Best time for the Manaslu Circuit: spring vs autumn

Two windows, set by the permit

On most Nepal treks, “best time” is about weather. On Manaslu it's also about paperwork. The circuit sits inside a restricted area, and the Nepal government only issues the Restricted Area Permit within set seasonal windows. That means booking in the monsoon or the depths of winter generally isn't possible, whatever the forecast says.

The windows line up with the good weather anyway: late March through May, and late September through November. Those are the departures we run on our Manaslu Circuit Trek.

The government sets the dates, so they can move a little from year to year. Check yours with us before you book flights.

Autumn on the circuit

Autumn is the classic Manaslu season, and for good reason. The monsoon has washed the air clean, the skies are at their clearest, and it's cold but stable above 3,500m. Most importantly, the Larkya La (5,106m) is at its most reliably crossable.

If your biggest worry is pass day, autumn gives you the best odds.

It's also the busier of the two seasons. Busy is relative here, though. Every trekker on Manaslu needs a permit through a licensed agency and a licensed guide, which keeps casual foot traffic off the trail. Even in October a day on the circuit looks nothing like the Namche to Tengboche corridor on the Everest trail.

Nights get cold at the top end. Samdo sits at 3,860m and Dharamsala at 4,460m, and those are the two nights where a good sleeping bag earns its weight.

Spring: our 2023 trip log

We walked the circuit in spring, leaving Machha Khola on 25 March 2023 and crossing the Larkya La on 2 April. Here's what the trail looked like each day, taken straight from our dated photos.

That table is spring on Manaslu in a nutshell. Down in the gorge the rhododendron was out. Up at Samdo it was still winter some mornings.

The snow on 1 April looked dramatic, and it's the photo at the top of this page. It didn't stop anything. We walked up to Dharamsala that day as planned and crossed the pass the next morning, starting by headlamp the way every Larkya La day does.

Autumn and spring side by side

Which season we would pick

Honestly, both work. We run the same 15-day route in each, with the same rest day at Samagaon and the same staging night at Dharamsala. What changes is the feel of the trip.

Pick autumn if the pass is what you're thinking about at night. Clear skies and settled conditions make the Larkya La as straightforward as it gets.

Pick spring if you like the idea of walking through flowering forest in the gorge and snow-dusted villages higher up, and you'd rather share the teahouses with fewer people.

Avoid the very edges of either window if you can. Early or late in the season, snow near the pass is more likely. It's rarely a trip-ender, but it makes the high days slower.

Whichever you choose, the itinerary has slack in it. Day 15 is a spare day in Kathmandu, so a slow road on the drive back doesn't cost you your flight. See how the days fit together in our guide to how many days you need.

Packing for the season

The packing list barely changes between seasons, because the top of the trek is cold in both. A few things matter more than the rest:

• Sleeping bag rated to at least −15°C for Samdo and Dharamsala.
• Gaiters, especially near the start or end of a season, for snow near the pass.
• Glacier-rated sunglasses for pass day. Fresh snow at 5,000m is very bright.

The full list is in the Manaslu packing section. If you're also weighing Kanchanjunga or Makalu, our season guide for all three treks covers them together, and the Manaslu Circuit Trek guide has everything else, from permits to price.

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