Nepal - The Annapurna Trek, Part I

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Namaste,

How’s it going y’all? I’ve been rather busy trying to finish off the write-ups. It looks like it will take a while so hang in there. This travelogue continues off where I left off. I had met Kristof, my friend from Belgium, in Gorakhpur and together where heading into Nepal.

We crossed the border at Sonali in a cycle rickshaw. The immigration procedures at both the Indian and Nepali immigration offices were easy to follow and were done smoothly. At the Nepali side, we both got our visas at the border done for $20 USD. The only item they ask of you is a copy of your passport. The rickshaw dropped us at a hotel from where we grabbed a mini-bus to Pokhara. It was a mid-sized bus (definitely not a van), yet there was hardly any leg room. Clearly, it was design to fit the small Asian passengers, not a 6 foot 2 inches foreigner. We grabbed a window seat and enjoyed the beautiful views of the countryside. We were not the only foreigners as there where two other guys from Spain. We started going thru flatlands, but we soon were climbing up the foothills of the Himalayas. The minibus drove us thru a stunning gorge with a river flowing down below. A few hours into the journey, right when my legs where getting numb and sleepy, I asked the driver if we could ride on the roof. He said we could so I went up along with the two Spaniards. Kristof opted to get the front row seat at the bus. It was more comfortable and cooler as the air came from all directions. We were now getting a full 360 degrees view of the spectacular scenery!

Pokhara is a beautiful town situated on the shores of Phewa Lake. The tourist area lies at the shores of the lake. It is full of shops, restaurants, and hotels, which makes it a convenient place to stay in town. We stayed at Giri guesthouse, ran by a kind man with the same name. We got a large room at the second story that had a large window with dazzling views of Machhapuchhare mountain peak standing tall at 6,997 meters above sea level (M.A.S.L.). It was our first glimpse of this mountain peak that is seen at various times along the Annapurna Circuit and Sanctuary treks. We got the room just in time to catch sunset and since we had such a good view from the room all we needed to do is relax and let it unfold in front of us. The unique red hue of the sun enclosed upon the snowy mountains and the many clouds of the sky as the day gave way to the evening stars. We had a long day so we decided to splurge and go out to a fine Italian dinner at the Cafe Concerto. It has the best pizzas in the Indian Sub-continent!

Pokhara serves as a base to treks into the Annapurna Sanctuary. We went ahead and set up camp here for a few days preparing for the trek. The first thing on the agenda was getting a permit. We walked down the lake side to the Annapurna Conservation Area Project office. The permit costs $20.00 USD (regardless of how long you spend inside the sanctuary, 1 - unlimited days). You must also submit 2 pictures. It was a smooth process as we got in and out of the office quickly. We where quite impressed.

We then went on a shopping galore as Pokhara is full of good quality inexpensive trekking equipment. Just keep in mind that when you see a brand name it will be a fake so the quality will certainly not be the same as the original, but its good none-the-less. First thing on the list was a map of the Annapurna Sanctuary, which is available for about $3 USD. It gives you the locations of towns and even mentions if you can sleep/eat there. It also provides an overall time-frame between towns. It’s an essential item to have if you’re planning a trek in that region. I then bought an excellent pair of fake Teva sandals ($7 USD). I still have them to this date. There are so good that even someone who worked for Teva couldn’t tell the difference! I went ahead and bought some sunglasses for protection of the sun as parts of the trek are above the snow-line. The last item was a fake waterproof North Face jacket and fleece combo ($16 USD). Now that I was loaded with equipment, I procured some munchies and snacks to eat along the trek. These can be purchased at a premium during the trek so it’s best to stock up for the first week or two. Now, I already had water purifying tablets with me, but in case you don’t have you should buy some as water is expensive en route. I went ahead and purify most of the time to save expenses. A litter of water ranged between 25-150 Nepalese Rupees depending on the accessibility of the place (72 Nepali Rupees = $1 USD) during the trek. You will also be saving the environment by not using too many water bottles.

Anyway, you need not take much on a trek as there are guesthouse along the way that provides food and shelter. I suggest a small, comfortable, sturdy backpack and sleeping bag. You should take ample toiletries as needed (less is better though so forget about shaving, deodorant, and non-essentials… girls need not take cosmetics for example). Clothes wise, you do need a fleece, water proof jacket, sandals, hiking boots, plenty of sox and underwear, tuque (winter hat), gloves, zip-pants (flexible in case its warm or cold), etc. Take some snacks to get you going in the day. Also take some medicine for emergencies, including something to sanitize cuts/bruises. Oh, there is electricity on the trek so do bring your camera and charger. One thing that can be handy and weights next to nothing is a converter that allows you to tap into the light-bulb socket. That way you will be able to charge your electronic stuff in your room. Many guesthouses on the trail will have electricity and light bulb, but no regular sockets though so make sure you bring an adapter like this on the trek. This should get you going. Think well and hard on what you will take as you will be carrying it. If you do take a porter, be mindful about him or her and pack as though you will be carrying it yourself. And remember, dress for the occasion, not to impress! Oh, do keep in mind that there are no banking facilities along the trek so budget accordingly!

As for the porters or guide issue. No matter what age or physical fit you have you do not need one. I was really surprised on the number of young people taking one along the trek. It’s like wasting money. The paths are really clear and the experience will be more rewarding if you carry your own stuff. If you do hire a guide or porter, do so locally in Pokhara or Katmandu. Agree to a set price in writing and do remember to give him/her a tip at the end. Do not be a cheapskate either and mind the weight of your bags. I met too many people taking their entire luggage on treks. I suggest you leave stuff behind at your guesthouse in Pokhara. Most places won’t charge as long as you stay with them when you return.

The trek we set out to do was the Annapurna Circuit (recommended length 7-11 days) and Annapurna Sanctuary treks (recommended length 16-21 days) and we had no time-frame in mind. Kristof and I were fit though so we knew we may go at a faster pace then most, which suited us well. We were on vacation though so we had no time pressure. On average, we started around 8 AM. We walked for a few hours taking a few brakes and enjoying the scenery. We had lunch between 12-2 for an hour. Then we set walking again until 5 or 6 in the evening (sometimes we fell behind and had to walk past 6, but that was rare). One thing is sure; we took our time to enjoy the scenery at various brakes throughout the day. Food takes a while to cook on high altitude so make sure you order as early as possible (1 hour in advance, more if the place is full). As for the guesthouses, some will waive the room fee if you agree to always eat in the premises so there is no harm in asking for this upfront. This worked great for us as we will typically have dinner and breakfast in the same place and then lunch somewhere along the way. Do not feel guilty as the food prices are grossly overpriced to take care of the expenses to bring them there and also to cover the expenses of the food of the porters and guides (this is applies even if you don’t have a guide or porter, argh!). As for elevation, it’s a gradual trek so you should have problems with acclimatizing to the altitude.

We started the trek the following morning, our third day in Nepal. We took a bus to Basisahar (820 M.A.S.L.) going thru spectacular scenery. We were set on leaving that same day so after a light lunch of samosas we took off on our journey. We followed an unpaved 4WD road leading out of town. We were surprised at seeing the sub-tropical vegetation all around us. It was clear that this region receives an abundant amount of rainfall. The vegetation today was more colorful then an artist palette. The rice paddies we crossed were greener then one can imagine. We even passed a few banana plantations as well as fields full off pumpkins. The weather was humid, but not too hot. We eventually came across our first obstacle, a stream with no path to cross from. I still remember taking our shoes and socks off to cross barefooted thru the ice-cold water. Continuing on the road, we came across a much larger river. We crossed it thru a suspension bridge that led to the town of Khudi (790 M.A.S.L.). The village had a medieval feel to it with the impressive stone-path and stone-buildings. We liked it so we stopped for a bit to soak it all in while we had a delicious chai (tea) at a local shop. It was a short hike to the next village, Bhulbhule (840 M.A.S.L.). We kept on going and were mesmerized by the many waterfalls we passed. There were over 10 meters tall and we could clearly feel the water splashing down below issuing a refreshing spray of water on the air as we hiked besides it. We stopped for the night at the village of Ngadi (920 M.A.S.L.). We stayed at a beautiful guest house overlooking the gorge. We walked into town and a bit further on to appreciate the views of the river. The rain came pouring down tonight and since the rooms where a bit basic we could hear the water banging on the roof.

We had a late start today as we set out for the day. As usual, we started right after having a light breakfast. Weather would remain humid and hot today. We crossed the heart of the old village of Ngadi and went uphill en route to Bahundanda. We ran across the two Spaniards once more as they were resting en route. We had been walking for a while and so we decided to take a brake as well. The path seemed to be getting steeper and steeper today. It will continue to do so for a while as we made our way thru the circuit. As we rested, we began chatting with one of the porters who knew English. He wasn’t carrying a tourist backpack, oh no, he was carrying a much bigger load. All in all, he was hauling about 80 kilos worth of goods (water bottles were the heaviest as a full one liter bottle weighs about one kilogram). I can attest to the fact that the load is larger then the porter himself. I have a picture that depicts just that! We continued on our upward journey. It was a tough walk, but not disappointing. We reached the top and gradually made our way down the other side of the mountain. We stopped at Syanjapgaon, a bit below the summit on the other side. We enjoyed a much deserved cup of tea at one of the shops in the village. It had a beautiful view of the valley below. We even had a chance to take a refreshing brake at the waterfall going down the mountain. We continued on our journey for a few more hours.

We were getting hungry so we stopped for lunch at Ghermu Phant, which has a stunning view as it overlooks a huge waterfall across the valley. As we sat relaxing and waiting for our food we spotted a huge black butterfly with colorful phosphorescent stripes. We set up right after lunch heading downhill and across the river via the long suspension bridge that led to the town of Syanja. The compact settlement has nice views of the river and valley. It was another uphill battle to Jagal at 1,300 M.A.S.L.. The green lush scenery began getting rockier with sheer cliffs that didn’t allow for much cultivation. The town itself made for a pleasant place to spend the night. We met a nice Israeli couple staying at the guest house and later on had dinner together. We then spend the evening playing cards and talking. It rained throughout the night once more. So far we’ve been lucky with no rain during the day.

We set off the following day in what we would fondly recall as the day of the waterfalls as we crossed dozens of them (too many to count). At one point, we even got to walk under one of them! We had a rough uphill climb at the start as we made our way to Chamje, where a Maoist (more on this movement on the next paragraph) tried to exhort money out of us. It was two rebels. They where waiting for us in one of the restaurants in the village. They wanted an exorbitant fee of 100 Nepalese Rupees per day trekking (that would have been 2,500 for each of us by our modest estimate)! Everything is negotiable in Asia so we tried to bargain down our ransom. After all, neither of them had a weapon on them (we were lucky as other travelers told us they did met rebels with weapons). We said we were willing to give them 200 Nepalese rupees each. They stare at us for a while with disbelief before refusing our offer. We waited patiently, telling them we were students with little funds. Next they handed us a brochure with information on their movement saying they really need the money. We were not going to pay them such a high ransom though. We up the offer to 300 Nepalese Rupees each. Once more then refuse the offer. Just before we were going to give them our final offer of 500 Nepalese Rupees, the chief came out and told us to continue on our way. They wouldn’t even take the 600 Nepalese Rupees we had offered between the two of us. I’m not sure how I would have reacted with a gun on my face though as it happened to several trekkers. One thing is for sure, Nepal depends on tourism and consequently the Maoist depends on tourism. They are not stupid. Many of the Maoists have family members that own and ran guesthouses along the trek. Their movement is on a thin line as it is and so they cannot use any bad publicity. They will harm locals, but they know that if they harm/kill a tourist their movement is as good as dead. So you can rest assure that if you encounter them you won’t be harmed. Just smile, try to bargain the ransom down, and if you can’t pay it! A stubborn Israeli, whose wife and guide had gone ahead of him, ended up with a gun to his face as he refused to pay up saying his guide had already passed ahead of him. Needless to say, he ended up paying the 1,000 Nepalese Rupees they originally requested and was let go immediately after that. They will issue you a receipt that you can show to other Maoists so they don’t demand more money. Perhaps that is why we were let go. If they didn’t catch you at the start, surely they will catch you somewhere down the trek. As Garth Brook said though, that day never came. But let’s leave this matter for now as we will talk about it later.

For those of you who do not know, Nepal is going thru a political turmoil that started in the earlier part of the decade when the entire royal family was killed, except of course for one prince, the current King. I won’t go into too much detail, but the events that unfold send the entire country to chaos. The King and Queen they loved were now dead, along with the rest of the victims. It is a full blown love story reminiscent to any of the plays by Shakespeare. The royal Prince had fallen in love with a girl the family didn’t approve off so in a loving rage he killed most of the royal family and himself. Lesson learned parents… do not cross the path of love as you can end up losing something more dearly to your heart. If only the Royal Family was more receptive of their son. If, that is something that to this date now one can remedy. We cannot change the past, not yet anyway. The years that followed saw a vacuum of power. The new King entered with conspiracy theories saying he had convinced his brother to do the killings, thus putting him in power. In the mean time, social hierarchies in Nepal had remained unchanged with a small upper class of Brahmins that still followed the old caste system that has since been abolished in India and the region. With no hope of rising beyond their current birthplace in society, a group of rebels created a guerilla movement and called themselves Maoists, which loosely follows the communist ideals. If only they had called themselves freedom fighters then things would have been different. They could have even learned from Fidel Castro who used the support from the US to fight Batista in 1959. Alas, it wasn’t meant to be. Instead, the US, Europe, and most of the world have sided with the Royal family on the issue to avoid another communist party taking over the region. I guess someone needs to tell the Maoist that the communist movement is long dead. Perhaps the biggest of all modern ironies is that even China condemns the Maoists rebels in Nepal!

So, where were we? Oh yes, we had just escape the stronghold of the Maoist rebels and quickly continued on our way. As soon as we felt we had hiked a comfortable distance, we stopped for a cup of tea to recuperate from the experience. The kind lady of the establishment must have known we just passed the Maoist as she was extra nice. She even gave us some delicious cucumbers. We saw the Israeli couple and their porter a bit further down the path. They couldn’t believe we had passed the Maoists without paying a dime. We explained how it wasn’t our intention and how they just gave up bargaining with us. Off we where again, continuing on the hard days journey. Around this time, we began to see a very interesting change in vegetation as we left the sub-tropical zone, full of broad-leaved trees and plant. These had prevailed up to Chamje, but soon after we entered the transition zone with a mix of sub-tropical and temperate zone vegetation. As we hiked thru this zone we saw both broad leaf trees and pine trees.

We eventually reached the village of Tal, where we had lunch at a Tibetan owned guest house. The place was lovely, with an incredible view overlooking the waterfall in town. We kept on going after lunch on a tough uphill path to the settlement of Dharapani. Along the way, we passed tons of guesthouses. We had planned on stopping for the night here, but at this point it was still early. As we had no set itinerary, we kept on going for an hour or so later. What an interesting walk that was. The transition zone came to an end around Dharapani as we saw the distinct change to the temperate zone. This temperate zone, which began soon after Dharapani, was full of pine trees and ferns. The temperature obviously changed a bit. During the day it was still hot and humid (but certainly less so then the sub-tropical zone), but nights where colder. We eventually reached the village of Bagar-Chhap (2,160 M.A.S.L.). We stayed at a guesthouse ran by a charming Nepalese couple. The lady of the house made this killer potato curry that will cure even the biggest hunger.

Day 4 of the trek was marked with dense clouds and rocky walls as we made our way above the so called cloud line. We left Bagar-Chhap early following the easy path to Danagyu village. The trail at this point goes up a rock escarpment and on this particular day it was covered by a thick cloud that made it hard to see at the distance. This trail leads to a beautiful forest full of Maple, Oak, and Rhododendron. It was humid as hell as we went up through the clouds so I sweat up a storm. We eventually crossed the Timang Besi. In retrospect, I seriously think there is an easier lower path via the town of Lata Manang. However, if you follow that path then you will miss the beautiful cloud forest. We continued on the trail and stopped for tea at the village of Thanchok.

Eventually, we reached the small town of Chame, not to be confused with Chamje. Anyway, Chame is huge compare to the small settlements or villages we had crossed up to this point. It has a satellite phone service, electricity, a government check point where they check to see if you have your permit. Oh, you better not lose it as you will be charged double the price of the permit (no, we didn’t lose it, but we asked just in case). It was far too early to stop for the day so we kept going after lunch. I’m not sure if it happened at this point, but the cultural makeup of those inhabiting this area was beginning to change. We had left the Hindu population and had entered a group that clearly practices Tibetan Buddhism. It was nice seeing the stuppas and mani walls along the way. Speaking off, the path at this point follows a narrow rocky gorge. It literally cuts right through the rocky wall. It’s amazing to be walking thru this path that has been around for hundreds of years. We eventually reached Bharatang and since we still had energy we decided to keep going. We kept on walking thru a peaceful evergreen forest as we made our way to our night stop at the village of Dhukure Pokhari (3,060 M.A.S.L.). It’s a small sleepy settlement with a couple of guest houses. It’s clearly not on the trekker agenda as most people just pass it en route to somewhere else. We had walked quite a bit today, nearly two days worth of hiking if you follow the schedule on the map we got. It wasn’t bad at all and we were not rushing either. In any case, we were rewarded with incredible views of the Annapurna II and Lamjung Himal peaks at sunset, which occurred shortly before we arrived to town.

It was drizzling the following morning as we took off hiking out of the village. We were following a local up a mountain path and without realizing it ended up in the village of Upper Pisang. This is the town populated by locals, rather then the tourist town of Lower Pisang that has all the guest houses and the like. Upper Pisang is a pleasant village with close, tight stone houses. It has a Tibetan feel to it similar to the remote villages in Ladakh, India. By this time, that place seemed like a world away. We continue on an uphill battle towards the village of Ghyaru (3,670 M.A.S.L.). We had spotted this town from down below. Oh, what a bastard of a sighting that was for it was over an hour away via this steep path that climbed up the mountain. The thinning of air at high altitude affects the oxygen you consume and since we where hiking we quickly noticed the change in pace. We began to breathe thru our mouths just to be able to maintain an oxygen flow. We came across the “Yak-Yak Guesthouse” in Ghyaru. It had a huge Yak head hanging on the outside of the door. We thought it had some character so we entered and had a tasty tea. We sat on garden, sipping the tea and enjoying the priceless views of the Annapurna II (7,900 M.A.S.L.) and Annapurna IV (7,500 M.A.S.L.) snowy mountain peaks.

After we had rested, we continued on our trek as we made our way to the village of Ngawal. We soon spotted the first live Yak I’ve ever seen. It looks like a large cow, but this one has long thick fur that looked well trim, yet overgrown, as it hanged below the legs. Soon, we spotted a group of horses crossing our path. One of them was albino, which was rather unique. We kept on going for a while until we found this amazing scenic spot that gave way to a 360 degree panoramic view of the valley. We both looked at each other and new we had to stay here to soak in the amazing views. The decision to take the much more demanding upper path that took us up thru the steep path was defiantly worth it. We could see the lower path from here, which follows the river closely and ascends gradually (easier) up the valley. The views didn’t stop there though… We could see the snowy peaks that were above and across the valley from us, and we could certainly see the evergreen forest and river down below.

We were definitely in Tibetan Buddhism territory today as we crossed several interesting Mani walls, Shortens, Prayer Wheels, and Gompas (temples). All of these hold a deep religious meaning for the locals so please remember to walk on a clockwise path when passing thru any of these (if you see it straight ahead, then go to the left of the object, not the right). The Mani Walls for example are places where lamas (monks) are buried. A Prayer Wheel is a religious item that is used for luck and prayer. If you decide to use it, make sure you spin it clockwise.

We eventually reached the village of Ngawal. It was surrounded by barley fields, one of the stipend crops in Tibet and this region. The town itself was compact with many stone buildings. We had lunch at the roof top of a Tibetan guesthouse. Right when we were getting to pay, one of my 500 Nepalese Rupees note slipped from my hand with a surge of wind and went flying off the edge of the house. Argh! That’s too much money to lose on this part of the world so I went on a hunt to find it. Lucky for me it had landed in the tiny garden on the back of the house.

We resumed our trek with a full belly. We started the descent down to the floor of the valley en route to the village of Mungji. The path took us through a gorgeous forest that was surrounded by massive sand and mud formations formed by eons of erosions on one side and on the other you had the river. Further on, on the left of the valley we could still see the snowy peaks high above us. Among them, we noticed the Annapurna III and Gangapurna that came together at a glacier that looked like a giant wall of ice. Once we reached the floor of the valley, we kept going uphill and eventually got to the charming village of Bhraka (3,500 M.A.S.L.). We had a long day today and so needed to rest. We thought Manang was still a while off and so decided to stay at this pleasant guesthouse in Bhraka that looked as though it was a chalet transplanted from somewhere in the Swiss Alps. I wish I remembered the name as it turned out to be the finest guesthouse on the trail. It’s right on the main path, overlooking the snowy peaks on one end and the old gompa at the other side. There are few guesthouses in the village so look around for the one that suits you. Hopefully it’ll be the same one 😊.

Most of the guidebooks recommend you take a day off once you climb above 3,500 meters above sea level (M.A.S.L.) so we decided to take it easy today, meaning we didn’t walk as long as usual. We visited the Bhraka Gompa that morning. It is over 500 years old so you can imagine all the history it offers. The caretaker opened it up for us and two other trekkers. He showed us the first temple, which had a handful of frightful statues of various Guardian Deities along with a eye-catching Golden Buddha. The second temple had a small library with scrolls, two large Buddha statues, hundreds of small Buddha figures, and several Guardian Deities. As we visited the site, the caretaker gave us a simple necklace (made out of a string of various colors) that would act as a lucky charm protecting you wherever your journey takes you. I would wear this same necklace for the next few months until the day I lost it as it fell into the waters of the Nam Ou River in Laos. I guess it means I have to go back there and find it 😊. By the way, I was wearing the lucky charm during the Tsunami so perhaps it did work as it was supposed to do so.

We returned to the guesthouse and picked our bags to continue on our way. We were surprise as we reached the village of Manang in no time. It has everything you need and don’t need, including electricity, telephone, and more. It’s a good place to re-supply your provisions. For those with money, you can even fly in or out of Manang by helicopter. If you are spending the day in town, some local entrepreneurs have set up movie theaters with the latest DVDs or VCDs. But, with the stunning scenery around you who needs movies?

After buying some provisions, we made our way out of Manang and headed to the mesmerizing Green Lake with a stunning view of a Glacier falling down from high up in the mountains. It’s a pleasant 15 minute walk from town that follows the old stone houses in town. We followed a different trail that took us up the valley beyond the lake following the edge of a wide river. The scenery was certainly drier by now as we were leaving the temperate zone and entering the high-altitudes. The vegetation doesn’t grow as tall anymore and is more like what you will see in a tundra-like area rather then a temperate area. There are tons of small shrubs and grass with occasional, spread-out trees. Eventually, we crossed the river and started walking on the other side into a separate valley. This path led to the village of Khangsar (3,750 M.A.S.L.), which is not on the typical path. This village is the starting point to a side trek one can take to reach Lake Tilicho, which lies deep inside the Annapurna Sanctuary. For those who plan on just crossing the Thorung La then just keep going north of Manang following the big trail. If you reach Khangsar then you went the wrong way 😊. I must confess we hadn’t plan on doing the side-trek to Lake Tilicho, but as it turns out it would be really rewarding. I now highly recommend it to anyone for it offers stunning scenic views all along the trail that would otherwise be missed if you don’t take this detour. The trek can take up to 3 days. The first day you reach Khangsar. The second day you reach Tilicho Base Camp. The third day you wake up early and climb to the lake and then go all the way down, back to Khangsar.

Khangsar is a typical Tibetan village full of charming stone buildings, Tibetan flags, and friendly locals. We had planned on resting today so after a filling lunch we took a well deserved nap. As it was still early when we woke up we went off for a short stroll around town and beyond. Kristof was adamant about going further on up the valley. I wanted to see more of the town so we split for a few hours as each of us explored what we each fancied. I returned to town and paid a visit to the local Gompa. It’s over 200 years old. The gompa is not well visited and so it’s usually locked. I managed to express interest in seeing the gompa so a local helped me find the caretaker who had the keys. He opened the squeaky door and led me inside. I felt like an archeologist uncovering a long lost temple that hasn’t seen a visitor in centuries. The floor was covered by a thick layer of dust. The sanctuary had an interesting statue of Buddha as well. I thank the man and left a donation at the temple for his troubles. I then went for a longer walk around town.

We started off today on a hike leading to the Thame Gompa. Sadly, it was locked so we didn’t get to visit the inside. The views from this location were stunning though and so we spent a few minutes soaking it all in. We spun the Prayer Wheel for luck and continued on our way. The path to the base camp soon splits offering you a choice from a lower or upper path. Both are equally challenge as the upper path involves a tough climb and the lower path follows a slippery gravel track. The masochist in both of us was calling and so we took the upper path. Boy was it tough! The steep path followed the side of a near-vertical cliff. The climb isn’t for the faint hearted. By the time we reached the highest point, we had climbed well above 4,500 M.A.S.L.! The climb was well rewarded with awesome panoramic views of the snowy peaks in the Annapurna Sanctuary. I lost count on how many of them we could see. Among the highlights were Gangapurna, Tarka Kang, Great Barrier, and Tilicho Peak all due west of us. Then there was Chullo East, Chullo Central, and Chullo West facing east of us. Let’s not forget the stunning valley down below with a sharp fall, a distinct visible vegetation change (evergreen forest on the bottom, shrubs on the middle section, and barren grassland on top) and the eroded rocks around them. We stopped and mesmerized for twenty or so minutes before continuing on our way down the valley en route to the Tilicho Base Camp, which could easily be spotted down at the valley’s floor. The decent was thru a precipitous path that led down the gravel and dust surface on the other end of the valley. I loved it though as it was soft enough to run down jumping like an astronaut on the moon. I can’t remember the last time I had so much fun doing something like this. Perhaps I’d have to go back to the time I ran down the sand dunes of Huacachina, Peru. One could have seen the big grin on my face a mile away 😊. As we reached the bottom of the valley, we spotted a group of Himalayan Ibexes. An ibex is a species of wild mountain goat with long knobbly backward curving horns that lives not only in Europe, Asia, and northern Africa. They were far away from us, but we managed to get a good view through my binoculars. We arrived at the Tilicho Base Camp (4,200 M.A.S.L.) shortly after spotting the ibexes. We met Jennifer, a crazy American girl that was traveling as a Canadian, and her traveling companion from Israel. We rested the remainder of the day, sometimes indoors as it was quite chilly. We peeped out later that afternoon to catch a magnificent view of the Gangapurna peak as it was covered with a bright orange red given off by the sun as it set over the mountains. I still remember that as it was yesterday, particularly since we quickly went inside as we were freezing our nuts off 😊. We had a delicious dinner inside the dinning hall of the guesthouse. It was nice and warm as it had a fire going. Before calling it a night, we ventured outside once more to see the full moon. Once more we were given a great show of nature as the white snowy Gangapurna peak lighted up with the reflection from the moonlight.

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Photos

Friendly Porter on the way to Ghermu Phant, Annapurna Region, Nepal
As we rested, we began chatting with one of the porters who knew English. He wasn’t carrying a tourist backpack, oh no, he was carrying a much bigger load. All in all, he was hauling about 80 kilos worth of goods (water bottles were the heaviest as a full one liter bottle weighs about one kilogram). I can attest to the fact that the load is larger then the porter himself. I have a picture that depicts just that!