9 alternative treks – forget the crowds and cliches
Classic treks are prone to crowding in peak season. So if you’re looking for solitude, here are some less well-trodden but equally satisfying options
1. Manaslu Circuit, Nepal
Why? For old-school Himalayan trekking
Length: 335km
Time: 17-23 days
Difficulty: 4/5 Many consecutive days trekking, high altitudes
With an ever-busier road threatening the pristine scenes and tranquility of the classic Annapurna Circuit, this offbeat alternative visits a little-trodden region, trekking around the massive massif of 8,163m Mount Manaslu, the world’s eighth-highest peak.
The going is moderate in difficulty and magnificent in scenery. From Gorkha you hike along rice terraces and past ice-clear rivers and yak herders, with Himalayan peaks brooding all around. At the heart of the experience is the chance to embrace village life in the Tibetan communities en route, which are dotted with flag-strewn gompas and mani stones – but not cramped teahouses or other trekkers. In fact, only a limited number of visitor permits are issued each year here, leaving the rhododendron forests, narrow gorges and Larkya La Pass – at 5,140m, the trek’s spectacular high-point – blissfully untrampled.
Or try… spurning Base Camp for the lesser-known Kangshung Face of Everest, Tibet; finding monasteries, mountains and meadows on the Laya Trek, Bhutan.
