Elevation (feet): 26,758
Elevation (meters): 8,156
Continent: Asia
Country: Nepal
Range/Region: Central Nepal Himalaya
Latitude: 28.549959
Longitude: 84.559536
Difficulty: Major Mountain Expedition
Best months for climbing: Apr, May
Year first climbed: 1956
First successful climber(s): T. Imanishi, Gyalzen Norbu, (Japanese expedition)
Nearest major airport: Kathmandu, Nepal
Convenient Center: Pokhara, Nepal

Manaslu is the high peak of the Gurkha massif, and is the eighth highest mountain in the world. It is located about forty miles east of Annapurna, the tenth highest mountain. The mountain's long ridges and valley glaciers offer feasible approaches from all directions, and it culminates in a peak that towers steeply above its surrounding landscape, and is a dominant feature when seen from afar. The name Manaslu is derived from the Sanskrit word Manasa and can be roughly translated as Mountain of the Spirit. In 1972, fifteen members of a Korean expedition were killed at 22,800 feet when an avalanche buried their camp. Two years later, the news from the mountain was better: An all-female Japanese expedition successfully ascended to the summit, thereby becoming the first women to climb an 8,000 meter peak.