1

Hi,
I was in Tsum Valley/Manaslu September/October last year and even then the weather was not always clear. I'm almost sure it's not a good idea to go there in June/July. I met people who had been in Manaslu beginning of September and they had seen only rain.
I was in Upper Mustang in August/September 2010 and that was great, also July should be good. Now the road (track) is still not finished, so there will be hardly any cars. A difficult part (just 3 hours walking) remains unfinished. Maybe next year everything will change... Bear in mind that if you fly to and from Jomson, flights may be canceled because of the weather.
All the best

2

I'd suggest do the Upper Mustang (Lo Manthang), for the simple reason, as Jep say, the road is not finished, but things will change next year or the year after. In August last year, we had an excellent trek. The villages along the way, especially Lo Manthang, are absolutely fascinating.
Upper Mustang, Naar Phu, Manaslu Tsum, are all "restricter areas" necessitating various special permits.

On other altervantive, not to be dismissed unless you've done it already,is the good old Annapurna Circuit. From Chame (where the road finishes right now) up to Jomsom. You can have at least 11 days of great trekking, and if you decide to take some detours, going, say, from upper Pisang on the high route to Gyaur and Ngawal, then rejoining the main route at Manang, you can make it even more interesiting.

I have done this in July 2006, and loved it! Only met two or three other trekkers. I guess with the road going all the way to Chame there could be more. On the other hand, those roads are often unusable, as the monsoon produces lots of landslides etc.

3

Thanks so much for the information!

I would be interested in hiking the Chame/Manang/Pisang area, but I am NOT interested in high altitude passes above 5000m (I once experienced bad altitude sickness).

Do you think if we hiked the Tsum valley (in June/July) and the area from Chame to Manang (and maybe Tilicho lake), would these areas be affected by the monsoon? I am having a very hard time finding accurate information about the Tsum valley (Narphu), and the realistic trekking conditions in June.

Do you think, we could find a flight back from Hongde to Pokhara, or a jeep/bus back from Chame to Pokhara easily during these months?

Thanks so much for the info, I love this forum!

4

Hi,
As I'm also interested in Nar Phu I asked the guide/agent with whom I did several trekkings.
He said Tsum is not recommended for the monsoon season. Nar Phu Valley is a bit better than Tsum and Manasalu during the monsoon. The upper part of Nar Phu Valley also doesn't have much rain but first 5 days and last 4 days it's raining area for Nar Phu too
I'm sure this is reliable information.
By the way, the highest altitude of Mustang is 4300 meters
I hope this helps

5

src, I would suggest do Mustang (Lo Manthang) trek. It is definitely a good monsoon trek, the weather is mild, and the villages encountered are fascinating. As Jep says, the others are problematic.

On the other hand, if it is just yourslef (remember the requirement to pay for two permits for Mustang and other "restricted" ares...) can just trek to Manang, and use that as a base to explore the Tilicho lake trek, as well as the Ngawal and Gyaru villages, go up the Gangapurna Glacier etc, even trek up to Thorung Pedi/High Camp and come back. These side trips form Manang might keep you busy for a couple of weeks, and might be quite interesting. You'd have the "civilized" base of Manang, where you can take breaks in some comfort in between these smaller excursions.