Our Luxury Manaslu Circuit Trek Experience – A German Couple’s 15 Days Around Mount Manaslu

Written by: Lukas and Anna Becker, Munich, Germany Trekked: October 5 to October 19, 2025 Company: Manaslu Treks and Expedition Pvt. Ltd. Guide: Kiran

We are Lukas and Anna, a couple from Munich, Germany. Lukas works as a civil engineer and Anna is a school teacher. We have been trekking together for eight years across the Alps, Patagonia, and the Dolomites, but Nepal had always been on a different level in our minds. Something we would do when the time was right.

In the autumn of 2025 the time was right.

We chose the Luxury Manaslu Circuit Trek specifically because we had read that the standard teahouse experience on busy routes like Everest and Annapurna had become crowded and rushed. We wanted proper mountains, proper remoteness, and proper comfort without carrying the anxiety of bad beds and shared bathrooms after a ten hour trekking day. What we got was far more than we expected across 15 remarkable days.

This is our honest account of every stage of the trek. We have written it together because some moments belong equally to both of us and some belong to only one of us, and we think that honesty makes a better read.

How We Found Manaslu Treks and Expedition

Anna found Manaslu Treks and Expedition after about three weeks of research. She had been reading blogs, watching YouTube videos, and comparing companies on TripAdvisor when she noticed that most of the companies offering Manaslu treks were general Nepal operators handling fifteen different routes with no particular specialisation. Manaslu Treks and Expedition stood out immediately because they focus specifically and exclusively on the Manaslu region.

She messaged them on WhatsApp on a Sunday evening Munich time and had a detailed reply within the hour. That speed and quality of communication was the first signal that this company operated differently.

Kiran replied personally, explained the luxury package in detail, sent a full cost breakdown with no hidden items, and answered Anna’s list of fourteen questions without making her feel like she was being difficult. When she asked specifically about attached bathrooms and room quality at each teahouse along the route, Kiran went through the itinerary teahouse by teahouse and told her exactly what to expect at each stage, including which single village on the route had shared facilities due to infrastructure limitations. That level of transparency before booking built immediate trust.

We booked the 15 Days Luxury Manaslu Circuit Trek for two people at USD 1,700 per person. Every single item was included. No surprises on arrival in Kathmandu.

Arriving in Kathmandu – Moonlight Hotel

We landed at Tribhuvan International Airport on the evening of October 5. A driver from Manaslu Treks and Expedition was waiting at arrivals with a sign bearing our names. The transfer was in a clean, comfortable private vehicle and took around 30 minutes to reach the hotel in Kathmandu.

The hotel was the Moonlight Hotel in Thamel, and our first reaction when we walked in was genuine surprise. We had expected a standard budget Thamel guesthouse based on the trekking package price. Instead the Moonlight Hotel was a proper, elegant property with a warm lobby, polished stone floors, attentive staff at the reception desk, and a dining room that smelled of good food. Our room was spacious, with a large double bed, good linen, a desk, a wardrobe, and a bathroom with consistent hot water and proper fittings. Anna immediately sent a photograph to her sister in Hamburg.

The next morning Kiran came to meet us at the hotel over breakfast. He is a quietly confident man who carries authority without any arrogance. He sat down with us, ordered tea, and spent 90 minutes going through the entire 15 day itinerary in detail. He explained the permit system, described each section of the trail, told us what the weather was likely to do in October in the upper valley, and checked our gear with a practised eye. He suggested Anna add a warmer hat and told Lukas his waterproof jacket was excellent for the lower sections but he should have an extra down layer for the pass morning.

He also handed us each a Nepal Telecom NTC SIM card, already activated, with 4G data included. He explained that NTC covers almost the entire Manaslu Circuit and works well through the high villages of Sama Gaon and Samdo. He was right. We had reliable signal almost everywhere on the route, which mattered to us because Anna was posting trip updates for her students back in Munich who were following the trek as part of a geography project.

That evening we walked around Thamel, bought a few extra items, ate dinner at a rooftop restaurant near the hotel, and went to bed early feeling genuinely prepared and calm.

Day 1 to Day 2: Kathmandu to Machha Khola by Private Jeep

On the morning of October 7 we loaded our bags into a private 4WD jeep at 6 AM. This was one of the details that had impressed us when reading about the luxury package. On the standard circuit most trekkers take a crowded local bus for nine hours to reach Machha Khola. The private jeep made the drive a completely different experience.

The vehicle was a clean, well maintained Land Cruiser with comfortable seats and good suspension. Kiran sat in the front with the driver and pointed out landmarks as we drove west from Kathmandu through Prithvi Highway, past Arughat, and into the Budhi Gandaki valley. The road became increasingly rough after Arughat but the jeep handled it without difficulty. We stopped twice for tea and once for a proper lunch at a roadside dal bhat restaurant where Kiran ordered for us and explained what each dish was.

Lukas spent most of the drive looking out of the window at the hills and rivers. After the flat urban landscape of Munich this scenery felt almost violent in its beauty. Anna spent part of the drive talking with Kiran about the Nubri communities in the upper valley and the changes the region has seen since trekking began there.

We reached Machha Khola at 930 meters in the late afternoon. The teahouse Kiran had selected was the best one in the village, set slightly apart from the road with a clean dining room and a private room with an attached bathroom. The hot shower worked. The bed was firm and comfortable. We ate dal bhat, drank ginger tea, and listened to the Budhi Gandaki river running below the village as we fell asleep.

Day 3: Machha Khola to Jagat

Our first proper trekking day began at 7:30 AM after a breakfast of porridge, eggs, and toast. The trail immediately entered the Budhi Gandaki gorge and the landscape became dramatic within the first hour. High forested walls on both sides of the river, suspension bridges crossing back and forth over rushing green water, and a trail that felt genuinely remote even on the first day.

Anna crossed her first suspension bridge of the trip about two hours in. She is not afraid of heights but she is respectful of them, and Kiran walked across with her at a steady pace without making it into a performance. Once she was across she laughed and said it was fine. Lukas had already been waiting on the other side pretending to be unimpressed.

We stopped at Tatopani in the late morning, where natural hot springs feed into a small bathing area beside the trail. After two hours of walking the warm water on our feet was extraordinary. Kiran said he always stops there on the first day because it sets the right pace and mood for everything that follows.

At Jagat we registered at the first permit checkpoint. Kiran handled all the paperwork while we sat outside in the afternoon sun with two cups of tea. Our room at the teahouse in Jagat had an attached bathroom with a hot shower. We washed the trail dust off and felt completely human again before dinner. This pattern, walking hard and then recovering in genuine comfort, became the rhythm of the entire trek and it made an enormous difference to how we felt physically by the time we reached the high sections.

Day 4: Jagat to Deng

Deng is the one stop on the route where attached bathroom facilities are limited due to the village infrastructure. Kiran had told us this honestly in Kathmandu before we even booked, which is why it did not feel like a surprise. The shared bathroom at the teahouse in Deng was clean and well maintained. It simply was not attached to our room. After eight hours of walking through the deepening gorge past Phillim village and multiple river crossings we did not find it difficult to manage for one night.

What Deng gave us instead was a dining room full of other trekkers from around the world, a wood burning stove at the center of the room, and one of the best conversations of the entire trip. We met a retired couple from Japan who were doing the circuit for the second time, a solo trekker from Australia, and two friends from Switzerland who had taken a month off work to walk. Kiran sat with all of us and told stories about the route that had everyone laughing and asking questions. Those evenings around the stove in Deng are something we have talked about many times since returning to Munich.

Day 5: Deng to Namrung

The trail climbed steadily out of the lower gorge and the vegetation changed noticeably. Pine forest replaced the subtropical growth of the lower sections and the air felt cleaner and colder. We passed through Bihi and Ghap, both small settlements with traditional mani walls running alongside the trail. Kiran stopped at each one and explained the practice of passing to the left, keeping the carved stones on your right side as a sign of respect.

By this point we had settled into a comfortable trekking rhythm together. Kiran set the pace, always slightly ahead, checking back regularly without being intrusive. Lukas tended to push slightly faster than he should have on uphills and Kiran had a quiet way of suggesting a water break at exactly the right moment to slow things down. Anna found her stride on the flatter sections and surprised herself with how comfortable she felt at increasing altitude.

Our teahouse in Namrung had an attached bathroom with hot water. The room had a window looking directly toward Siringi Himal, which was fully lit by evening sun when we arrived. We sat on the small bench outside our room for thirty minutes before dinner just looking at it.

Day 6: Namrung to Shyala

Shyala sits at 3,500 meters and the trail to reach it from Namrung passes through some of the most beautiful mid-altitude forest on the entire circuit. Rhododendron trees, juniper, and high alpine meadows opened gradually as we gained elevation. The Manaslu Conservation Area felt increasingly wild and undisturbed.

The teahouse in Shyala was a genuine highlight of the trip. It sat on a small rise above the village with a clear view across the valley toward the peaks on the western side of the circuit. Our room was spacious by mountain standards, with two proper beds, good blankets, and an attached bathroom with a solar heated shower. The shower pressure was surprisingly strong. Anna washed her hair for the first time since Kathmandu and announced it as one of the best moments of the trek so far, which made Kiran laugh.

Dinner that evening was yak steak with roasted potatoes and a vegetable soup. We had not expected that quality of food at 3,500 meters. Kiran explained that the teahouse owner in Shyala had been running his lodge for twenty years and took genuine pride in the meals. That kind of local knowledge, knowing which teahouse in which village is genuinely exceptional, is something only a guide with Kiran’s depth of experience on this specific circuit can provide.

Day 7: Shyala to Sama Gaon – The Day Manaslu Appeared

We had seen photographs of Mount Manaslu many times during our months of research. We thought we knew what to expect. We were completely wrong.

The trail from Shyala climbed above the treeline into open alpine terrain and then passed through Lho, a beautiful Tibetan village perched on a hillside with Ribung Gompa monastery sitting above it. Kiran had a warm relationship with the monastery from previous treks and we stopped there for butter tea with one of the monks. The monastery was ancient and quiet, completely authentic, with no sense of performance for visitors.

Then we came around a long bend in the trail above Lho and Manaslu was simply there.

Anna stopped walking immediately. Lukas walked two more steps and then he stopped too. Neither of us said anything for probably thirty seconds. The mountain rises above the valley in a way that photographs cannot prepare you for. It is not just big. It has a presence that is almost physical, like the air in front of it is different from the air everywhere else. The southwest face was fully lit by mid-morning sun, every ridge and couloir in sharp relief, the summit at 8,163 meters surrounded by a thin streamer of windblown snow.

Kiran stood beside us and said nothing for a while. Then he said quietly that this was the moment he brought people to Manaslu for. Not the pass, not the permits, not the logistics. This moment.

We reached Sama Gaon at 3,530 meters in the early afternoon. It is a Tibetan Buddhist community of genuine depth, with monasteries, mani walls, prayer flags connecting every rooftop, and yaks grazing on the meadows above the village. Our room at the lodge had an attached bathroom, a view directly toward Manaslu, and a thick duvet that we were grateful for as the temperature dropped sharply after sunset.

Day 8: Acclimatization Day in Sama Gaon

Kiran planned the rest day carefully. Morning to Birendra Lake, afternoon to Pungyen Gompa, evening free.

Birendra Lake is a glacial lake below the Manaslu glacier with water the colour of deep jade. Blocks of ice drift slowly at the far edge. The glacier above it is retreating visibly, Kiran pointed out the line on the rock where the ice had been ten years ago and where it is now, which was sobering. But the lake itself is one of the most beautiful things either of us has seen anywhere in the world. We sat beside it for an hour. Lukas took more photographs in that hour than in any other single hour of the trek.

In the afternoon at Pungyen Gompa, the elderly monk who looks after the monastery welcomed us with butter tea and dried fruit. He had been at the monastery for over forty years. Kiran translated as the monk explained some of the paintings on the walls. There was no rush, no other visitors, no schedule. Just a small monastery on a hillside above a Himalayan valley and an old monk who seemed genuinely pleased to share it.

That evening Anna wrote in her journal for a long time. She said the acclimatization day had been the most culturally meaningful day of any trip they had taken together in eight years of travelling.

Day 9: Sama Gaon to Samdo

A short three to four hour day that Kiran used deliberately to build altitude slowly. Samdo sits at 3,875 meters and the trail crosses yak pastures and follows the valley floor toward the Tibetan border ridge. We passed several yak herders moving their animals to lower pastures for winter, a quiet and ancient annual rhythm that the Manaslu valley has followed for centuries.

Our room in Samdo had an attached bathroom. The hot water came from a solar system and was lukewarm rather than hot, which was entirely acceptable at this altitude. We wore extra layers to dinner and went to bed by 8 PM.

Lukas woke once in the night with a mild headache. Kiran had prepared us for this and told us to drink extra water and take it as a normal sign of altitude adjustment rather than a warning. By morning it was completely gone.

Day 10: Samdo to Dharamsala

Dharamsala at 4,460 meters is not a luxury stop. It is a small collection of basic teahouses in an exposed position below the pass and there is no attached bathroom, no hot shower, and no electricity beyond a small solar light in the dining room. The toilet is an outhouse. The beds are basic.

None of this mattered even slightly.

Kiran had told us exactly what to expect and we had adjusted our expectations accordingly. We ate a large dinner of dal bhat and noodle soup, packed everything carefully for the 4 AM start, and were in bed by 7 PM. The wind picked up strongly after dark and the teahouse walls flexed slightly with the gusts, which was an experience entirely its own.

Kiran checked the weather from two different sources that evening and spoke with two other guides who had crossed the pass the previous day. He was satisfied with what he heard. He said conditions looked clean and cold. He told us to set three alarms.

We lay in the dark listening to the mountain wind and neither of us could sleep before midnight.

Day 11: The Pass – Dharamsala to Bimthang

This was the day.

We left at 4 AM under a sky so full of stars it looked artificial. Kiran led with a headtorch, walking at a measured pace across the moraine field in complete darkness. The cold was approximately minus twelve degrees with wind making it feel far worse. Every layer we owned was on our bodies.

As the trail climbed onto the glacier section the sky began to change. Black became dark blue became the first thin orange line above the peaks behind us. Kiran named the silhouettes emerging from the darkness, Cheo Himal to the right, Himlung beyond it, and then further right the unmistakable outline of Manaslu, enormous even in near darkness.

We reached the Larkya La Pass at 5,106 meters at 7:15 AM, just as the sun cleared the ridge behind us and lit the entire western panorama.

Lukas had expected to feel exhausted and emotional. He felt both of those things but the emotion that dominated was something quieter and larger than he has a word for in either German or English. Anna cried, which she had not expected, and felt no embarrassment about it at all. The view was simply that overwhelming.

Annapurna II rose directly to the south, enormous and white. To the west the entire Annapurna massif spread in a continuous wall of ice and rock. To the north the glacial cirque below the pass caught the early light in shades of blue and white that seemed impossible. Every peak Kiran had been naming throughout the trek, Himlung, Nemjung, Gyaji Kang, Kang Guru, was visible in perfect clarity.

Kiran helped us tie the prayer flags we had brought from Sama Gaon to the lines at the pass cairn. He explained the meaning of each colour and the direction each flag faces. Standing there at 5,106 meters with those flags moving in the wind and the entire Himalayan horizon surrounding us, we understood completely why people make the journey to Manaslu specifically for this moment.

The descent to Bimthang took four hours through loose rock, steep switchbacks, and then gradually softening terrain as the altitude dropped. Our legs were trembling by the time we reached the teahouse at 3,720 meters. We had attached bathroom rooms, a hot shower each, the largest meal of the entire trek, and we were asleep before the sun had finished setting.

Day 12: Bimthang to Tilije

The descent continued through one of the most beautiful sections of the entire circuit. Alpine meadows gave way to rhododendron forest, then to Gurung apple orchards heavy with October fruit. The air thickened noticeably with each hundred meters of descent and by Tilije at 2,300 meters we were walking in our shirt sleeves in warm afternoon sun.

Kiran relaxed on this day. The technical section was behind us and the mood was lighter and more reflective. He talked about his own life growing up in Dhading, about how he came to guiding and what it has meant to him to spend so many seasons on this specific circuit. He said the Manaslu region never became routine for him regardless of how many times he crossed the pass. The mountains were always different and the guests were always different and that combination kept the work alive.

Anna asked him what he wanted for the region over the next twenty years. He said he wanted the trails to stay quiet, the Nubri villages to retain their character, and the permit system to keep the numbers low enough that the authentic experience did not erode the way it had on Everest and in the most crowded parts of the Annapurna Circuit. He said he believed the luxury model of trekking was actually better for conservation because fewer trekkers spending appropriately was more sustainable than high volume budget tourism.

We thought about that for most of the walk into Tilije. Our room had an attached bathroom and the hot shower pressure was the best of the entire trek.

Day 13: Drive Back to Kathmandu

The private jeep met us in Tilije and we drove back through Besisahar and then south on the Prithvi Highway toward Kathmandu. The same comfortable Land Cruiser, the same smooth organisation. We were back at the Moonlight Hotel in Thamel by early evening.

The hotel room felt extraordinary after thirteen nights on the trail. Anna ran a bath and stayed in it for forty minutes. Lukas ordered room service and ate it while sitting on the bed watching rain fall outside the window over Thamel’s rooftops.

Kiran came to collect us for a farewell dinner at a restaurant nearby. He presented us each with a trekking completion certificate from Manaslu Treks and Expedition and gave us a small gift of Himalayan tea from Sama Gaon. We ate well and talked for a long time and said goodbye properly outside the restaurant at around 10 PM.

We walked back to the Moonlight Hotel quietly, both a little overwhelmed by the fact that it was over.

What the NTC SIM Card Actually Did for Us

We want to mention this specifically because it mattered more than we expected. The NTC SIM card that Kiran provided on day one in Kathmandu worked reliably throughout almost the entire route.

In Machha Khola, Jagat, Namrung, Shyala, Sama Gaon, and Samdo we had consistent 4G signal. Anna posted updates and photographs for her class in Munich from each of those villages without difficulty. Lukas used it to send location updates to his family and to check weather forecasts before the pass crossing.

The signal dropped only around Dharamsala at 4,460 meters, which is the final teahouse before the pass, and even there we had one bar of signal at certain points near the upper edge of the settlement. Below Dharamsala on the Bimthang descent the signal returned quickly.

For anyone travelling with family or professional responsibilities at home, the NTC SIM on the luxury package is genuinely useful and we would not have wanted to manage the communication logistics without it.

Bathroom and Room Quality – Our Honest Assessment

Because this was the luxury package and because it was one of our primary questions before booking, we want to give an honest account of room and bathroom quality at each stop.

Moonlight Hotel Kathmandu: Excellent. Spacious room, large attached bathroom, consistent hot water, good linen.

Machha Khola: Private room, attached bathroom, hot shower. Clean and comfortable.

Jagat: Private room, attached bathroom, hot shower. Good quality for the altitude.

Deng: Private room, shared bathroom. Clean and well maintained. One night, not a problem.

Namrung: Private room, attached bathroom, hot shower. Room had a view of Siringi Himal.

Shyala: Private room, attached bathroom, strong solar hot shower. Best shower of the trek below the pass.

Sama Gaon: Private room, attached bathroom, view of Manaslu. Thick duvets. Excellent.

Samdo: Private room, attached bathroom, lukewarm solar water. Acceptable at this altitude.

Dharamsala: Basic teahouse, shared outdoor facilities, no hot shower. Expected and fine for one night before the pass.

Bimthang: Private room, attached bathroom, hot shower. Deeply appreciated after the pass crossing.

Tilije: Private room, attached bathroom, the best shower pressure of the entire trek.

Moonlight Hotel Kathmandu on return: Everything we remembered and more appreciated than before

Our Honest Tips for Anyone Planning the Luxury Manaslu Circuit Trek

Best time to go

• October was ideal for us. Clear skies, dry trail, cold nights at altitude, and the autumn light in the upper valley was extraordinary
• March to May is equally good, rhododendrons bloom in the lower sections and the landscape is green and alive
• Avoid the monsoon months of June to August completely

What to pack

• Down jacket rated to minus twelve or colder for the pass morning
• Waterproof outer shell for the lower gorge sections
• Trekking poles, essential on the long descent from Larkya La
• Sleeping bag rated to minus five even on the luxury package, because mountain nights are genuinely cold above Namrung
• High altitude sunscreen and glacier rated sunglasses

Food on the trail

• Dal bhat at every teahouse and it is the best fuel available, eat it without hesitation
• The teahouse in Shyala serves exceptional food including yak meat dishes
• Drink at least three litres of water daily from Namrung upward regardless of thirst

Altitude warnings

• The acclimatization day in Sama Gaon is not optional
• If your guide says slow down, slow down immediately
• Travel insurance with helicopter evacuation above 6,000 meters is mandatory, check your policy covers it before you leave home

Fitness preparation

• Two to three months of consistent uphill walking with a daypack
• Weekend hikes of four to six hours are the most relevant preparation
• The pass day is eight to ten hours total, everything before it is building toward that single day

Money

• Carry enough Nepali rupees in cash from Kathmandu, there are no ATMs after Arughat
• Budget for tips, Kiran and the porter both deserve generous recognition

Our Final Words

We planned this trek for two years and it exceeded every expectation we had built in that time.

The Luxury Manaslu Circuit Trek with Manaslu Treks and Expedition delivered genuine comfort at every point where comfort was possible, was honest about the one point where it was not, and gave us a guide in Kiran whose knowledge, care, and presence elevated the entire experience beyond what any itinerary on paper could have suggested.

We crossed the Larkya La Pass at 5,106 meters together, in perfect weather, in perfect condition, with a guide who had been preparing us for that moment from the first cup of tea at the Moonlight Hotel in Kathmandu. That is what the right company and the right guide actually means in practice.

We will come back to Nepal. We are already talking about the Tsum Valley extension from the Manaslu Circuit. When we do, we will contact Kiran first.