10 days Nar Phu Valley Trek- Cost and Itinerary
The Nar Phu Valley Trek in 2024 can be an ideal junket for you in the Himalayas because it’s a complete trek. It lets you first-hand experience the sheer serene beauty of nature and culture. Annapurna mountains, the beautiful oldest and highest altitude Khampa settlement, Tibetan-influenced culture, peaceful trekking route, and 5,320 meters high Kang La Pass are the highlights of Nar Phu Valley. Also, if you’ve done Everest Base Camp Trek or Annapurna Base Camp, trekking to Nar Phu would be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Trust us because our trek leader curated this trek package after he completed this trek on April 15, 2024.
Why Nar Phu Trek in 2024?
- Once-in-a-lifetime adventure.
- Peaceful trekking route with absolutely no trekkers during Spring (March, April, and May).
- Visit and overnight accommodation at the two oldest villages in Nepal.
- Visit Tashi Lakhang Monastery in Phu Village, one of 108 World’s significant Buddhist monasteries.
- Picturesque mountains include Mt. Annapurna (II, IV), Gangapurna, Pisang Peak, Himlung Himal, and Mt. Chulu.
- Trek to Ngawal from Nar via Kang La Pass, the most beautiful mountain pass over 5,320 meters.
- Comfortable overnight accommodations and hygienic meals at every tea house.
- Avoid the hustle and bustle of the most crowded trekking routes in Nepal.
Nar Phu Valley Trek Cost for 2024
Here’s our Nar Phu Trek Cost for 2024 for an individual on group joining or groups over 3-4 people.
|
Pax |
Cost (USD) | Want to book? |
| 2-3 | 1350 | |
|
4-5 |
1300 | Send Inquiry!! |
| 6-7 | 1250 | |
|
7 and more |
1200 |
Nar Phu Trek: Crowd-free trek in Annapurna region
Annapurna Circuit Trek route and Nar Phu Trek Route separate at Koto. For example, in 100 trekkers, 96-97 trekkers trek to Chame, Pisang, and to Manang, to Annapurna Circuit. Only 3-4 trekker cross a suspension bridge over Marshyangdi River and trek to Meta, to Nar and Phu Villages.
Being a restricted area, very few trekkers trek to Nar Phu. Hence, it has become an off-the-beaten-path trek in Nepal. And while trekking here, you’ll walk in utmost peace. All you’ll meet on the route are the mules, porters, and your trek guide. The enchanting landscapes, turquoise Nar Khola (river), and rustling in the wind keep you engaged with the long day walk each day.
Trekking Route: An absolute best
Nar Phu Valley Trek route is among the best trekking trails in Nepal. It’s so beautiful that even when tired, you’ll feel like walking all day. The route progresses through waterfalls, rock cliffs, gorges, landslides, and suspension bridges.
For most of the route, you’ll walk along the Nar River, whether on the cliff over it or along the shore. Every section of the trail, from the beautiful pine forest to the serene arid landscape of Nar and Phu, is alluring.
The walking route from start to finish is excellent for trekking. There are proper trail markings, boards, and information hoardings en route. The route width at most sections is close to the one-lane road. The ACAP and locals have made the trekking route road-like so that trekkers like you can walk easily.
Timeless culture and tradition
Nar and Phu Villages are the oldest and among the highest human settlements in the world. Moreover, the Tibetan-influenced culture, traditions, lifestyles, and traditional settlement of people living here take you back to a few centuries.
These remote villages in Manang were once a fort of Khampa Warriors. However, they eventually left this place. In 1992, the Nepal Government opened Nar and Phu for foreigners.
The Buddhist monasteries, chortens, prayer flags, wheels, and Gompas showcase the practice of Buddhism. Also, foreigners can visit the monasteries and Gompas during rituals, including an overnight stay at a gompa in Nar Phedi. It gives you the experience of Buddhism and the tradition of ethnic people living in Nar Phu Valley.
Nar Phu Valley Trek- Complete wholesome adventure
Nar Phu Trek is a complete trek package full of adventures and great moments. You’ll visit the two highest settlements, Nar and Phu. Moreover, you’ll cross 5,320 meters high Kang La Pass.
During the trek, you’ll walk along the trail carved on the rocky cliffs. Sometimes, the towering hills and deep gorges give you vertigo. And most of the time, the picturesque panorama of Pisang Peak and Kangru Himal leaves you in awe.
While on this trek, you’ll experience all these elements. With our seasoned trek guides and tailor-made itineraries, your Nar Phu Valley Trek in 2024 will become a wholesome adventure in the Himalayas.
Nar Phu Valley Trek Itinerary- 10 days Itinerary Breakdown
The shortest Nar Phu Trek Itinerary is 10 days. In 10 days, you’ll drive to Dharapani, trek to Koto, enter Nar Phu Valley, climb Kang La Pass, and trek down to Ngawal. Moreover, from Ngawal, you’ll get a jeep ride back to Besisahar and Kathmandu. Also, before climbing Kang La, you’ll take a day of rest to acclimate at Nar Village.
Here’s our detailed breakdown of the itinerary.
Day 2: Trek from Dharapani to Koto (2,620 meters, 14 km, 7 hours)
You'll start the trek after breakfast at the tea house in Dharapani. For most of the day, you'll walk along the road with occasional jeeps passing by.
Your trek guide verifies your ACAP Permit at the checkpost at Dharapani.
From Dharapani, you'll walk along the beautiful settlements of Thoche, Odar, Bagarchap, and Danagyu. You'll stop for lunch at a tea house in Timing. Post lunch, you'll trek past Kurung and Thanchok before settling in at a tea house in Koto.
Your walk gets scenic with a beautiful panorama of Mt. Annapurna II and Lamjung Himal. Also, the cascading Marshyangdi river, rustling winds, pine forest, streams, and beautiful hills around make you walk wholesome.
You'll settle in at the best available tea house in Koto.
Day 3: Trek from Koto to Meta (15 km, 3,560 meters, 7 hours)
As always, you'll resume the trek after breakfast at a tea house at Koto.
At the end of Koto, your trek guide verifies your Nar Phu Valley Trek Permit (Restricted Area Permit). Past the permit office, you'll cross a suspension bridge over Marshyangdi River, and walk along the shore of Nar Khola. You'll then cross another suspension bridge over Nar Khola and climb gradually to Chomcho Gufa. Here, you'll stop for lunch.
Past Chomcho Gufa, the trail to Dharamshala is easy. You'll walk on a road-like trail, cross several suspension bridges, and walk along the trail on the cliffs.
Pisang Peak, Kangri Himal, and Lamjung Himal make your walk panoramic.
Past Dharamshala, you'll gradually start climbing to Meta. However, for the last 40 minutes to Meta, it's a hard ascend. Reaching Meta, your trek guide verifies your restricted area permit.
You'll then settle in at a tea house for overnight accommodation.
Day 4: Trek from Meta to Phu Gaon (18 km, 4100 meters, 8 hours)
The walk from Meta to Phu is among the most beautiful on the Nar Phu Valley Trek. You'll walk along the gorges, cliffs, river shore, and stunning landscape.
With early breakfast at a tea house in Meta, you'll resume the trek. You'll get a panoramic glimpse of Kangri Himal and Pisang Peak as you leave Meta.
The trekking route to Phu is fantastic. Most sections are road-like. And some sections are on the cliffs, a hundred meters above Nar River.
You'll reach Chyako in two hours of walking from Meta. Here, your trek guide verifies the Nar Phu Trek Permit (Restricted Area). Here, you'll see withered Khampa settlements and some modern tea houses.
One hour's walk from Chyako takes you to a beautiful Khampa settlement of Kyang. Here, you'll stop for lunch.
You'll walk on the trail on the cliff for an hour before reaching the landslide region.
From Nar Khola, you'll climb for 20 minutes to Phu Gate. From Phu Gate, the route to Phu is straightforward, scenic, and easy to walk on.
You'll cross a suspension bridge and trek to old Phu Gaon.
Overnight at a tea house in Phu.
Day 5: Trek from Phu Gaon to Nar Phedi Monastery (17 km, 3,490 meters, 7 hours)
After breakfast, you'll explore Phu Village and visit Tashi Lhakhang Monastery. After returning to the tea house, you'll prepare for the return trek to Nar Phedi.
You'll retrace the same route back to Chyako. After crossing a suspension bridge at Chyako, you'll trek to Nar Phedi, deviating to the right from the route to Meta.
After descending for 30 minutes, you'll cross Mahendra Pul (Bridge). It's a beautiful wooden bridge over a deep gorge.
Past Mahandra Bridge, you'll gradually ascend for 20 minutes to Nar Phedi Monastery.
You'll settle in at a tea house in a monastery overnight.
Day 6: Trek from Naar Phedi to Naar (5 km, 4,200 meters, 3 hours)
The route from Naar Phedi to Naar is the shortest in Nar Phu Trek. However, 70% of the entire route is an uphill walk. However, it's not as tiring as it sounds.
For the first two hours, you'll climb uphill. For 20 minutes, you'll trek on a straightforward route with a beautiful view of Pisang Peak to the left and Kangri to the right. Also, from Naar gate, you'll get an awe-view of Himlung Himal.
Past Naar Gate, you'll walk along beautiful chhortens, gompas, and monasteries. The 20-minute walk from Naar Gate takes you to Naar Village, a beautiful hidden village and trekker's paradise in Manang.
You'll settle in at a tea house in Naar Village.
Day 7: Acclimatization at Naar Village. Sightseeing during the day.
You'll stop for a day acclimating at Naar village. The rest day provides proper rest for the next day's Kang La Pass climb. Also, your body adapts well at higher altitudes with acclimatization.
During the day, your guide takes you to local village exploration. You'll visit potato fields, gompas, and viewpoints around the village.
Breakfast, lunch, and dinner at the tea house in Naar.
Day 8: Trek from Naar Village to Ngawal via Kang La Pass (17 km, 5,320 meters, 7 hours)
It's a long walking day. Also, it's among the most adventurous days of Nar Phu Trek.
You'll start the trek after breakfast at 4 am. Leaving Naar Village, you'll trek for two hours to Kang La Phedi. Here, you'll rest for some moments before leaving for Kang La Top. You'll cross a bridge over a landslide region and start climbing up to Kang La.
It takes three hours to trek from Kang La Phedi to Kang La Pass.
Once reaching Kang La top, you'll stop for a few minutes for a photo and video. From the top, you'll get a panoramic glimpse of Annapurna II, IV, Chulu (East, West, and Central), and other mountains. Moreover, descending from Kang La offers a picturesque glimpse of Tilicho Peak and Gangapurna Himal.
It takes two hours from Kang La top to reach Ngawal. It's a steep descent to Ngawal. Hence, your toes and fingers may get painful.
Before reaching Ngawal, you'll descend a stone paved stairs and shorten.
You'll settle in at a tea house at Ngawal.
Day 9: Drive from Ngawal to Besisahar (7 hours)
You'll return to Besisahar with a jeep drive from Ngawal. It's a complete off-road 7-hour scenic jeep drive.
You'll stop for lunch at Dharapani/Chyamche.
Overnight accommodation at a lodge in Besisahar.
Day 10: Drive from Besisahar to Kathmandu. Transfer to hotel (6 hours)
You'll take a jeep drive from Besisahar to Kathmandu. It's a six-hour drive along Prithvi Highway.
Upon reaching Kathmandu, you'll get a hotel transfer on a private vehicle.
With this, your 10-day Nar Phu Valley Trek Itinerary and the trek ends.
Nar Phu Valley Trek- Additional Trek Information
It’s important to understand various things about Nar Phu Trek before planning it. Things such as accommodation, meals, trek difficulty, trek permits, transportation, trek guide on restricted areas, and more are must you should know.
Here, we’ve detailed everything you need to know about this trek before planning and booking with us. Let’s begin!
Meals and Accommodation
Nar Phu Valley Trek is a non-commercial trek. Thus, keep your expectations low if you’re expecting pizza and burgers to eat while on the trek. However, you’ll get pancakes, porridge, fries, and the best Dal Bhat with Yak meat.
We recommend you eat Dal Bhat once a day during the trek. You’ll get fresh vegetables, potatoes, and spinach along with cooked rice and lentil soup. At Nar and Phu Village, you can have dried Yak meat with vegetable soup.
Noodle soup with omelet, Tibetan bread, spaghetti, and chapati curry are other go-to meals on this trek.
Masala Tea, black tea with ginger, and milk tea are best during breakfast and between breaks during the day.
Accommodations are best during the Nar Phu Valley Trek. Every tea house on this trek route provides twin-sharing rooms without attached bathrooms. However, you’ll get attached bathrooms at places like Dharapani, Koto, and Ngawal.
You’ll get clean rooms with warm blankets and pillows. We recommend you bring a sleeping bag for extra warmth.
Transportation during the trek
Upon your arrival in Nepal, you’ll get a private vehicle transfer from the airport to the hotel.
To start the trek, you’ll drive to Besisahar and Dharapani. For this, you’ll get a private car drive to Besisahar from Kathmandu. And a shared jeep ride from Besisahar to Dharapani. Likewise, you’ve to return to Kathmandu from Ngawal. So, you’ll get a shared jeep transport from Ngawal to Besisahar. From Besisahar, you’ll get a private car ride to Kathmandu.
During your farewell, you’ll get an airport transfer on a private vehicle.
Wi-Fi and Hot Shower during the trek
Almost all settlements in Nar Phu Valley Trek Route have wifi access. Thus, while on this trek, you’ll never run out of internet and get connected with your loved ones. You’ve to pay Rs. 300-500 for wifi use.
Hot shower is also available at almost every tea house on this trek. It costs Rs. 500-600 for you. We don’t recommend taking hot showers in higher regions like Naar and Phu.
Nar Phu Valley Trek Permit
You’ll need to get two trek permits for the Nar Phu Trek. One is the Annapurna Conservation Area Permit (ACAP). Another one is a Restricted Area Permit.
Nar and Phu are two hidden villages in the Annapurna region that are in a restricted region. Hence, trekkers must get a restricted area permit from the Department of Immigration. This permit is only available upon booking this trek with trekking agencies like us, which makes it clear that Nar Phu Trek is not doable solo.
In total, the Nar Phu Valley Trek Permit costs USD 30 + USD 75/USD 100.
To learn more about the permits, read our blog here.
Acclimatization on the trek
While on Nar Phu Valley Trek with Kang La Pass, you’ll stop for a day at Naar village for acclimatization. The primary purpose of resting at Naar village is to get ample rest and adapt to the altitude.
Kang La Pass is over 5,320 meters. Crossing this altitude is not an easy task. Hence, with proper rest and acclimatization, you’ll cross this pass and trek to Ngawal comfortably.
During the acclimatization day, you’ll explore the Naar village, the farmlands, and monasteries. Also, you can take a good hot shower at a tea house and sunbathe for the rest of the day.
Altitude sickness during the trek
The risk of getting altitude sickness during Nar Phu Trek is negligible and here’s why.
You’ll start this trek (walking) from Dharapani, which sits at 1,600 meters. You’ll trek to Koto from Dharapani which sits at 2600 meters. Likewise, you’ll trek to Meta, Phu, Naar Phedi, and Naar Villages. During these walks, you’ll gradually gain altitude. Hence, with gradual altitude gain, you’ll be safe from altitude sickness.
Moreover, you’ll stop at Naar village for a day for acclimatization. With proper rest, you’ll easily trek to Kang La and Ngawal.
However, you’ll get altitude sickness if you don’t follow what your trek guide says. Exposing your body parts to cold, not rehydrating enough, and fast-paced walking can cause altitude sickness. Hence, we recommend you follow your trekking guide’s advice properly.
Trekking guides and porters
Nar Phu Trek is only doable with a licensed trekking guide from a registered trekking agency in Nepal. Hence, you’ll trek with an experienced trekking guide from us upon booking this trek.
For this trek, we’ll provide you with a trekking guide who’s been to Nar Phu Valley and Kang La Pass several times.
We’ll provide you with trek porters to carry your backpack throughout the trek. With trek porters carrying your backpack, it’ll be easy for you to trek.
Our trek guides and porters possess travel insurance and are paid as per industry standards.
International Travel Insurance
We strongly demand you purchase international travel insurance if you’re planning Nar Phu Valley Trek in 2024 with us.
Nar Phu Valley is a restricted area. Hence, getting a helicopter here for rescue and evacuation costs more than USD 10,000. Also, without travel insurance, getting a helicopter for rescue is almost impossible.
If you get altitude sickness or injuries and require helicopter evacuation, you must have travel insurance. Your travel insurance compensates for the helicopter evacuation fee. Moreover, you’ll need hospitalization in Kathmandu after getting rescued. Hence, travel insurance also covers every expense during and after rescue.
Furthermore, travel insurance compensates for loss and damage to your stuff like a camera and trek gear.
With travel insurance in hand, you’ll feel utmost safe throughout the trek. And there’s nothing greater than trekking carefree and enjoying the trek.
Trek difficulty and physical fitness
Trekking to Nar Phu Valley with Kang La Pass is not difficult if you’ve decent physical fitness. And if you can walk 17-18 km per day.
Most sections on this trek are straightforward, even the route to Kang La Pass from Naar Village. Two sections, the ascend to Meta and Naar from Naar Phedi are steep. However, these are just a one-hour-long walk.
The route from Meta to Phu is beautiful, easy, and easy to walk. Also, the return to Naar Phedi is an easy walk.
Having said this, you must have a decent physical fitness. As you walk for 8 hours each day, you must be able to endure the long walks. Moreover, crossing Kang La to Ngawal takes 11-12 hours, the longest on the trek.
We recommend you train cardio exercises for a few months before joining this trek. Swimming, running, and cycling are best for cardio. Also, multiple hikes before joining this trek are a plus.
Best time for Nar Phu Valley Trek
If you’re planning for Nar Phu Trek with Kang La Pass, March, April, and May are absolute months for this trek. The crystal clear weather, warm temperature, occasional snowfall, and wholesome adventure in Spring make it an absolute trek. Moreover, during the Spring months, very few trekkers trek to Nar Phu Valley.
Autumn months, September to November are the busiest in this trek. Apart from trekkers, in these months, many climbers trek to Phu for Himlung Expedition. After completing the expedition, they trek to Naar and Kang La. Hence, almost every tea house is filled with trekkers and climbers.
The weather particularly in November becomes one of the best in a year. With clear weather and no snow at Kang La, the sightseeing and adventure becomes wholesome. Moreover, the Autumn days are rain-free days which are best for all-day long walks.
Temperature
The temperature at Nar Phu Valley during Spring remains warmer than in Autumn. The daytime temperature at Naar and Phu Villages during March, April, and May averages around 7-8˚C. However, the nighttime temperature falls below freezing, close to -14˚C.
The temperature starts decreasing as Autumn progresses, from September to November. The daytime temperature averages close to 1-2˚C. Likewise, the nighttime temperature averages to -15˚C.
With proper trek gear, a warm-down jacket, and a proper sleeping bag, you’ll remain warm and cozy throughout the trek.
Have plans for Nar Phu Valley Trek with Kang La Pass in 2024?
We believe that you’re interested in Nar Phu Trek in 2024. That’s why you’re reading this trek package. Thankfully, you’re at the right place.
Our fixed departure dates are waiting for you to join this trek in 2024. You can write to us at mailtoneptrek@gmail.com to learn more about availability and price for this trek.
We’ll get back to you with the best reply to your query.
You can contact us on various platforms listed on our contact page.
