There are many things you must know about the trek before booking it. We have covered various topics like trek difficulty, best time, trek cost, travel insurance, trek safety, preparations, and more.
Trek Difficulty
Manaslu Annapurna Three Passes Trek is an easy, moderate, and challenging grade trek. Let’s segment this long trek into individual trekking and their difficulty.
The comfortable sections are the lower altitudes. The walking routes in Lower Manaslu, Nar Phu, and Annapurna Circuit Trek are easy to trek. Stone-paved trails, off-roads, and through beautiful hamlets make the walk easy and engaging.
The moderate-grade routes are between the 3,500 meters and the high pass. The steeper sections, zigzag winding trail, and the rugged high-altitude terrain with thin oxygen make walking difficult.
Crossing mountain passes like Thorong La, Kang La, and Larkya La is challenging. What makes them demanding is the altitude of over 5000 meters. Moreover, the snowfall, ice, steeper descends, and unpredictable weather make crossing three passes challenging but rewarding.
Can a beginner join this trek?
No. A trek like this for a beginner is very challenging. Trekking like Manaslu Circuit Trek, Annapurna Circuit Trek, or Nar Phu Valley Trek are doable by novice trekkers. However, all three combined on a single go can get extremely tiring and un-doable.
Trekkers walk 7-8 hours every day on the trek on the most rugged high-altitude terrain. Not to mention, they cross three mountain passes over 5000 meters, which itself is difficult.
If you want to embark on this trek, we suggest you join our short and easy treks like Langtang Gosaikunda Trek and Everest Base Camp Trek.
Altitude Sickness
We’ve planned the Manaslu Annapurna Three Passes Trek itinerary wisely so that clients don’t get tired and don’t get altitude sickness. Moreover, for adequate rest and adaptation, we provide two days for acclimatization, one during the Manaslu Circuit Trek and another during the Nar Phu Valley Trek.
Said so, the high-altitude terrain is unpredictable. Even after taking proper care and rehydration, you may get altitude sickness.
The signs and symptoms of altitude sickness are headache, nausea, vomiting, and lack of appetite. If you experience some of these symptoms, you must report the situation to your trek guide. Your trek guide will handle the situation and decide whether to stop for a day, continue the trek, or descend to a lower altitude.
Not taking proper care and on-time treatment of altitude sickness results in severe situations like HAPE and HACE.
Altitude sickness preventive measures
If you don’t want to get altitude sickness during the trek, you must rehydrate frequently. Dehydration during the trekking is prevalent due to the heat and excessive sweating. Hence, with more sweat, losing body fluids results in dehydration, causing altitude sickness.
We recommend you drink filtered water with oral rehydration solutions.
The second most important way to prevent altitude sickness is not exposing the body parts to the winds. It’ll be best to cover your face with a mask, a beanie, thermals, trousers, etc.
Smoking, alcohol, and caffeinated drinks often promote altitude sickness symptoms. Hence, try avoiding such during the trek as far as possible.
Another way of dodging altitude sickness (which we don’t recommend) is consuming Diamox (Acetazolamide). Please consult with your doctor before consuming this drug.
Transportation during the trek
Here are all the transportation services you’ll get during Manaslu Annapurna Three Passes Trek.
- Airport to hotel transfer on your arrival
- Private jeep/Bus drive from Kathmandu to Dovan
- Muktinath-Jomsom Taxi
- Jomsom-Pokhara and Pokhara-Kathmandu domestic flight
- Hotel to Airport transport on your departure
Trek safety and security
We’re 100% committed to providing the utmost safety and security on every trek and tour we run. While in Manaslu and Annapurna Three Passes Trek, you’ll be completely safe and sound.
We employ the utmost professional trekking guides who’ll strive for a better trek experience while making you feel safe and sound. Together with your safety, our trek leaders ensure your gear and other stuff remain intact.
Our trekking guides and porters are self-sufficient to maintain their safety during the trek.
Medical emergencies and rescue
Mountains and high-altitude terrain are unpredictable. Hence, while trekking, you may need emergency helicopter rescue and hospitalization.
If you get severe altitude sickness or fractures, you’ll need a helicopter evacuation. Furthermore, depending on the situation, you must sit in the hospital for a few days to weeks.
Hence, we recommend you buy travel insurance that covers helicopter evacuation. Without travel insurance, you won’t get the helicopter rescue on time, as helicopters hesitate to fly if clients don’t have insurance.
Note: Manaslu Circuit and Nar Phu Valley are Nepal government-restricted areas. The helicopters must process for flying permits, which takes a day at most. Hence, the helicopter evacuation takes at least two days if you get sick in these regions. However, to keep you safe, your trek guide makes every possible arrangement to bring you down to a lower altitude.
Travel Insurance
Travel Insurance is necessary if you’re considering the Manaslu Annapurna Three Passes Trek. What makes travel insurance a must for this trek is that while on this trek, you’ll trek in two government-restricted areas. And if you get altitude sick or injured, you’ll get a helicopter rescue on time with travel insurance. However, helicopter companies hesitate to rescue in restricted areas if you don’t have travel insurance with helicopter coverage.
Apart from helicopter evacuation, travel insurance pays for your hospital and medication bills. Furthermore, if you lose or damage personal gear and other stuff during the trek, the travel insurance bears for the loss.
Hence, travel insurance is a must to have for this trek.
Note: We don’t buy travel insurance for our clients. However, we can recommend the best travel insurance providers in Nepal and abroad. Also, the trek cost you pay to us during booking doesn’t include the insurance.
Manaslu Annapurna Three Passes Trek Permits
Here comes the most expensive section of this entire trek. You’ll need four different permits for the Manaslu Annapurna Three Passes Trek.
- Manaslu Conservation Area Permit (For Manaslu Circuit)
- Manaslu Restricted Area Permit (For Manaslu Circuit)
- Annapurna Conservation Area Permit (For Nar Phu and Annapurna Circuit Trek)
- Annapurna Restricted Area Permit (For Nar Phu Valley)
The restricted area permits (For Manaslu and Annapurna) costs $100 from September-November. Moreover, it costs $75 during other months.
Note: The trek cost you pay to us includes the permit and government paperwork costs, excluding your on-arrival visa.
You can read our Manaslu Circuit Trek Permits and Annapurna Trek Permits Blogs to learn more about the permits in depth.
Meals and Accommodation
For 24 day trek, you’ll get 24 breakfasts, 24 lunches, and 22 dinners. You’ll get one-night accommodation with breakfast at a three-star hotel in Kathmandu.
Each day on the trek, you’ll start with breakfast, stop midway en route for lunch, and settle in at a tea house for overnight accommodation.
You’ll have meal choices throughout the trek. The meal options at higher altitudes are often limited. But, in lower regions, you’ll get almost everything you eat back home.
Tea houses generally offer twin-sharing rooms with attached bathrooms. However, the tea houses in higher regions of Manaslu Circuit Trek and Nar Phu Trek don’t have attached bathrooms. However, the tea houses in Annapurna Circuit are more sophisticated, and you’ll love every amenity they offer.
Wifi, Drinking Water, Hot Shower, and Electricity
All of these services cost Rs. 300-500 and are exclusive of the trek cost.
Most tea houses provide wifi. Hence, if you want to use the wifi, you must pay Rs. 200-300 every time.
The tea houses don’t ask for any money for cold drinking water. However, they charge Rs. 200-300 for a thermos of hot drinking water.
Since tea houses gas-run offer hot showers, they ask for money. Hot shower costs Rs. 300-500.
You’ll get free electricity charging at most places. However, during the peak season of trekking, the tea houses get filled with trekkers. Hence, you’ve to wait for a few hours to charge your devices.
Please note that the higher regions in Manaslu and Annapurna run solar power electricity. Hence, you may not get to charge your devices at one or two places.
Best time for Manaslu Annapurna Three Passes Trek
Spring and Autumn are the best seasons for Manaslu and Annapurna Three High Passes Trek. To describe it in one line “for the best weather, temperature, and awe-striking mountain panorama“.
It’s a must to have a beautiful weather condition for trekking. And in March, April, and May, the conditions for trekking become ideal. With apparent weather, rain-free days, gentle temperatures, greenery and blossoms, and lively landscapes, you’ll enjoy every step on the trek. Particularly, Manaslu and Annapurna become best in Spring with greenery and snow-capped mountains.
Autumn months, September to December, is the best month for trekking in Nepal. Autumn months are post-rainy seasonmonths, and thus, there’s no better time than September and October to witness greenery over the mountain deserts of Manang, Mustang, and Manaslu. Also, the snow-filled mountain panorama elevates the sightseeing experience.
Autumn is also the best time to trek these three passes of Manaslu and Annapurna. In Autumn, the high passes barely receive snowfall. Hence, crossing Kang La, Larkya La, and Thorong La becomes easy.