Trip Review
Carsten Krage 3 years ago
After having been to Nepal for trekking several times before, we came to Nepal in October 2019 to hike the Manaslu Circuit. It was important to us that the tour was led by Bir Rai, a guide whom we have hiked with on earlier treks, too. Together with two porters and Bir Rai we started the tour by jeep from Kathmandu. The first few days of the trek led us up the narrow valley of Budhi Khola, this part of the trek is not suitable for people with fear of heights. The valley became more open as we reached higher altitudes. Bir Rai was again a perfect guide who led our trek very safely and reliably. We are from the coast, so the sea and flat land are our accustomed landscape. Even though we have done long treks in Nepal several times before, our guide is indispensable to the tour: planning, organizing and leading the trek, providing safety and knowledge. Having Bir Rai take care of everything before and during the trek provided us with freedom and peace to fully engage with the fantastic landscape, the people and the hiking itself.
The day over the Larkya La pass was long but very impressive. It was a great feeling to reach the top and to have made it up there. Instead of views of Mount Manaslu we now saw the Annapurnas and the Dhaulagiri quite closely. After another two days we reached the route in Dharapani which we had last hiked 27 years ago on the Annapurna Circuit to Thorung La.
We will definitely go trekking in Nepal again. Like last time, we already developed ideas for the next hike with Bir Rai at the end of this hike around Manaslu Circuit. In any case, we will again rely on our proven guide.
Carsten (60) and Leena (54) Krage
Kiel, Germany
