Rupina La Pass Trek
- Duration
- 15 days
- Max altitude
- 4,720 m
- Difficulty
-
Strenuous
Difficulty scale
- Easy Short walking days on good trails below about 3,000 m. Suitable for anyone in ordinary health, including families.
- Moderate 5 to 6 hours a day with some steep sections, reaching up to about 4,000 m. A reasonable level of fitness and a few weeks of preparation walking recommended.
- Strenuous 6 to 8 hours a day, high passes or altitudes above 5,000 m, and remote stretches. Good fitness, prior trekking experience and proper acclimatisation days are essential.
- Very strenuous Long days, multiple high passes or technical sections, sustained time above 5,000 m. For experienced, well-conditioned trekkers only.
- Best season
- Autumn (Sep–Nov) · Spring (Mar–May)
- Group
- Private
- From
- $1,020.00
Overview
A camping route over the Rupina La at 4,720 m on the southern approach to Manaslu, through Gurung country that sees almost no trekking traffic at all.
Every departure is private and led by a government-licensed Nepali guide, so the plan flexes to your party and to the mountain. Permits, park fees and local taxes are inside the price you see.
Trip highlights
- Rupina La at 4,720 m
- Gurung villages off the trekking map
- Camping throughout
- Southern approach to the Manaslu massif
Day by day
The itinerary
-
Day 1: Arrive in Kathmandu (1,400m) 1,400 m Hotel
Our representative meets you at Tribhuvan International Airport and transfers you to the hotel. Trek briefing, kit check and the paperwork for a route that carries its own camp.
-
Day 2: Drive to Gorkha (1,135m) 1,135 m 5-6 hrs Hotel
West out of the valley and up to Gorkha, the hill town the Shah kings ruled from before they took Kathmandu and made Nepal a single country. The old palace on the ridge above town is worth the climb if the afternoon allows.
-
Day 3: Drive to the roadhead and trek to Bhachchek (1,100m) 1,100 m 4-5 hrs Camp
A rough jeep road takes the camp crew and the loads as far as it goes, and the walking starts from there. Terraced hillsides, mixed Gurung and Magar villages, and almost no other trekkers from this point until you reach the Buri Gandaki near the end.
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Day 4: Bhachchek to Barpak (1,900m) 1,900 m 6-7 hrs Camp
A long steady climb to Barpak, a large and unusually handsome stone village set on a slope. Barpak was the epicentre of the 2015 earthquake and was very largely destroyed; what stands now the villagers rebuilt themselves, and they will tell you about it if you ask.
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Day 5: Barpak to Laprak (2,100m) 2,100 m 5-6 hrs Camp
Over a forested ridge and down into the next valley to Laprak, a Gurung village facing Barpak across the gorge. The old village and the settlement built after the earthquake sit on different parts of the hillside, which tells its own story.
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Day 6: Laprak to the high pastures (3,000m) 3,000 m 5-6 hrs Camp
The last permanent village is behind you today. The trail climbs through rhododendron and birch to the summer grazing grounds, where herders bring sheep and buffalo up for a few months a year and the huts stand empty the rest of it. Camp on open ground with Manaslu and Himalchuli filling the skyline north.
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Day 7: Climb to Rupina La base camp (3,900m) 3,900 m 5-6 hrs Camp
Above the treeline now, on a route marked more by cairns than by trail. Grass gives way to moraine and rock. Camp is a bowl below the pass, cold once the sun leaves it, and the afternoon is spent resting rather than exploring.
-
Day 8: Acclimatisation day below the pass 4,300 m 3-4 hrs Camp
A day held at altitude before the crossing. We walk a few hundred metres up towards the pass to look at the ground and come back down to sleep, which is the cheapest insurance there is on a route with no quick way off it.
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Day 9: Cross the Rupina La (4,720m) and descend east (3,300m) 4,720 m 8-9 hrs Camp
The day the trek is named for. A pre-dawn start on frozen scree, a steep pull to the notch of the pass, and a view that opens all the way to the Manaslu massif and Ganesh Himal. The descent on the far side is long, rough and unrelenting on the knees, down to the first flat ground that will take tents. Snow can close this pass and your guide will wait a day rather than force it.
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Day 10: Descend towards the Buri Gandaki (2,000m) 2,000 m 6-7 hrs Camp
Down out of the rock and back into the treeline, steeply, following a stream that grows all day. Warmth, insects and green return in the space of a few hours after a week above them.
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Day 11: Join the Buri Gandaki trail and walk down to Jagat (1,340m) 1,340 m 5-6 hrs Teahouse
You meet the main Manaslu circuit route here, and with it the first teahouses, mule trains and other trekkers in a week and a half. Jagat is a stone-paved village that was once a toll post on the Tibet trade route.
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Day 12: Jagat to Machha Khola (930m) 930 m 6-7 hrs Teahouse
Down the gorge on a trail cut into the rock face in places, crossing and recrossing the river on suspension bridges. Hot and humid at this height compared with everything behind you.
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Day 13: Machha Khola to Soti Khola and the roadhead (700m) 700 m 4-5 hrs Teahouse
The last walking day, following the widening river past Khorlabesi and Lapubesi to the road. The crew usually marks the end of the trek here.
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Day 14: Drive back to Kathmandu (1,400m) 1,400 m 7-8 hrs Hotel
A long jeep and coach day out through Arughat and Dhading Besi to the main highway and back into the valley. Evening free.
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Day 15: Departure 1,400 m
Our representative takes you to the airport about 3 hours before your onward flight.
Altitude profile
The climb, day by day
Comfort tiers
Choose your level of comfort
| Amenity | Standardfrom $1,225.00 | Comfortfrom $1,445.50 | Luxuryfrom $1,776.25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kathmandu hotel | 3★ | 4★ | 5★ |
| Trail accommodation | Standard teahouse | Best lodge in each village | Premium lodge where the route has one |
| Porter support | Shared porter | Private porter, lighter load | Extra porter, carry almost nothing |
| Transfers | Shared | Private | Private, throughout |
What's included
Included
- Included: All airport transfers in a private vehicle
- Included: Two nights' twin-sharing accommodation with breakfast at a 3-star hotel in Kathmandu
- Included: One night's accommodation with breakfast at a standard hotel in Gorkha
- Included: Twin-sharing tented accommodation for 8 nights on the trek
- Included: Twin-sharing teahouse accommodation for 3 nights in the Buri Gandaki valley
- Included: All meals on the trek: breakfast, lunch and dinner, cooked by our own kitchen crew while camping
- Included: Boiled and treated drinking water throughout the trek
- Included: Private vehicle from Kathmandu to Gorkha and the roadhead, and jeep and coach back from Soti Khola
- Included: Manaslu Conservation Area Permit and all local area entry fees
- Included: A government-licensed, wilderness first-aid trained, English-speaking guide
- Included: A full camp crew: cook, kitchen staff and porters, with all their wages, meals, insurance and equipment
- Included: All camping equipment: two-person tents, dining tent, kitchen tent, toilet tent, table, chairs and kitchen utensils
- Included: Duffel bag, down jacket and sleeping bag on loan for the trek
- Included: A comprehensive first aid kit, including a pulse oximeter
- Included: Trekking map and trip completion certificate
- Included: All government taxes and official expenses
Not included
- Not included: International airfare and the Nepal entry visa
- Not included: Travel insurance, which must cover helicopter evacuation from a remote area with no road access
- Not included: Lunch and dinner in Kathmandu and Gorkha
- Not included: All drinks, including bottled water, alcohol and soft drinks
- Not included: Personal trekking clothing and equipment
- Not included: Tips for the guide, cook, camp crew and porters
- Not included: Extra costs caused by weather days held below the pass, landslides, illness, early departure or any other event beyond our control
- Not included: Anything not listed under what is included
Your team
Led by a licensed guide
Every route is led by a government-licensed guide from our team. Licences are on record with us before departure, and you'll meet your guide once your trip is confirmed.
Guide language(s): English, Nepali
Group-size pricing
Walk together, pay less
Every trip is private, so the guide, permits and transfers cost the same however many walk. Sharing them is why the per-person price falls: arithmetic, not a sale.
| Group size | per person | You save each |
|---|---|---|
| 1 trekker | $1,225.00 | base rate |
| 2 to 3 trekkers | $1,020.00 | $205.00 |
| 4 to 6 trekkers | $960.00 | $265.00 |
| 7 or more | $900.00 | $325.00 |
Per person, including permits, park fees and taxes. Nothing is added at checkout.
Weather
What to expect, month by month
- Autumn (Sep–Nov)The most reliable trekking season: clear air, stable weather and cold nights, right after the monsoon clears.
- Spring (Mar–May)Warmer than autumn, with rhododendron forests in flower and slightly hazier mountain views as the season goes on.
Traveller reviews
What trekkers say
Why book with us
Every trail, one licensed team
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