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Published: July 31st 2011
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We woke to the sound of the Marsyangdi river thundering down the valley and a repetitive creaking from the suspension bridge . It was a damp, overcast morning and the cold was creeping in to our room and looking out from our window I could see a large group of army men jogging across the bridge in just thin army uniforms and big heavy boots. They must have been frozen but were smiling and waving as they passed, wow these guys must be tough! We had breakfast, Clarisa's stomach is now fully recovered and she is making up for it, it seems by eating as many eggs as possible! Our trek today took us up through Bhratang (2950m) and Dhukur Pokhari (3200m) to Pisang at 3240m and what a day it was! The mountain views were amazing today. The scenery around us has definately changed today from warm, lush forests and valleys to a much more alpine environment and we have noticed the distinctive scent of pine aroundu us. Today we trekked for the first time in some of the walkways which have been literally blasted out of the rock. This makes for some pretty spectacular views. We had our first
views of Annapurna II (7937 m) and Pisang Peak (6091m) which were quite honestly breathtaking! We were really starting to feel as if we were in the Himalayas now! The trek today was pleasant and relatively easy across flatish ground, a few steeper bits in forests but with so many peaks, specifically the Lamjung Himal, for company along the way, it felt like a very quick trekking day. So much so that once we got to Pisang for lunch, after seeing to a blister on my heel (with Comfeel blister pads-would SO recommend these to anyone, go from pain to no pain in minutes) we were all up for walking the 20 minutes uphill to Upper Pisang (3310m). This is the older part of Pisang, much more rustic and very picturesque against the mountain backdrop. This place was probably the most rural piece of Nepal that we visited. We were lucky enough to visit a traditional Nepali house which is accessed by very steep staircases in the roof! The 'stairs' are literally just narrow tree trunks with a few notches cut out so I guess all Nepalis have to be pretty agile at any age! Inside was quite dark and
musty smelling as there were numerous corn cobs and pieces of yak meat hanging from the low ceilings inside.
We made our way on through the very narrow, steep lanes of upper pisang to the new monastery at the top. The work on this monastery began in 1999 after the old one was deemed beyond repair. A sign inside told us that each local family either donates money or 54 days of their time to the building in order to complete and maintain it. It was probably the most beautiful of all the monasteries that we visited throughout our visit and that was just the inside. Several young monks were chanting in very low, deep, monotone voices and a bell rang every now and then. Stepping back out and looking across the valley was (i'm running out of adjectives here!) magnificent in the true sense of the word! The atmosphere of Upper Pisang seemed to us overwhelmingly spiritual and yet the inherent simplicity of the place made it unlike anywhere else I have visited. Throughly recommended.
On a practical note, the price you pay for the beautiful snowy mountains is the significant drop in night time temperatures! We may be
dubbed wimps but we were f***ing freezing here! Totally worth it though. Tomorrow is Manang, via the upper or lower path, Sonam won't tell us yet, got to love him!
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