Arughat is a bustling market town on the banks of the Budhi Gandaki river, roughly seven hours by road from Kathmandu, and the traditional gateway to both the Manaslu Circuit and the quieter Ruby Valley trek toward the Ganesh Himal foothills. Straddling the river with a suspension bridge connecting its two halves, Arughat has long served as a trading hub between the lowland Terai and the hill communities further north, and that commercial energy is still visible in its crowded main bazaar street lined with shops, tea stalls, and porters loading supplies for the trail ahead.

For trekkers, Arughat marks the last point of real urban infrastructure before the route narrows into the Budhi Gandaki gorge, a dramatic river valley that the Manaslu Circuit follows for its first several days. Mobile signal, proper shops, and vehicle access all become progressively scarcer beyond this point, making Arughat a natural place to make final preparations, purchase any last-minute trekking supplies, and organise porters or guides before setting off.

The town sits at a relatively low and warm elevation compared to the high alpine terrain the Manaslu Circuit eventually reaches, and its climate and vegetation are correspondingly subtropical: rice paddies, banana trees, and dense green hillsides surround the settlement, a striking contrast to the glaciated peaks the same trek will reach three weeks later. Arughat is also the starting point for trekkers heading toward Barpak and Laprak on the Ruby Valley route, a path that diverges from the main Manaslu trail and heads instead toward the earthquake-affected Gurung villages of the Ganesh Himal foothills. Both routes share this same lively, practical staging town as their starting point.

Beyond its role as a trailhead, Arughat is worth a slower look in its own right: the riverside bazaar, the daily rhythm of goods being loaded onto trucks and porters, and the mix of hill and Terai cultures meeting at this crossing point all give a genuine sense of rural Nepali commerce rarely seen by trekkers who fly directly into more touristic gateway towns elsewhere in the country.