Outline Itinerary:

Day 1. Arrive in Kathmandu. You'll be met at the airport and transferred to our hotel in the Thamel area of Kathmandu. Depending on your flight arrival time, there may be time to explore the city. In the evening we'll gather as a group at the hotel. You'll meet your UK guides, and also your Sherpa guides who'll be with you for the rest of your trip. There'll be time to answer questions, and we'll advise you about packing for the private jeep ride west tomorrow.

Day 2. Kathmandu. As some flights may not arrive until late on day one, we'll have breakfast together in the hotel, then spend the day in Kathmandu. You could enjoy the exotic splendour of Kathmandu independently, or explore Thamel and the neighbouring area with your UK guide. We normally have an early dinner together, as we'll need to get an early night's sleep, ready for a very early start the next day.

Day 3. We'll start early for the long jeep ride to Machha Khola. This usually takes around 8-9 hours, but it will be in private vehicles and we'll be passing through some amazing scenery along the way, giving us an insight into rural life in Nepal.

Day 4. Trek from Machha Khola to Jagat. This is a great first day for a trek - we walk for 6-7 hours, climbing around 500m throughout the day. Today we enter the Manaslu Conservation Area, and our special restricted area permits will be checked.

Day 5. Trek from Jagat to Deng. We start the day with a climb to Salleri, entering more arid terrain as we climb another 500m to Deng where we'll spend the night.

Day 6. Trek from Deng to Namrung. Many trekkers split this into two days, but it's only 6-7 hours to do it in a single day. We cross the Buri Gandaki, then back again to reach Namrung. Namrung was once a customs post on the old salt route to Tibet.

Day 7. Trek from Namrung to Samagaon. Today we enter the old region of Upper Nupri, where the Tibetan influence is strong. The dialect of the local people changes, and we'll see more traditional Tibetan dress. We get views of the high mountains as we trek for another 6-7 hours to Samagaon.

Day 8. Acclimatisation Day at Samagaon. You could rest up for the day if you so wished, but we prefer to go up the side valley to see the wonderful Pungyen Gompa. Not only do we get to visit this monastery, but it will help with our acclimatisation in readiness for going over the Larkya La.

Day 9. Trek from Samagaon to Samdo. This is a short day (3-4 hours), but once we've arrived in Samdo we can climb above the village for grandstand views of Manaslu if we wish.

Day 10. Trek from Samdo to Dharamsala - the Larkya La Basecamp. Another short day today. We climb up to Larkya La Basecamp at 4460m.

Day 11. Dharamsala over the Larkya La to Bimthang. A tough day today. We have to gain about 700m of ascent to cross the Larkya La - this often takes between 3-5 hours to reach the top of the pass. The rewards is superb views of some of the highest and most remote mountains on earth.

Day 12. Trek from Bimthang to Darapani. A lovely day of mainly descent as we drop back into the forests and fields to the Dudh Khola river.

Day 13. Trek to Tal. We have a leisurely trek today down to the village of Tal.

Day 14. Trek to Syange. Our final day on the trek, and one full of the colours, scents and vistas of rural Nepal. We spend the night in Syange ready to greet our jeep the next morning.

Day 15. Private jeep ride back to Kathmandu.We'll have a celebratory beer at one of the many bars in Thamel, and we usually go out for dinner together as a group.

Day 16. You'll be transferred from the hotel back to Kathmandu airport in time for your flight home. Alternatively, we can arrange extra nights in Kathmandu if you let us know in advance, or if you've booked our Chitwan extension you'll be picked up from the Hotel Manang ready for the journey to look for rhinos, tigers and crocodiles!