Manaslu

Manaslu

Did you know that Manaslu is the eighth highest mountain in the world, located in the Mansiri Himal, part of the Nepalese Himalayas, in the west-central part of Nepal?

Manaslu, also known as '''Kutang''', is the eighth highest mountain in the world, located in the Mansiri Himal, part of the Nepalese Himalayas, in the west-central part of Nepal. Its name comes from the Sanskrit word 'Manasa', which means “intellect” or “soul” and this meaning has been translated to mean “Mountain of the Spirit”. It is also said that “Just as the British consider Mt. Everest their mountain, the Manaslu has always been a Japanese’ mountain.

The Manaslu at 8156 m above mean sea level (m.s.l) is the highest peak in the Lamjung District. The mountain's long ridges and valley glaciers offer feasible approaches from all directions, and culminate in a peak that towers steeply above its surrounding landscape, and is a dominant feature when viewed from afar.

After several thwarted expeditions by Japanaese mountianeers from 1952 to 1954 due to local hostilites towards them for causing death of people and destruction of mnasteries due to avalanches, the first successful expedition to the top of Manaslu was in the year 1956. On 9 May 9 1956 Toshio Imanishi and Gyalzen Norbu, members of a Japanese expedition reached the peak.

The Manaslu region offers a variety of trekking options. The popular Manaslu trekking route of 177 kilometres (110 mi) skirts the Manaslu massif over the pass down to Annapurna mountain.

The trekking trail, popualrly known as Manaslu Himal, follows an ancient salt-trading route along the Budhi Gandaki River. En route, 10 peaks over 6,500 metres (21,325 ft) are visible, including a few over 7,000 metres (22,966 ft). The highest point reached along the trek route is the Larkya La at an elevation of 5,106 metres (16,752 ft). As of May 2018, the mountain has been climbed 661 times with 66 fatalities. In recent years with a new, safer route has been followed. Apart from climbing Manaslu, trekking is popular in this mountain region, as part of the Manaslu Circuit, a notable path by trekkers in Nepal. In 2021, Qatari mountaineer, Asma Al Thani, summited and became the first Arab to do so without oxygen.

Manasulu is now integral to the Manaslu Conservation Area (MCA) established in 1998. This conservation zone extends over 1,663 square kilometres (642 sq mi) and its objective is to "To conserve and sustainable management of the natural resources and rich cultural heritage and to promote ecotourism to improve livelihood of the local people in the region."

Three main categories of vegetation have been identified in the MCA area. These are categorised on the basis of the altitude as low hill, middle mountain, and high mountain types with its exclusive types of dominant forests and other associated species. MCA is a sanctuary to many highly endangered animals, including snow leopards and red pandas. Some 110 species of birds have been identified in the area. There are two ethnicities mainly inhabiting this region; Nubri and Tsum.

Source: Extracts from artcile in Wikipedia, also with my inputs in April 2010

Narasipur Char