The Naar and Phu valleys are located in central Nepal, north-west from Manaslu, north-east from the Annapurna range. The approach follows Marsyangdi river valley and thus the Annapurna circuit trail. The trail branches off in Koto and enters the Naar-Phu Khola (river) valley, leading north towards the villages of Naar and Phu. Located largely in the rain shadow of the main Himalaya range, the region is geographically (and culturally) Tibetan in character.

The standard trekking exit route from the region crosses the high Kang La (pass), at 5320m, to descend to Ngawal and finally Manang, back in Marsyangdi river valley. There is also a quite ambitious route to Upper Mustang, as well as the easy way back to Koto.

This region has a 'restricted' status and so a trek there has to be organized by a government-licensed agency. My trek, in April-May 2014, was organized by Exodus Himalaya Treks & Expeditions. We took the Kanga La route, and after descending to Manang we also did a short trip to Tilicho Lake.