Manaslu Expidition

Manaslu is the 8th highest peak in the world in the remote Gorkha region of Nepal. Mount Manaslu (8163m), It was first climbed in 1953 by a Japanese team north face expedition. This mountain was previously known as Kutang "tang" being the Tibetan word for flat place thereby describing the mountain's general summit. The name was later changed to Manaslu which is derived from the Sanskrit word Manasa and can be roughly translated as Mountain of the Spirit. It is the same root word as that for Mansarovar, the holy lake near Mt. Kailash in Tibet. Just as the British considered Everest their mountain, Manaslu (8163m)has been always regarded as the "Japanese mountain" by the Japanese; because of the Japanese people's first conquered on its top. The first ascent of this peak was in 1956 by T.Imanishi and Gyalzen (Japanese Manaslu expedition).The peak was not climbed again until 1971 when a Japanese team made the second ascent. It was not until 1997 that Charlie Mace made the first American ascent. There are half a dozen established routes that a Nepal expedition can take on the mountain today the south face being arguably the toughest in climbing history. As of 2003, the peak has seen only 240 successful ascents and 52 fatalities making it the fourth most dangerous (8000m) peak, behind Annapurna, Nanga Parbat and K2.

Manaslu trekking takes you to the unspoiled and remote Manaslu region bordering with Tibet. It is an area restricted for mass tourism, to preserve its unique cultural and natural heritage. The trekking in Manaslu region offers a diverse culture and landscape and challenging trails along Budi Gandaki valley. En route are numerous waterfalls and lakes, interesting Buddhist monasteries in Samagaon and Larke Bazzar and interesting Tibetan villages that look medieval.

Though there are many routes to Manslu mountaineering , as the long ridge Manaslu base camp and valley glacier offer feasibility to approach from different directions, but South Face is considered to be the most difficult Manaslu climbing Though Colonel Robert, pioneer of trekking as business in Nepal, did saw the possibility of climbing Mt. Manaslu through the Manaslu glacier earlier, It is the Japanese, under the leadership of Dr. K. Imanishi, actually tried and reached 5275 meter of the summit in 1952. The persistence attempts of the Japanese climbers in the following year and after that ultimately succeeded to climb the summit of Manaslu on May 9, 1956. At that time they had to pitch 6 camps to make their attempt successful. This route via Naike col (5600m) and above Ice fall ((6200m), and the final camp at the plateau (6800m) is now known as Japanese Route or normal route. Manaslu trekking is geographically spectacular and culturally fascinating. The Tibetans of the upper Budi Gandaki, a region known as Nupri, are direct descendants of Tibetan immigrants. Their speech, dress and customs are almost exclusively Tibetan and there is still continuous trade between Nupri and Tibet.

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