Ghoripani to Tatopani (Happy Birthday V)

Asia » Nepal » Annapurna » Annapurna Circuit
May 1st 2010

Published: May 23rd 2010

May 1st : Ghoripani to Tatopani (Steepest descent on the Circuit - Happy Birthday V - HOT SPRINGS YES!!!)

1750 meter descent (5740 feet) : 140 meter ascent (460 feet): Left Ghoripani @ 7 a.m.; Arrive Tatopani 4 p.m.; Trekked through Chitre, Shikah, Santosh View Point, Ghar Kola & finally to Tatopani.

At 5:32 a.m. the view from my bedroom window of the Annapurna peak is mysterious and beautiful, covered in wispy clouds. I lie in bed for 10 minutes, watching the clouds roll in;
{Insert Morning Mountain view here}

There’s no view to be had from Poon Hill this morning and since the trek down is the steepest of the Circuit I decide to *not* get up for a pre-sunrise hike;
The Annapurna Circuit faces a number of problems : deforestation, child labor abuse in some of the Mustang region (more on this later), and litter (though litter seems too gentle a word in the face of some of the piles of trash}. On parts of the circuit without roads, bottles / plastic is carried up, but once here there’s no place to dispose of empty bottles.

{Insert Trash (bottle photo)}; The “green” recommendation is to either a) Use Iodine tablets B) carry a water bottle, but take advantage of “clean water” stations in order to refill it, or c) use a SteriPEN
I’ve opted for C, have purchased a SteriPEN, which seems to work fine. It’s a battery operated device which uses short wave germicidal UV light to disinfect the water, disrupting the DNA of bacteria, protozoa and viruses by sterilizing them (or, as the SteriPEN pamphlet reads… “… rendering them unable to reproduce and therefore, harmless.”)

We continue the relentlessly steep descent through rhododendron & magnolia forests; shepherd huts, picture perfect pastures. At first I couldn’t understand why anyone would carry one, let alone two walking sticks, but in just a few short days I’ve learned to love mine. The first hour or two of downhill I feel fine: great in fact - making moderately good time - strong steady breath. But 4, 6, 8 hours into it, and I want it to be over, and the walking sticks assist.

The valley opens up. Terraced fields, more children shouting “take picture” and “money, sweet, pencil, balloon”; The hike down, while relentlessly down hill steep & long, continues to charm with pastoral beauty, healthy farm animals, stone walls, and an abundant supply of water buffalo.

Insert Photos: Pastoral beauty, nearby hills, Farm animal (goat? Rooster?) Stone walls; water buffalo

We pass women & children, hauling loads up hill, trumplines across their foreheads, baskets resting on their backs (insert photo girl w/ basket)

On the road, we pass a small house. “My Aunt” says P, who is from this Shikka area. Later, P tells me a group of women walking towards us, heading up hill, are her family. She tells me later they’re going to do volunteer work at the community center “…like Red Cross.” I ask P “What do they think of you, doing this job?” “They say ’good for you’” she tells me. There’s little to no work for women in this area. P’s being paid porter wages - considered very good. It’s obvious they’re proud of her.

We cross the Ghar Khola and Kali Ghandaki over suspension bridges of dubious quality. I’m terrified & know all common wisdom is ’don’t look down’ but, if I don’t look down I fear my foot will go through one of the rotting planks.

Rice is being harvested. Those who have large farm animals (cows or buffalo) tie them to a pole in the middle of the rice and walk them in circles of diminishing radius, someone following slapping their rear flanks to keep them moving forward. Their feet stomp on the grain, separating stalk from grain, the grain then is swept into baskets.

If there aren't large farm animals it’s the woman’s job to set the long shoots on a large blanket or tarp & beat them with a straw broom.

{Insert photo of Women thrashing rice}

Every once in a while we cross off the path & onto a road, though we quickly cross off the road and onto the path. When walking on the road, the scene goes quickly from pastoral to poverty. We’re aggressively followed by snot nosed boys aggressively begging for money, sweet, pencil

(insert photos);

As we approach the Ghar Khola River we come upon a Hindu temple. It’s here that bodies are cremated, their ashes dumped into the Ghar Khola below (insert photo Hindu temple over Ghar Khola River);

Thirty minutes outside of Tatopani we encounter torrential down pour. We walk through it, watching steam rise up from the dirt path.

The word “pani” means “water” and “tato” is hot. Tatopani is the location of a delicious hot spring. There’s no privacy, and Nepali’s, especially women, are culturally conservative, so bathing in the hot springs includes covering a lot. Although boys are in bathing suits women have all manner of scarves & shawls wrapped around them. I wear shorts & a tea shirt over a leotard. Much to my surprise P goes in fully dressed.

{Insert photo of Hot springs in Tatopani}

We get a lovely room at the Dhaulagiri lodge - which sits in the middle of a banana & orange grove; Surrounded by subtropical trees & shrub, I’m told there are grey langur monkeys around - but I don’t see any during my stay.

{Insert photo of Lovely hotel in a banana grove & nice room}

For dinner, I order lasagna. Won’t make that mistake twice. Noodles are fine, but there’s a lot of Yak cheese that has a sharp unpleasant flavor. An acquired test I have yet to acquire.

I'll stick with dal bhat

Ghoripani to Tatopani (Happy Birthday V)

Copyright Notice: All Rights Reserved