8- MANASLU

Manaslu (also known as Kutang) is the 8th highest mountain in this planet, and is situated in the Mansiri Himal, part of the Nepalese Himalayas, in the west-central part of Nepal. Manaslu means "Mountain of the Spirit", comes from the Sanskrit word Manasa, meaning "soul" or "intellect". Manaslu was first climbed on 9th May, 1956 by Gyalzen Norbu and Toshio Imanishi, members of a Japanese expedition. It is said that "just as the British consider Mount Everest their mountain, Manaslu mountain has always been a Japanese mountain".

Manaslu at 26,759 ft (8,156 metres) above mean sea level is the highest peak in the Lamjung District and is located about 40 miles east of Annapurna. 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.
The Nepalese Government only permitted trekking route of 177 kilometres, skirts the Manaslu massif over the pass down to Annapurna in 1991. The trekking trail follows an ancient salt-trading route along the Budhi Gandaki river. In route, ten peaks over 21,300 ft (6,500 metres) are visible, including a few over 23,000 ft (7,000 metres). The highest point reached along the trek route is the Larkya La at an height of 17,175 ft (5,235 metres). As of May 2008, the mountain has been climbed 297 times with 53 fatalities.