Moving through a barren mountain pass surrounded by giant peaks, you gaze down into the valley before you. There you spot a stone building festooned with colorful prayer flags. That must be the next teahouse.
Experience moments like this as you circumnavigate the 8th-tallest mountain in the world: Manaslu. People know about Everest and Annapurna. Hardly anyone comes to Manaslu. You need a great guide and all the right permits.
Only opened to trekkers in 1991, this roughly two-week hiking adventure brings you through forests blooming with rhododendrons, authentic villages with welcoming locals, and the domain of hulking Manaslu itself, an ever-present domineering wall of rock and ice.
