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Besisihar
Photo stolen from the internet (I didn't take any in Besisihar as it was ugly) making Besisihar look nicer than it does!After far too few hours sleep I woke up and frantically finished packing my bags all the while thinking why on earth did I leave this rather important task until moments before I was due to depart for my trek. My guide turned up at the hotel 30 mins early which left me with even less time to pack and to say goodbye to Sonia, who was by now the only other remaining Dragomite. I said a sad and rather rushed goodbye to Sonia before jumping in the Toyota Hiace that would transport me to foothills of the Annapurnas and the start point of my 20 day trek around the range. On the way out of the city we picked up a very nice English couple from Yorkshire who were trekking the same route but were on a slightly different itinerary and as such would not sadly be trekking with me. After driving for around 6 hours we reached what I thought was the our final destination, the town of Besishar. Besisihar could be described as a dusty frontier town or if you were being more honest as a bit of shit hole, it certainly wasn’t quite how I envisaged the
Besisahar 2
Photo stolen from the internet (I didn't take any in Besisihar as it was ugly!) and once again making Besisihar look nicer than it does! start of one of the ‘top 10 most beautiful treks in the world’ to look like. Stopping at fly ridden hotel I ordered some fried noodles for lunch, advising me that this could take a while I set off with my guide to find some soap, a barber to trim my face rat and most importantly a tailor or similar who could fix the zip to my day bag which had rather inconveniently decided to break shortly after leaving Kathmandu. Thanks bag, great timing, good to know you are there for me when I need you. It was a good thing that by this point I was used to being stared at as half the town turned up to watch me get shaved at the local barbers, with 15 or so young teenage boys staring, pointing and laughing I began to realise that having novelty facial hair was not without its downsides. After a very successful soap buying session we found a local bag/clothes seller cum fixer of broken Berghaus day bag zips. Using a hammer and a large padlock (yes I agree an odd choice of zip fixing tools) he beat my zip into submission rendering it once again
The route between Besisihar and Syange
Photo stolen from internet as we didn't stop on the jeep journey between Besisihar and Syange and as such couldn't take decent photos. fully functional, I would have said he was an absolute hero had he not gone on to rip me off by selling me some safety pins (a back up device in the event of zip malfunction) at a ludicrously inflated price.
Over lunch KC (my guide) mumbled something about going to Syange, the next town along, but I wasn’t really sure what he was talking about. I became anxious at this point as I was unsure what was going on and felt like KC was not really explaining anything (I believe because he didn’t understand what I was asking). My anxieties were also compounded by the fact that I was both nervous about the trek and also about being a solo traveller for the first time and thus now without the safety net of my Dragoman buddies.
After some anxious and confused waiting I finally discover that we are to leave Besisahar and take a share jeep to Syange, a village 3 hours away on a very rough dirt track. When I ask why we are leaving today, KC just tells me “it is better”. Like to clarify why it’s better KC? No, ok great. This situation did
little to calm quell my anxieties especially as I found out that the English couple would be staying in Besishar that evening, why then I wondered where we setting off early? Concerned about communication issues and the competence and integrity of my guide I started to wonder if the next 20 days could turn out to be some of the worst of my life. This was turning out to be a very bad day. Leaving Besishar I said goodbye to the English Couple, I was sad that I would not be travelling with them especially given the relationship with my guide who was also now my solo travelling companion had not got off to a flying start.
I managed to bag myself a front seat in the jeep, the best in the whole vehicle. I thought myself lucky until I realised that I was to share this seat for 1 with my guide KC. All of a sudden relative luxury turned into something resembling a particularly uncomfortable position in the game of twister. It wasn’t just me who was in discomfort however, the jeep had been filled with twice what it could comfortably fit, a tradition you find all
Map of the circuit
This isn't mine, I stole this off the internet. However this map follows the same route I took up until the Marpha (day 11) over Asia. It took around an hour of painful waiting for the jeep to depart, 45 mins of the wait was spent in the middle of Besisihar waiting for what turned out to be absolutely nothing at all. Another Asian tradition. Syange lay just 24km away but the journey took around 3 hours, you can probably guess from those statistics that road was not a pleasant one, especially given that the contortion of my body made the journey feel like a 3 hour hold in a particularly difficult yoga position. While the journey was uncomfortable the scenery did start to impress right from the moment of leaving Besisahar. The jeep track follows the Masryangdi river upstream through gradually a narrowing and increasingly lush valley all the while with the water of the Masryangdi raging violently below.
We arrived into Syange just after the last of the day light had faded, and not a moment too soon. Later that evening in the dead of the dark night sky a driver would plummet to his death while attempting to drive the very same road we had traversed just hours earlier. These are not roads you want to travel on in the dark. Syange village is very small and basic consisting of little more than a few tin sheds. It felt pleasingly rural after the monstrosity that was Besisihar. Tired, anxious, hungry and rather grumpy I was pleased to arrive, the hotel may be very basic (outside toilets, ultra thin wooden walls, sheet metal roof and kitchen in a tiny outside shack) but it is clean and my bed/pillows are comfortable. Tired and anxious after a long days drive I just want to eat dinner, go to sleep and forget about what has been a rather unpleasant day. I notice ordering dinner that food is relatively expensive here (still thinking about Indian cheapness) and learn that it will get more expensive as we continue further up the mountain. The reason being that on the trail there are no roads and the only haulage transport options are donkeys or humans, so the further you get from the road the more transport costs and the longer it takes. Saying that though it was only about 2.50gbp for a plate of buffalo fried rice in Syange which isn’t that bad really especially when you consider accommodation here was 1.25 gbp per night!
After dinner I sit down with KC to discuss our route, all of a sudden he seems to speak better English and more importantly seems to know what’s going on, this puts me at ease. The route sounds exciting but also tough, new anxieties kick in now, I’m worried my guide thinks I’m fitter than I am and the walk he has planned will be to tough, I guess we shall just have to wait and see. I go to bed early wanting to put an end to what has been a difficult and mentally taxing day, as I go to sleep I tell myself that tomorrow will be a better day, it has to be a better day, let’s hope this is the case...
Proposed itinerary: Day 0: Drive Kathmandu to Syange (1130m, 9-10 hrs) via Besisahar
Day 01: Trek Syange (1130m) to Tal (1700m, 5-6 hrs)
Day 02: Trek Tal (1700m) to Danaque (2200m, 4-5 hrs)
Day 03: Trek Danaque (2200m) to Chame via Timang (2700m, 5-6 hrs)
Day 04: Trek Chame (2700m) to Lower Pisang (3250m, 5-6 hrs)
Day 05: Trek Lower Pisang (3250m) to Manang (3540m, 5-6 hrs)
Day 06: Acclimatization day in Manang (3540m)
Day 07: Trek Manang (3540m) to Ledar (4200m, 6 hrs)
Day 08: Trek Ledar (4200m) to Throng La High Camp (4925m, 6 hrs)
Day 09: Trek Throng La High Camp (4925m) to Muktinath (3800m, 7-8 hrs) crossing over the Thorung-La pass (5416m)
Day 10: Trek Muktinath (3800m) to Marpha (2670m, 7-8 hrs)
Day 11: Trek Marpha (2670m) to Kalopani (2530m, 5-6 hrs)
Day 12: Trek Kalopani (2530m) to Tatopani (1190m, 7-8 hrs)
Day 13: Tatopani (1190m) – Ghorepani (2855m, 7-8 hrs)
Day 14: End of Annapurna Circuit trek and start of Annapurna base camp trek
Description of the route (‘borrowed’ from Mountain Kingdoms website!): Many people believe that the walk around Annapurna is the classic trek in Nepal. It offers not only some of the most breathtaking scenery in the Himalaya, but between the lush irrigated Marshyangdi valley, the high arid country to the north, then down into the Kaligandaki valley, the deepest gorge in the world, the traveller passes through a myriad cross-section of the culture of Nepal.
You will visit centuries old Buddhist temples, pass Sadhus and pilgrims on their way to Muktinath, follow in the ancient footsteps of salt traders, encounter donkey trains with their bells ringing and be able to peek into the mysterious Upper Mustang. You will also be able to swim in hot springs, feel the howling wind which blows up the Kaligandaki valley and turn corners where amazing sights present themselves, just begging to be photographed. Of course the thrill of crossing the fabled Thorong La pass, adorned with its many prayer flags, will keep you talking for years to come. The Annapurna circuit has all this and more!
The route: The Marshyangdi valley nestles in the watershed dividing the Annapurna massif from the Manaslu Himal. Walking up this valley affords excellent and ever-changing views of Machhapuchare (6,993m/22,942ft), Lamjung Himal (6,981m /22,904ft), Annapurna II (7,935m /26,033ft), Annapurna IV (7,523m /24,682ft), Annapurna III (7,553m /24,780ft) and Gangapurna (7,453m /24,452ft) on the north and west. Manaslu (8,154m/26,752ft), Peak 29 (7,833m /25,699ft) and Baudha Himal (6,670m/21,884ft) dominate the eastern skyline.
This river bed of the Marshyangdi valley is extremely fertile and is heavily cultivated with rice, and millet, while corn and buckwheat terraces scale the hillsides. In this part of Nepal huge, shady banyan trees shelter scattered villages and varieties of mango and banana flourish. Two-storied houses are brightly painted with red ochre or whitewash and are usually surrounded by the scarlet and orange blossoms of poinsettias and marigolds. At the bazaar town of Bagarchhap, the Marshyangdi Khola (river) swerves almost due west to enter the long Manangbhot valley. The canyon becomes much narrower at this point and the trail frequently descends 500ft to suspension bridges across the river before regaining elevation on the opposite bank. The region becomes increasingly forested with pines and firs.
Between Chame and Pisang the effect of the Himalayan rain shadow can be observed. Although the forests do not disappear entirely as they do in the upper Kali Gandaki, they become generally more sparse with a greater percentage of juniper. The fields are sown with barley, buckwheat and potatoes - hardy crops that can thrive in cold, semi-dry regions.
The Manangbhot valley is surrounded on all sides by major Himalayan peaks. The southern end is guarded by Annapurna II, IV, and III, while Gangapurna, Glacier Dome (7,191m/23,593ft) and Tilicho Peak (7,132m/23,400ft) loom to the west. Lesser-known mountains stand to the north and east, including Chulu Himal (6,628m /21,746ft) and Pisang Peak (6,089m /19,978ft), both of which have recently been opened for climbs as 'trekking peaks'.
Crossing the Thorong La Pass (5,414m /17,764ft) from Manang is a long but gradual climb through grassy meadows and high yak pastures. From the top there are unmatched views of the northern faces of Annapurna and her satellite peaks. As the trail descends into Muktinath at 3,810m /12,500ft, a holy pilgrimage site for Hindus and Buddhists alike, the statuesque summit of Dhaulagiri, 8,167m/26,794ft, the seventh highest peak in the world, appears on the southern horizon.
Entering the Kali Gandaki from Muktinath begins with a descent into the vast alluvial fan of Thak Khola (river), home of the Thakali people. Marpha is perhaps the most picturesque village in this region, where irrigated fields border its whitewashed houses and the community stands out brilliantly against eroding sandstone cliffs. The streets are narrow and cobbled and in the centre of the town lies a very active and well kept Gompa.
Beyond Kalopani the landscape transforms into coniferous forests as the trail gradually exits from the Himalayan rain shadow. The pine forests in turn become more deciduous, filled with rhododendron, azalea and eventually bamboo. Tatopani (hot water) marks the transition in agriculture from the fields of hardy grains suitable for the arid Thak Khola to the moisture-needing terraces of rice and millet. Water buffalo, banyan trees and poinsettias also reappear as the trail travels through Sikha and up to Ghorepani Pass. An hour above Ghorepani Pass, Poon Hill (3,029m/ 9,938ft) yields spectacular views of Dhaulagiri, Annapurna and the magnificent Kali Gandaki Gorge running between them. At Ghorepani you finish your trek.
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