Since early 2003, Manang Youth Society has embarked on a mission to promote the Manang district as a special destination (Destination Manang’ 2004, Destination Manang’ 2007) so local pesople can benefit from tourism, thus ensuring preservation of tradition and culture, gradually threatened by the steady stream of urban migration in the 60s and 70s.

Situated entirely within the Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP), Manang district in Nepal is bounded by the Tibetan Autonomous Region to the north, Mustang district to the west, Kaski district to the south, and Lamjung district to the east. With the Annapurna range to its immediate south, and the higher Himalaya to its immediate north, Manang Valley goes from 3,000 m to over 8,000 m.

Manang district consists of 13 villages and is divided into two valleys—the Upper Valley and the Lower Valley—and is home to just about 9,000 people. The upper reaches of Manang are about a five-day walk from the nearest road head in Besisahar in Lamjung.

Destination Manang boasts special packages like a snow leopard watch, religious pujas, cultural packages, climbing courses, mountain biking, marathon competitions and heli treks. The government has opened a number of new peaks in Manang, and new destinations like Nar and Phu, the northernmost outposts of the district on the border with Tibet providing opportunities for new itineraries into these undiscovered areas.