Stories, tips, and updates from Snowbank Adventure.
Nepal has more than one “hidden kingdom” trek, and the two most talked about — Nar Phu Valley and Tsum Valley — get compared constantly, for good reason. Both are restricted areas that stayed closed to outsiders until surprisingly recently. Both are home to Tibetan Buddhist communities that have preserved traditions found almost nowhere else. […]
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Yes, you can combine the Nar Phu Valley and Kang La Pass trek with Tilicho Lake. After crossing Kang La Pass and descending to Ngawal, the route joins the Annapurna Circuit toward Manang before branching to Khangsar and Tilicho Lake. Depending on your route and transportation, the combined trek generally takes around 16–21 days. Kang […]
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Most trekkers who take on the Kang La Pass route know it as a physical challenge — a high, demanding crossing through the Annapurna region. Fewer stop to consider what they’re actually walking through to get there: a valley that stayed completely closed to outsiders until 2002, home to two villages that have preserved a […]
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Both routes circle an 8,000-meter Himalayan giant. Both cross a high pass over 5,000 meters. Both deliver the kind of scenery and culture that make it onto every serious trekker’s list. But the Manaslu Circuit and the Annapurna Circuit are genuinely different trips wearing similar-sounding names, and picking the wrong one for your priorities can […]
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Every multi-day trek in Nepal builds toward something. On the Manaslu Circuit, that something is Larkya La Pass — 5,106 meters, the highest point on the route, and by a wide margin the hardest single day most trekkers will face. It’s not one obstacle that makes this crossing tough. It’s several genuinely difficult things stacked […]
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Most Himalayan treks sell you on mountains. Tsum Valley sells you on something rarer: a living Buddhist culture that has stayed almost entirely intact, protected less by remoteness alone than by a set of spiritual laws its people have followed for over a century. Before you plan the trek itself, it’s worth understanding what makes […]
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If you’re already planning the Manaslu Circuit, there’s a good chance you’ve seen “Tsum Valley” mentioned somewhere and wondered whether it’s worth the detour. Short answer: for most trekkers with the time to spare, yes. Tsum Valley is a side branch off the main Manaslu route that leads into one of Nepal’s most isolated Buddhist […]
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Reading “10 to 15 days” on a trek Itinerary doesn’t tell you much about what you’re actually signing up for. Some days on the Kang La Pass route are easy 3-hour village walks. One day is a brutal 8-to-10-hour push over a 5,320m pass. Here’s what each stage of the trek actually looks like, so […]
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Kang La Pass isn’t a trek you can walk into unprepared. At 5,320 meters, tucked into the restricted Nar Phu Valley of the Annapurna region, it’s remote, high, and governed by permit rules most trekkers have never dealt with before. This guide covers everything you need to sort out before you go — permits, cost, […]
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At 5,320 meters, Kang La Pass is the dramatic high point of the Nar Phu Valley Trek — a narrow, wind-carved saddle connecting the hidden valleys of Nar and Phu to Ngawal on the Annapurna Circuit. It’s remote, it’s high, and unlike more crowded passes in the Annapurna region, the weather window here isn’t very […]
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There are some journeys that stay with you long after they end. My recent motorcycle adventure to Upper Mustang was exactly that kind of experience. What started as a simple plan to explore one of Nepal’s most remote regions turned into an unforgettable journey filled with breathtaking landscapes, challenging roads, ancient culture, and memories that […]
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Panch Pokhari Trek: A Simple Walk to a Special Place in the Himalayas Some places aren’t just dots on a map. They stay with you, like a favorite story or a quiet moment you can’t forget. Panch Pokhari, a group of five sacred lakes hidden in the Sindhupalchok district of Nepal, is one of those […]
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