippery in the upper section, and unrelenting on the knees and quads. Most trekkers find the descent harder than the climb.

Three practical points we drill into every Manaslu briefing:

Microspikes from 1 October onwards. Cho La and Larke La both gather hard snow patches by early October most years. A USD 30 pair of Kahtoola or Hillsound microspikes weighs 400 grams and prevents a slip that ends the trek.
Eat before sunrise. Most teahouses at Dharmasala serve a 3 AM porridge and tea. Eat it even if you have no appetite. The body burns 4,500 to 5,500 calories on the Larke La day and starting empty is the most common cause of the late-morning altitude crash.
Turn around protocol. If you are not at the pass by 11:00 AM, turn back. The cloud usually builds from noon and the descent in low visibility becomes a route-finding problem rather than a fitness one. Your guide will call this — listen.

The October 2025 storm and the 2026 booking calendar

Cyclone Montha's remnants crossed Nepal on 26–28 October 2025, dumping over a metre of snow on the upper Manaslu valley in 36 hours. The Larke La became impassable. The Gorkha District Administrative Office issued a ten-day ban on movement above Samagaon. Hundreds of trekkers were stranded at Samagaon and Bhimthang; commercial helicopter evacuations ran from 29 October at USD 600 to USD 1,200 per seat to Kathmandu. The same storm hit Annapurna and Mustang, where the Thorong La also closed.

Nobody died on Manaslu. The death toll in the storm sat at five — two foreign climbers on Ama Dablam (66 and 65 years old, falling ice and exhaustion) and three Nepali trekking staff in Manang district from altitude sickness while supporting clients caught above 4,500 m.

The Department of Hydrology and Meteorology has flagged late-October cyclone tracks as a recurring pattern rather than a one-off event. The mechanism — warm-water cyclones spinning off the Bay of Bengal and pushing moisture into the Himalayas as snow at altitude — is the same mechanism that drove the 2014 Annapurna storm (43 trekker deaths) and now Cyclone Montha in 2025.

Our 2026 Manaslu booking calendar reflects that:

2 October to 26 October 2026: primary autumn window. Most departures booked here.
27 October to 10 November 2026: book-with-warning. Travellers get a written briefing on the Montha lesson and the option to defer.
11 November to 24 December 2026: Larke La sees regular snow events; closures of 24 to 72 hours common. Not recommended for first-time trekkers.
25 December to 24 February 2027: Larke La effectively closed by snow. Do not book.
25 February to 25 May 2026 / 2027: spring window. Rhododendron blooms below 3,000 m through April; Larke La typically clear from mid-March.
10 June to 10 September: monsoon on the lower Manaslu trail. Tsum Valley (rain shadow) stays workable. We will book Tsum-only in monsoon and not the full circuit.

Manaslu vs Annapurna Circuit — the question every trekker asks

The two big circuit treks in central Nepal share a lot — a high pass crossing, a 14 to 18 day commitment, similar permit logistics. They differ enough that the choice matters.

Annapurna Circuit (Thorong La, 5,416 m) runs through more developed teahouse infrastructure, has the higher pass, sits in a non-restricted area (so no USD 100 RAP), and gets around 60,000 trekkers per year on the full circuit. Lodge rooms are bigger, hot showers more reliable, wifi nearly universal up to Manang. The trail crosses the road in several sections — most travellers now jeep around the lower road-walking days, leaving roughly 9 to 11 trail days.

Manaslu Circuit (Larke La, 5,106 m) runs through narrower, quieter trail with smaller teahouses and fewer trekkers — around 9,000 in 2024, growing but still under one sixth of Annapurna's traffic. Restricted-area status means licensed guide required, USD 100 permit, no jeep shortcuts. The valley is culturally Tibetan-Buddhist for the upper half, with Samagaon and Samdo feeling more like Mustang than the Hindu villages of lower Annapurna.

The one-line summary we give to travellers comparing the two: Annapurna Circuit is the easier walk with the bigger numbers, Manaslu is the quieter walk with the better culture. Travellers who have done both consistently rank Manaslu higher.

The one exception — if Larke La is your first attempt at altitude over 5,000 m and you have no high-altitude experience, the Annapurna Circuit's gentler acclimatisation profile (more lodge days at 3,500 m around Manang) is the safer first trek. Build experience on Annapurna, come back for Manaslu the year after.

Who should book Manaslu in 2026

We book the Manaslu Circuit for travellers who have:

16 to 18 days of clear holiday including buffer
Prior multi-day hiking experience (any country, any altitude)
Reasonable cardiovascular fitness — three months of hill training before arrival
Comfort with basic teahouse lodging (shared bathrooms, occasional cold rooms above 3,500 m)
A real interest in Tibetan-Buddhist culture, not just the mountain views

We do not book it for:

First-time trekkers with no prior multi-day walking — we steer them to Annapurna Base Camp, Mardi Himal, or Poon Hill
Travellers under 18 (the restricted-area permit application has a sometimes-enforced minimum age)
Anyone with a known cardiac condition without a doctor sign-off for trekking above 5,000 m
Travellers who need wifi every night or daily hot showers — Manaslu's infrastructure does not match Annapurna's

Send us your prior trekking history when you write in. We will tell you honestly whether Manaslu is the right call for the timeline and the fitness you have, or whether a different trek fits better.

Booking workflow from Kathmandu

The process we run for a 2026 Manaslu trek:

1. Inquiry → proposal in 48 hours. Include preferred dates, group size, prior trekking history. We send a written proposal with itinerary, costed budget and the named guide profile.
2. 20% deposit confirms. Permit preparation starts. Department of Immigration counter is two blocks from our office; restricted-area permits need 48 to 72 hours plus original passport scans.
3. Insurance documentation. You send proof of insurance with helicopter evacuation cover to 6,000 m at least 7 days before arrival. We carry copies for the trail.
4. Kathmandu briefing day before departure. Final gear check, route walkthrough, weather briefing, introduction to your named guide.
5. Trek runs. Daily check-in to the office via your guide's sat-phone or InReach (every Manaslu trek carries one).
6. Dharapani exit and Kathmandu return. Tip envelope handed at Dharapani. Hot shower and dinner in Thamel the same evening.

If you are reading this in June 2026 with autumn dates in mind, write to us this month — restricted-area permit slots for the second and third weeks of October fill by the first week of August most years. Spring 2027 books open in November 2026.

Manaslu is the trek we recommend most often to travellers asking for 'the quieter Annapurna Circuit.' It is not just a quieter walk — it is a different walk, with a different culture, a sharper acclimatisation curve, and a route that the Montha lesson has made us more careful about. Worth the planning, in our reading.

NEPAL NEXUS · KATHMANDU

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Quick answers

What travellers ask about this.

Can a solo trekker now do the Manaslu Circuit in 2026?: Yes, with one condition. On 22 March 2026, Nepal's Department of Immigration removed the requirement that a Manaslu Restricted Area Permit could only be issued when a second foreign trekker was named on the same application. A single foreign trekker can now book the trek through a government-registered trekking agency, get the permit issued in their own name, and walk with a licensed guide. The licensed-guide rule has not changed — Manaslu sits inside a restricted area, so the guide requirement is national law, not policy. What changed is that you no longer need to wait for a stranger to fly in on the same week to validate your permit.
How much does the Manaslu Circuit Trek cost in 2026?: Plan USD 1,200 to USD 1,700 per person for a guided 13 to 15 day trek on a two-person basis, including all permits, ground transfers, a licensed guide at USD 28 to 30 per day, an optional porter at USD 20 to 22 per day, teahouse lodging across the trail and most meals. A solo trekker pays about 15 to 20 percent more because the guide and porter cost spreads across one person. A group of four drops the per-head price to roughly USD 1,050 to USD 1,400. Add USD 130 to USD 180 for mandatory insurance with helicopter evacuation cover to 6,000 m. Adding the Tsum Valley side loop pushes the trek to 17 to 21 days and lifts the price to about USD 1,500 to USD 2,000.
What permits do I need for the Manaslu Circuit in 2026?: Four pieces of paper, all handled by your trekking agency in Kathmandu. One — Manaslu Restricted Area Permit (RAP), USD 100 for the first 7 days plus USD 15 per extra day in September to November; USD 75 for the first 7 days plus USD 10 per extra day from December to August. Two — Manaslu Conservation Area Permit (MCAP), flat USD 30 regardless of duration. Three — Annapurna Conservation Area Permit (ACAP), USD 30 (covers the final two days from Dharapani onwards). Four — Chum Nubri Rural Municipality Entry Fee, around NPR 2,000 (about USD 15), collected at the Jagat checkpoint in cash. Total permit spend for a standard 14-day autumn trek: roughly USD 280 per person.
Has the road really shortened the Manaslu Circuit Trek?: Yes — by one to two days at the start, depending on how far your jeep can get. The Soti Khola road extension reached Machhakhola in late 2024 and now consistently delivers travellers to Machhakhola (930 m) in a 9 to 10 hour 4WD ride from Kathmandu. The road continues in rough condition toward Jagat and Pangsing, but most agencies stop the jeep at Machhakhola for two reasons: the road above is rocky and slow, and starting the walk at Machhakhola gives you a gentler acclimatisation gradient than skipping ahead to Jagat. The classic 16 day itinerary that started in Arughat (570 m) is now 13 to 14 days starting in Machhakhola. The route stays the same — the cut comes off the first low-altitude road-walking section, which was the least interesting part of the old trek anyway.
Is the Manaslu Circuit harder than the Annapurna Circuit?: Yes, in three ways. Altitude — Larke La sits at 5,106 m versus Thorong La at 5,416 m, so the pass is lower but the approach gives you less time to acclimatise (you go from 930 m at Machhakhola to 5,106 m in 10 trail days, faster than the standard Annapurna Circuit profile). Daily distance — Manaslu averages 14 to 18 km per day with several 700 to 900 m vertical gain days, which is more demanding than the Annapurna trail. Remoteness — the Manaslu valley has fewer teahouses, smaller lodge rooms and patchier 4G signal than Annapurna; rescue logistics are harder. Nepal Mountaineering Association rates Manaslu Grade 4 and the Annapurna Circuit Grade 3. Most travellers who have done both call Manaslu the better trek and the harder one.
What happened on Larke La in October 2025 and does it change 2026 planning?: On 27 October 2025, an extreme snowstorm linked to the remnants of Cyclone Montha dumped over a metre of snow on the upper Manaslu valley in 36 hours. The Larke La (5,106 m) became impassable and Gorkha's District Administrative Office banned movement above Samagaon for ten days. Hundreds of trekkers were stranded at Samagaon and Bhimthang; helicopter evacuations ran from 29 October onwards. No trekker deaths were reported on Manaslu in that storm, though three trekking staff died of altitude sickness in neighbouring Manang District supporting groups near Narpabhumi during the same weather event. For 2026 we are pulling our late-October Manaslu departures back to the second and third weeks of October and stopping the booking window on 26 October. November Manaslu trips are now book-with-warning rather than recommended — the storm was unusual but the cyclone tracks that drove it are forecast to recur.
Should I do Manaslu Circuit clockwise or anticlockwise?: Manaslu runs anticlockwise only. The Budhi Gandaki valley climbs from Machhakhola up the western side to Samagaon and Samdo, then crosses Larke La eastward to Bhimthang and descends to Dharapani — and the gradient on the Dharapani-to-Larke side is too steep to do the reverse safely with normal trekker fitness. Every agency in Nepal books it the same direction. The only routing decision you make is whether to add Tsum Valley as a side loop early on (adds 5 to 7 days) and whether to walk out the last two days to Besisahar or take a jeep from Dharapani.
Is Tsum Valley worth adding to a Manaslu Circuit trek?: For travellers with 21 days, yes — it is the single best add-on to a Nepal restricted-area trek. Tsum Valley is a Tibetan-Buddhist enclave that branches north from the main Manaslu trail at Lokpa (2,240 m), climbing to Mu Gompa (3,700 m) and Rachen Gompa, two of the oldest active monasteries in the Nepal Himalayas. The Tsum people have practised a strict non-violence tradition (no animals killed in the valley) for over 600 years. The side loop adds 5 to 7 days and a USD 40 (Sep-Nov) or USD 30 (Dec-Aug) restricted-area permit on top of the standard Manaslu fees. The valley is also unusual on the Nepal calendar: it sits partly in the rain shadow, so a late-May or early-June Tsum Valley add-on stays mostly dry while the lower Manaslu trail starts getting wet.
When is the best time for the Manaslu Circuit Trek in 2026?: Autumn 2026 — second and third weeks of October — is the safest, clearest window. Spring 2026 — mid-March to early May — is the second window, with rhododendron blooms on the lower trail and stable weather at Larke La. We do not book Manaslu departures between 20 October and 5 November in 2026 (Cyclone Montha lesson), between 25 December and 25 February (Larke La snow risk), or between 10 June and 10 September (monsoon on the lower trail). The early-September window has fewer crowds and the trail is dramatic — but afternoon rain runs 40 to 50 percent of days through the second week and lodge owners are still opening from monsoon, so book it only if you accept some weather risk.