Burii gandaki river valley is a vital part of the Manaslu Conservation area project (MCAP) in west Nepal, Ministry of Forest and Soil Conservation under the National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act of Nepal declared Manaslu a “Conservation Area” in December 1998. It covers an area of 1663 sq. km. The region harbours a mosaic of habitats for 33 species of mammals, 110 species of birds, 11 species of butterflies and 3 species of reptiles. There are approx 2000 species of plants, 11 types of forests and over 50 species on useful plants. The bio-climatic zones vary from sub-tropical to alpine. The altitude rises from a mere 600m to the summit of Mt. Manaslu (8,163), the eighth highest peak in the world.
Vegetation: The vegetation of the area can be divided into three main categories, based mainly on the altitude, viz. Low hill, Middle Mountain and High mountain types. Each category has its own types of dominant forests and other associated species. The types of vegetation, however, tend to overlap the adjoining ones at places especially in relation to aspect and microclimate,
Ti sis especially true in cases of many NTFPs including medicinal herbs and romantic plants, many of which have a large encountered in different forests types and adjoining vegetation. The presence of 19 types of forests and other forms of dominant vegetation has been recorded from the area.
Climate: The Manalsu region, which begins from Arughat to Larkhe La (Pass), has six climatic zones: tropical, subtropical, temperate, sub alpine, alpine and arctic. The extreme climatic contrasts within the 100 km trail between Arughat and Samdo are associated with tremendous differences in elevation, topography and precipitation. The tropical climate zone lies in the low level river basins of the Budi Gandaki, Maryangdi and other rivers, lowland valleys and lower hills below the elevation of 1000 m. A subtropical climatic zone exists between 1000m and 2000m where the average summer and winter temperature range between 31 to 340c to 8to13espectively.
The temperature climatic zone lays at higher hills above 2000 m and below 3000m.In this zone, summer temperatures range 22 to 25oC, and winter temperatures range -2 to -6C.Frosts and snowfall are common during winter (January and February). The sub alpine climatic zone lies between 3000 m and 4000 m where snowfall occurs for about four to six months (December to May). In this zone, winter is very cold and even in summer the temperature is not high with a mean annual temperature of 6 to 10oC .The alpine zone between 4000 and 5000 m is mostly open meadows. The arctic climatic zone lies at elevations above 4500m.
The snow line is at about 5000 m. Precipitation is in the form of snow and the temperatures drop far below freezing. The monsoon occurs between June and September providing about three -fourths of the total rainfall .The post -monsoon period (October to November) and the winter months (December to February) are usually dry. The average rainfall is around 1900 mm per annum .In general, the southern part of the region remains cloudier and wetter than the upper sub alpine areas and alpine areas.
Facts about the trip:
Duration: 22 days
Starting point: Lhogaon
Ending point: Arughat
Highest access on the trek: Larke Phedi (4600m)
Mode of trekking: Lodge/ Camping + Home stay
Most attraction of the trek: Mt Manaslu (8156m), Gurung and Tibetan culture & bio-diversity of Buri gandaki river valley
Best time: April, May June, July (for botanical value)
Itinerary1:
Day 01: Arrival in Kathmandu, hotel transfer
Day 02: Sightseeing in Kathmandu
Day 03: Helicopter flight to Lhogaon (3,100m)
Day04: Acclimatize in Lhogaon, botanise area
Day 05: Trek Lhogaon to Samagaon (3,450) 4 hrs botanies area
Day 06: Botanies in smagaon, visit glacier area and glacial lake
Day 07: Trek Samagaon to Samdu (3,900m/3hrs
Day 08: Trek Samdu to Larkya Bazaar (4,200m/ 4hrs
Day 09: Botanies in larke bazaar alpine zone
Day 10: Trek Larke bazaar to Samdu (3900m/3 hrs)
Day 11:Trek Samdu to Samagaon (3450m/4hrs)
Day 12: Trek Samagaon to Lhogaon (3,100m/ 4 hrs
Day 13: Trek Lhogaon to Namrung (2,600m/ 5 hrs
Day 14: Trek Namrung to Ghap (2,300m/4 hrs)
Day 15: Trek Ghap to Deng (1,800m/5 hrs)
Day 16: Trek Deng to Philim (1,600m/ 5 hrs
Day 17: Trek Philim to Doban (1300m/ 5 hrs
Day 18: Trek Doban to Labubensi (900m/4hrs)
Day 19: Trek Labubensi to Arughat (530m/5hrs)
Day 20: Drive Arughat to Kathmandu (6hrs)
Day 21: Visit Kathmandu
Day22: Departure