Blogs from Annapurna, Nepal, Asia - page 8

After visiting a couple of Nepalese cities, I decided to check out Nepal's beautiful Himalayan mountains. Annapurna is one of Nepal's and world's highest peak, standing at approximately 8100 meters. As tempting as it was to climb Annapurna, I thought it would be better if I did a trek around it, sort of. This trek itself takes an average of 15 days to complete, but I've met people on pace to do it under 10. There are small villages at every check point that provides guesthouse accommodations. A quarter of the way thru the trek I stopped at a mountain village named Danaque. There I met an amazing local family and decided to stop the trek and hang out with them instead. As for right now my Annapurna trek would have to be conclude with To ... read more

The daily dilema of whether to get up and set off, hoping to find breakfast in the next village, or eat before leaving, usually whilst sat in several layers of clothes, teeth chattering over a cup of tea - such are the challenges faced when trekking! Initially I'd opted for the 'food now' option over the great unknown but at higher altitudes with the mornings cooler it was becoming less appealing. So on Day 5 I followed the Germans lead, whom I'd had serious breakfast envy of the previous day when I passed them sat in the sunshine tucking into porridge, and headed straight off. It meant I saw the first sun hitting the snowy peaks above and then, because the breakfast detour put me on a smaller path, went through Thanchok. Winding narrow stone lanes ... read more

The physical exertion would call for a soul splitting, and I had no idea. At the end of that first day with Dave O' we made it to Ghandruk. We had hiked 8 kilometers and had mountain moonshine at lunchtime. In the evening we broke bread - dhal bat (a rice and curry dish) with an Italian and his Nepalese guides. I always get a kick out of telling the locals that I was born there!The next day Dave and I powered. First words written in the 2nd day circuit journal are "I'm exhausted". This day was the longest consecutive push we did. We started out early and went up a densely jungle humid ridge. There were schoolkids on their way to class, laughing and greeting us with, "Namaste". They would hold their hands together and ... read more

Giorno 1: Autobus da Besi Sahar a Bhulbhule: si riempie di vecchiette e ci tocca salire sul tetto; viaggio breve ma con vista da prima fila sul grande Manaslu. Superato il primo ponte sospeso si comincia a camminare: ottime sensazioni, le gambe ci sono; lungo la strada polverosa accetto il passaggio su di un trattore guidato da un ragazzino di non piu' di 10 anni: trasportiamo acqua. Evito cosi' la parte piu' brutta di tutto il tracciato (lavori in corso per costruire una centrale idroelettrica). Dal bhat a pranzo; arrivo a Ghermu dopo poco piu' di 4 ore di camminata, ma ho rubato. Guest-house accogliente, doccia calda e charas della valle; dal bhat a cena. Tremendo mal di spalle, collo e schiena, ma per il resto il fisico regge bene. Giorno 2: Sveglia di buon'ora (alba ... read more

I gave myself a rest day in Manang (3519m/11,545ft), “sleeping in” till 8 am. After a chili cheese burrito breakfast, I wasn’t sure what to do next and realized that there isn’t much to do in these Nepali towns except continue exactly what one’s been doing the whole time: hike some more. I headed up to a stupa just outside of town where, in a cave dwelling next to the stupa, resides a Buddhist nun who was the daughter of a monk that also resided there for 70 years. She now lived there alone after her father died, from what I understood, about 30 years ago; she steadfastly carries on his practice of bequeathing blessings to trekkers who visit the stupa. Once I’d reached the stupa, I was startled by the nun, whom I hadn’t noticed. ... read more