Nepal 2025 - Day 5: Side Trip to Pungyen Monastery & hike to Samagaon

 Exploring Pungyen Monastery

Today was going to be a slight elevation gain to Pungyen Gompa and the trail promised some exceptional views of Manaslu and the surrounding ranges. Best part of today was carrying a small daypack to the monastery, get back by noon, and then carry your gear to the next village of Samagaon. It was sort of a hectic day but something that Jangbu promised, we would love because of the promised views. Woke up to cloudy skies which was a bummer but during breakfast, some of them dispersed giving us a glimpse of what was to follow.

The first glimpse of Manaslu

The sun breaking through was enough inspiration for us to hurry up and get on the trail. We took the same route as from the previous day towards the new monastery. The lack of noise and activity made the whole area around the monastery quite serene and tranquil. Naike peak behind the structure looked absolutely stunning and almost acting like a siren calling us in. 

A thick forest trail greeted us behind the monastery which lead into a long valley gradually increasing in elevation. Yaks and mules were grazing freely while vultures flew overhead and this made for a beautiful portrait of whole valley. This was definitely an area where the photographers took their own time. 

Moving ahead into the valley, we finally gained some height to see the Pungyen Glacier for the first time. This was a stunning landscape, however, we didn't get the best of views due to the cloudy skies. It didn't really matter for most of us as the hike itself along with the scenery was enough for one to be satisfied. 

This is also where we came across a group whom we would run into quite often in the following days. A group of folks in their 70s/80s and still very fit, disciplined and walking at a pace that our group could learn from. The 10 odd people trailed behind their guide at a steady pace and only taking breaks together and starting together. They were the complete opposite of us but a huge inspiration for me. I only wished that I could be doing what they were at that age when my time came. That's what Nepal gives you, people and stories which inspires you to improve. 

Next task was to cross the glacier and go through the valley to get the glacier towards our West. After crossing a few streams, the valley lead us up further exposing beautiful slopes full of wild flowers and for a brief moment, giving us great views of the peaks around it. Sonam and I stopped here for a few mins just to admire this landscape and take some pictures.

The rest of the valley was a straight walk through some beautiful meadows with the Pungyen glacier to our west with towering mountains behind it. Unfortunately, Manaslu was still playing hide throughout the trail. Our group was still quite some minutes behind so the two of us decided to grab a snack and just admire the stunning landscape surrounding us.

We crossed some more dry streams, moved between Yaks grazing on the beautiful meadows before reaching the Gompa and the monastery. The monastery was closed when we reached, however, met a couple of monks who informed me that the monastery is one of the oldest in the region and was built by early settlers known as Nubri. They dated the monastery over 500 years old. I also got to know that Pungyen is the old Nubri name for Manaslu and they also call it as Kutang Himal. He asked us to explore the valley more which led to the Pungyen moraine, however, we declined as we needed to head back to Samagaon after lunch. He jokingly asked us to come back the next day as he would pray for better skies for us. We stayed there for a bit taking in the tranquillity and beauty, took some pictures and waited for our group.

Our break was shortened by expected rain and I rushed back into the valley trying to make up some time before we had to descend any slippery slopes. In my haste, I took the wrong trail towards Samagaon instead of Shyala. I only realised it after 15 mins of going down the wrong trail, however, I could see the route back to Shyala even though it was a long one. Jangbu finally realised that and I heard him shouting for me. I looked back and I had already descended quite a bit and was in no mood to climb that route again. I assured him that I knew the way as I had the map with me. He was quite confident of my navigation skills as I was pretty self-sufficient on the trek so far. I appreciated him looking out for me though. The way towards Samagon was very basic. I just had to go down a million large concrete steps till I get to a point where Samagaon was just 30 mins towards my left. I had to go right from there and cross a couple of bridges before I joined the trail to Shyala. 

The challenge I had was to get there at approximately the same time as my group to ensure lunch and departure to Samagaon is not delayed. The trail from the crossroad was quite easy with a gradual increase and I was maintaining a good pace. I crossed a few trekkers whom we had met earlier in the day, headed to Samagaon after their lunch. They were quite surprised to see me headed back to Shyala. I just joked with them that I forgot my large backpack there. There was no time for chit-chat. I reached our teahouse around noon and was expecting the group to be already in the dining hall. There was no one there for the next 30 mins. Yes, we were a slow group compounded by the fact that I went in a different direction which made Jangmu waste precious time. Eventually, they arrived and Sonam was very pissed at my solo foray leaving everyone worried. I apologized to Jangbu, however, also assured him to be not worried as I was very aware of the trails on this circuit and had the latest maps at hand. We had our lunch quickly and headed to Samagaon. At least, a good thing from my excursion was the fact that I knew the trail and assured everyone of the easy walk ahead.

We crossed the two suspension bridges before descending into Samagaon. A nice easy walk through some meadows and shepherds tending to their cattle.

Samagaon was a stunning village and served as a base for Manaslu summits. It was the largest village we had seen so far on the circuit. I loved everything about this village. From it's beautiful Mani walls, monastery, huge prayer wheels, children running around having fun with big smiles on their faces, men building more stone houses, ladies weaving blankets and shawls and it offered modern amenities. A pool and snooker bar, no less!

We stayed at the Tashi Delek Guesthouse which had free charging and quite a spacious room for just NPR 500. The best part was the dining hall had a proper Espresso machine and a separate coffee menu. I didn't sample any of that as the idea was to grab dinner quickly and crash for the night. The next day was going to be a significant climb to the Manaslu Basecamp. By this time, I had ditched Dal Bhat for TingMo and that's what I stuck with in Samagaon as well. And it was equally good as Shyala if not better.