Nar Phu Valley Location: Where Is Nar Phu Valley in Nepal?

In the hills of northern Nepal is a valley most people will never hear of. The Nar Phu is so close to Tibet that it just seems like part of the high Tibetan plateau, not Nepal. Only a few trekker groups venture into this secluded valley off the path when trekking through the famous Annapurna Circuit which is used by thousands of trekkers annually.

Where Exactly Is Nar Phu Valley?

Nar Phu Valley is located in the Manang district of Gandaki Province (north-central Nepal). It is located near the border of Tibet which is known as trans-Himalayan region by geographers. It is located not in front of the Himalayas, but behind them, hence the dryness, the coldness and the barrenness of the landscape when compared to the greener valleys one would imagine to find in Nepal.

On a map of the trekking areas of Nepal, Nar Phu is located to the northeast of the main trekking route, halfway between Manang valley and the Upper Mustang region, and nearer to Tibet than to the majority of the country. Picture the Annapurna Circuit as the popular road up and down which thousands of trekkers go on an annual basis. Nar Phu is a small side road that turns off that road without people really bothering to look at it. The valley is located south of the Tibetan frontier and north of the main trail of the Annapurna Circuit.

It is located in the Annapurna Conservation Area, the biggest conservation area in Nepal for trekking and wildlife. Although there are open areas of the conservation area where visitors can wander freely, Nar Phu is a Restricted Area, protected by the government of Nepal, partly owing to its special location close to the national border and its cultural value. This entails a special permit is required to enter and trekkers cannot enter alone. First, nobody can enter the valley in Nepal without a licensed guide and minimum group size.To get into the Nepal valley, you need a minimum group size and a licensed guide.

The Two Villages That Give the Valley Its Name

The name of this valley is directly derived from the two main settlements of the valley, namely Nar and Phu. These are the ancient rural villages which are thought to be of centuries old age located in eastern part of Manang district. The term “Nar Phu Valley” is often used to describe the entire area but actually the villages of “Nar” and “Phu” are two villages with their own unique character, located in different parts of the same general area.

Phu is further down the valley and next to the Tibetan side, while Nar is further back on the track which will eventually meet the main Annapurna track. It takes hard work to get from one village to the other, or from the outside world to either village. There are no roads that go into this valley. All the way has to be walked.

The Shape of the Land

Nar Phu is a river-cut valley, in the geographical sense, as it was formed over the course of thousands of years by the water that has flowed through the valley from the surrounding mountains. The river responsible is the smaller tributary Nar Khola, which eventually flows into the much larger river Marsyangdi which starts high up in the Annapurna range. The trail is a short detour off the Annapurna main trail and through narrow gorges along the banks of the Nar Khola through Meta and Kyang to Phu and then to Nar.

Near the entrance of the valley, it is about 3000 metres high and rises to 7140 metres at its top. That’s quite a change in elevation in a relatively small area of space and that’s why the scenery changes rapidly as you keep walking. Still at the entrance, there are remnants of forest and small green terraces. Ascend further and the terrain becomes drier, rocky, and more exposed, until you finally find yourself strolling through a terrain that seems like a lunar surface – brown cliffs, rock towers eroded by the wind, and a long stretch with hardly any trees.

The majority of the valley is barren and rugged, and is quite like the Upper Mustang area further west, which is another area of Nepal renowned for desert-like Himalayan scenery. This dryness isn’t an accident. Nar Phu is located in a rain shadow. The towering Annapurna range to the south prevents most of the moisture-bearing clouds from blowing up from the Indian Ocean during the summer monsoon. At the time of reaching Nar Phu, the air is devoid of most of the rain and snow on the southern slopes of the Annapurnas, leaving the valley itself dry, cold and rocky for much of the year. This rain shadow is what makes it possible to trek in Nar Phu during the monsoon season when most trekking areas in Nepal are flooded with rain.

The Mountains That Surround the Valley

Surrounded by stupendous mountains on all but one side, this is part of the reason that it feels so far off and so enclosed. Well-known mountains such as Kang Guru, Pisang Peak, Himlung, Nemjung and Gyaji Kyang are the mountains on the edge of the valley. These peaks are like a natural wall that encloses and protects the valley from outside access, thus maintaining the old villages’ isolated status for so many years.

The brown, rocky hills are one of the most distinctive features, some of which rise above 5,000 meters, among which are Chhomchomo hill and Yongmoso hill. These are not snow-capped Himalayan giants, but mountains nonetheless. They are dry, sharp, wind-carved features which are more reminiscent of the high desert of Tibet than the glacier-cloaked mountains that most would think of when referring to the Himalayas.

Further away, but still visible from many of the stops on the hike are some of the most renowned mountains in Nepal. Various vantage points along the way offer glimpses of the Annapurna range, Mt Manaslu, Dhaulagiri, Annapurna II, Himlung Himal, Gangapurna and Tilicho Peak. It’s one of the reasons why trekkers who have already hiked the more popular routes around Nepal’s viewpoints are drawn to trekking around Nar Phu, that there are a number of these tremendous peaks visible from this relatively under-visited valley.

How the Valley Connects to the Rest of Nepal

It’s quite a trek to get to Nar Phu, which is quite remote. Most trekker start from long drive about 1-2 days through town Besisahar, Jagat, Dharapani and finally reach Koto, a small settlement in small town near Chame in Annapurna region. The official trailhead for the trek to the Nar Phu Valley is Koto. This drive takes about 8 to 9 hours from Kathmandu.

From there it is on foot and the path leaves the main trail of Annapurna and climbs up the narrow gorge of the Nar Khola River through Meta, Kyang and Phu and finally to Nar. The walking trail is quite narrow and steep-sided at times as it travels along a gorge of the river, as the same along the way to Phu are often rock walls on one side and steep drops on the other.

Most hikers don’t just head back the way they came after visiting Nar. Instead, they go over a high pass of mountain and climb back onto the main Annapurna Circuit. This crossing is at the Kang La Pass at an elevation of about 5306 metres which leads back to the main trek route at Ngawal or Manang. This is typically the highest point on the trek, and it also serves as the natural division between the secluded world of Nar Phu and the more hectic and familiar Annapurna Circuit.

A Landscape Shaped by Isolation

It was largely inaccessible to the outside world for many years, as high mountains virtually surround it and the narrow river gorge is the main route of access. The valley was only opened to foreign visitors in the early 2000s, and then only a few foreign trekkers used to go there, and still do, as it remains a restricted area and requires special permission. It was only around 2010 that homestay accommodation was available, prior to this there was only camping available for an overnight stay.

For this delayed opening, the villages within the valley remain so unaffected, especially in comparison to many of the trekking circuit in Nepal. The physical geography, the deep gorges, the high passes, and the rain-shadow climate did more than form the landscape- it created a distinct way of life. It actually helped preserve a way of life. People in Nar and Phu continue to believe in the traditional Tibetan Buddhism and very few things have changed in their customs, homes and everyday life through centuries.

Climate and Seasons Across the Valley

Because of its elevation range and its position in the rain shadow, Nar Phu has a fairly distinct seasonal pattern. The region can generally be visited at almost any time of year except the deep winter months of December through February, when heavy snow and extreme cold close off the high passes and make travel genuinely dangerous.

September through November is typically the best time to visit, or the autumn season. Weather conditions are usually dry and stable, with clear skies providing excellent mountain views, comfortable day temperatures and cooler nights. The other peak season is in the spring, March through May when conditions are also very stable, but with lower elevation rhododendrons in bloom.

Unlike in most of Nepal, where summer corresponds with monsoon, the summer is unusually conducive to work here because of the “rain shadow”. So when the rest of Nepal is in the midst of monsoon rains, many of the lower-altitude trails become muddy or infested with leeches, this makes Nar Phu one of the more practical trekking destinations.

The Final Thought

Standing back and looking at the bigger picture, Nar Phu Valley’s geography tells a simple but powerful story. It is a narrow river valley stuck between towering peaks of the Himalayas, right behind the main range, and only just away from the Tibetan plateau with its dry climate, dry culture, and dry terrain compared with the more temperate, wetter areas of Nepal, further south.

It ranges from approximately 3,000m at the lower entrance near Koto up to more than 5,000m at the Kang La Pass and beyond, should you venture on any of the surrounding peaks over 7,000m. It is the rivers, gorges, and mountain walls that have defined the trail that trekkers walk today. They have also influenced the remote and traditional communities of Nar and Phu, who had lived in this area of isolated Nepal.

Nar Phu Valley is one of the most apparent examples of the world in Nepal when it comes to the geography of the Himalayas and its influence on people’s settlement and lifestyle, not only in terms of its scenic backdrop. It’s a place where a view does not just include a mountain range. It actually determines the amount and type of rain, the type of rock that is exposed, the possibility of the existence of a village there in the first place, and the type of pass a traveller has to cross in order to come out of it.