Trekking in the Himalayas

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We did a 16 day trek of the Annapurna circuit and it was an absolutely staggering experience. Because we started on the 17th of November and it is beginning to get quite cold at the higher altitudes, we had missed the masses and many days it just felt that we were the only ones on the trail.....Great. A new law passed just on the 27th of Oct this year, means that it is now compulsary to bring a guide or a porter with you. We had Mila, a porter/guide who spoke reasonable english and carried our heavy stuff.

We began the journey at Besisahar and ended at Pokhara. We passed thru so many different little villages, met diverse castes and saw such an expanse of breath-taking landscape. The beginning brought us along tracks cut into the cliffside, the torrent of the Marsyandi river down below. We had to cross many a precarious suspension bridge and squeeze past processions of donkeys. Met many porters on the way and marvelled at the absolute tonnes that they carried....supplies for all the villages up further. One guy was carrying about 80kg weight!!! They make about 40 rupees/kg and it takes about 7-8 days to carry to the destination town up the hill (so they're making about 4-5 euros/day for this back breaking work...) We soon came to pass thru large terraced areas and the harvest was in full swing. Main crops were rice, lentils, buckwheat and higher up, potatoes.

As we climbed higher we were enveloped by forest, which kept us cool and amused by the marijuana plants dotted here and there. Our guidebook described the large healthy marijuana fields but I think that we were a little late in the season for that. As we got above the tree line the landscape was mainly scrub, juniper but the view of the mountains was dramatic.

The high pass Thorung La at 5416m was bloody freezing. There was a gale force wind there and the chill factor was worse than any exposed ski lift that I have been on in bad weather. It was a case of get up there, take the pic, drink the tea (a little hut thankfully is right there) and get down the other side. I had bought wooden sticks for the steep descent on the other side but my hands were so cold that I couldnt use them. Was seriously scared of getting frostbite (had been reading Into Thin Air!!!)

On the other side the long walk thru the Kail Gandaki valley which is basically rock strewn is sort of like being on the moon with its endless barren panorama all around. The lodges on this side are more comfortable, the food is better and they seem more clued into what trekkers would like. Don't get me wrong they are perfectly pleasant on the uphill also, just more basic. The teahouses overall are charming and very social.

On the descent we had hotsprings at Tatopani and they were much needed before the hard day's climb from Tatopani to Ghorepani. This place is a great stopover for a really wonderful sunrise vista of the Annapurnas. After that it's plain sailing down to Birethanti and a taxi to Pokhara.

Fantastic ......

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