Ultimate Manaslu Circuit Trek Experience: Rides, Hotels, Food & Guides with Manaslu Guide
27 Nov 2024 Chandra Gurung
Imagine trekking through the incredibly difficult Manaslu Circuit in the year 1996 with no facilities for any transportation, hotels, or food services and not knowing whether you should move forward or quit. Thankfully, a lot has changed over the years and trekkers can find good facilities transportation, homestays, and good food for most of the trek.
Manaslu Guide creates a complete trekking experience in the Manaslu region that ensures a seamless and unforgettable adventure. Delightful drives towards the trailhead, comfortable teahouses, and delicious local dishes altogether add to the unforgettable experience.
Whether you are embarking on the Manaslu Circuit Trek or not, here is a guideline on what you should expect in food, drink, and accommodation on this beautiful trek:
Healthy Food and Drinks in Manaslu
A good diet gives nourishment and a lot of it is necessary for strenuous trekking activities such as walking the Manaslu Circuit trek. Nonetheless, energy is not all that food is aimed at, it is also about history, geography, peoples, their harvests or farms, and often times cooking styles.
If you are in Nepal and go on a trekking expedition, do not miss the chance to enjoy Nepalese cuisine. These are some dishes that we recommend you enjoy at Manaslu:
1. Dal bhat tarkari (Lentils rice and curry):
It is the most common food in Nepal, and many of the Nepali people consume dal bhat tarkari about twice a day. Dal is a boiled lentil soup and is served with rice. Tarkari is usually a vegetable curry, but at times it is also a meat or fish curry. Dal bhat tarkari is often eaten with some kind of pickles, for taste purposes. Curry is hot and spicy in most cases. And for the real taste, eat it with your hands.
2. Momos (dumplings)
Your trip to Nepal would be incomplete without momos, which are mostly eaten as snacks. Momos are basically like Chinese dumplings but with thinner covering and spicy fillings. The fillings can differ but are mostly buff. You will find several restaurants that only sell buff momos. Even in Manaslu, you will find local momos that taste like heaven in the freezing cold.
3. Other Local Dishes
While most of the Nepali dishes are based on Tibetan or Indian food habits, some are particularly Nepali. Some typical Nepali dishes that you can find anywhere in Nepal, even in Manaslu are dhindo (Buckwheat, millet, or corn flour thick gruel), gundruk (dried and fermented spinach leaves), and roti (bread). You can try many varieties of Newari cuisines such as Choiyala (buffalo meat with spices and grilled), Chatamari, Bara, and Yomari.
4. International food
Every traveller has a particular taste and should enjoy that irrespective of the new environment. During the Manaslu Circuit Trek, you can find foods ranging from pizza, burgers, cereals, pancakes, pasta, etc in many hotels. So, if you’re not that into Nepali cuisine, you can opt for these.
5. Snacks
Manaslu Circuit Trek is an intensive trek and as you hike you will need plenty of energy. Prepare yourself and bring along some granola bars, nuts, dried fruits, and chocolates as quick refuelling snacks because while hiking, your body is giving out a lot of energy.
It is also recommended that you purchase these snacks from Kathmandu as they tend to be pricey and hard to get in the trekking areas.
7. Water and Cold drinks
There absolutely must be water for all living organisms. Therefore, having clean, drinkable water is important for the Manaslu trek. Because there will be more breathing, more water will be needed as well. All sorts of water sources such as taps, wells, and rivers will be found in the trekking areas but we advise against using them because of hygiene.
However, it is possible to find packed water in shops on the way but to protect the environment, we suggest carrying a water bottle and buying boiled water tea houses. Moreover, it is advisable to carry purification pills for water treatment just to be on the safer side.
Similarly, while it is easy to get Cokes, Fanta, or Sprite whilst, on the trails, it is usually costly to get it in remote areas.
8. Tea and coffee
Most Nepalese people are tea lovers and Nepal produces tea in huge quantities. I am sure coffee can be found but it is not as loved as tea in our country. Most of the tea drank in Nepal is a combination of tea leaves boiled with milk and water poured and sweetened with sugar.
Nevertheless, there are other types of tea such as black tea (with no milk), tea made of mint, tea with a hint of lemon, and green tea among others. During the Manaslu trek, you can also get Himalayan tea, made of milk, sugar, salt, water, and some herbs which tastes excellent and does great things for your gut health.
9. Alcoholic drinks
The Manaslu Circuit trek is a strenuous trek with a lot of uphills and downhills. Therefore, one has to take care fn how much one drinks. Your guide will most likely be able to tell you when to drink. In the course of the trails, one will come across alcoholic beverages such as wine, beer, locally distilled liquor called raksi, and even other brands.
A number of containers of beer as well as whiskey are stocked. But these alcoholic products tend to be much more expensive in faraway areas like Manaslu. And, drinking alcohol of any kind during the trek is highly prohibited since it affects your body. You can enjoy that after completing the Manaslu Circuit Trek.
Safe and Comfortable accommodations in Manaslu
Despite being a hard and remote trek, the ultimate Manaslu Circuit Trek is fortunately made more accessible by the strategic placement of some tourism infrastructures. That eliminates the need to spend the night in tent camps. You are likely to be accommodated in teahouses and lodges for the most part.
1. Teahouses and Lodges
Basic services are offered in the form of this type of lodging with shared rooms and dining and social areas. Rooms are equipped with basic mattresses and blankets, but carrying a sleeping bag for added warmth is advisable.
Most tea houses and lodge facilities are interconnected to the internet and offer food services as well. There’s a variation between the two rooms and prices since lodges are higher priced and offer more services than teahouses. Most of the rooms are on a twin-sharing basis.
2. Basic and standard amenities
Most teahouses provide standard toilets and very simple shower areas with cold water. There is an option of purchasing hot showers for those, who would like to have them but an extra charge is added for that. All these tea houses and lodges have electricity and there are places to charge your gadgets.
These tea houses and lodges tend to be better and warmer although the facilities provided are basic. The service is friendly and open, and there is a chance to meet people, exchange stories, and even learn about the state of the trails.
Transportation during the Manaslu Circuit Trek
Apart from the first day of the journey from Kathmandu, no other means of travel will be utilized during your Manaslu Circuit Trek except of course your two feet.
Bus ride or jeep ride from Kathmandu to Soti Khola
Your excursion towards the Manaslu Circuit starts with a pleasant experience of travelling in a jeep or bus, for example, from Kathmandu. If you’re travelling by a jeep that might take you 8 hours to reach Soti Khola, under normal road and traffic conditions. But, the journey might take much longer if you’re traveling via a public bus.
As you surpass Kathmandu and move towards the hills, the scenery will captivate you and you will start catching glimpses of mountains along the way. Upon your arrival at Soti Khola, you can relax and eat some good food. Also, buy some things if you need to because it is unlikely you can get things ahead.
After that, for weeks, the only way you can travel is on your feet so prepare yourself well. Do not expect any bus or jeep as the roads are extremely slippery and narrow. Certainly, there is no means of air transportation as well.
Conclusion
The Manaslu Circuit trek is an expedition that will take you to the remote regions of Nepal. This curving part of the world will involve walking, sightseeing, and interacting with people of different cultures. More so, you will be sampling different foods and appreciating their ways of life.
With sufficient information on Manaslu Circuit Trek food, drink, and accommodation, you will enhance your meaning of enjoying the trek! Choosing the Manaslu Guide will help trekkers understand the culture, history, and geography of the area which is an advantage to the journey.
FAQs
1. Are there any luxury hotels on the way to Manaslu Circuit Trek?
Ans: No. Do not be fooled if someone tells you that there are luxury hotels in Manaslu. There are, however, very comfortable lodges and teahouses where you can get good food, bathrooms, and comfortable beds to sleep in the night. In the isolated region of Manaslu, getting such facilities is nothing less than a luxury.
2. Why is there no transportation in the Manaslu region?
Ans: The Manaslu area is so isolated and difficult to navigate roads and buses. Dense mountain forests, gorges, and high-altitude passes do not favour the construction and maintenance of facilities. This isolation enhances the beauty and cultural integrity of the area.
Hence, walking across the land remains the preferred means of transport allowing for the visitors to soak in the sights in a different fashion.