When I decided to go back to Nepal, it was clear from the beginning that this time I would do a hike on my own without a guide or porter. As you know, I do like a nice challenge and to find my own way in the Himalayas while carrying a full backpack sounded just like one. :) As I was in a good shape and had the experience of last year’s Everest Base Camp (EBC) trek, there was enough confidence that I was able to do this. The decision to go by myself somewhat limited the places I could visit, but never mind that, as I had decided a long time ago to do the most popular hike next to EBC: the Annapurna Circuit. Knowing that there would be many other people, as well as enough guesthouses to do it without camping and bringing tons of food, it was simply the best option for a self guided trek. Originally the Annapurna Circuit consisted out of hiking trails only, but in recent years, development found its way into the two concerned valleys and a road had been built into each one to connect the mountain villages with the outside world. Doing my research in advance, I read a lot about walking on dusty roads and that it wasn't as nice as it used to be. Well, everyone has a different point of view and I wanted to get my own. :) Having enough time, I opted to walk the whole original circuit, starting in Besi Sahar and ending in Nayapul. As I read though, that the first 5 or 6 kilometers weren't a nice walk along the main road, I left a little door open and thought that I will decide in Besi Sahar only, if I would start my hike right there or skip the first kilometers with a local bus. The town of Pokhara was the gateway to the hike and after obtaining my permits, organizing the bus ticket and buying some snacks for the coming two weeks, I was ready to go. Before I start with Day 1 though, please note that this blog is solely about the experience I had on the trail. It’s not about how much you have to walk on the road or which is the best guesthouse to stay at. There are plenty of other blogs that already cover these things much better than I ever could. So if you're looking for some guidelines to plan your own trek, ask our dear old friend Google or head over to the homepage of Stingy Nomads (www.stingynomads.com), as they have a lot of good information about this hike. But if you want to know how a day on the trail is, what kind of people you meet, what the high altitude does to your body or how you survive a cold night in a guesthouse without isolation on 4800 meters, then keep on reading. :) And yes I know, I wrote a lot (again), but as this blog also serves as sort of a diary, I hope you can forgive my intention of keeping as many details from this experience as possible. As your time is valuable, I don’t mind if you just scroll through the pictures. For those of you, who take the time to read the whole thing, let me say thank you and I hope you enjoy the read as much as I enjoyed the walk. :)
Day 1: Pokhara – Besi Sahar – Bahundanda
Arriving at the bus station in Pokhara early morning, I was pointed to my bus right away by a friendly local. When 20 minutes later the bus was full and we started our journey to Besi Sahar, I wasn't surprised but still glad to see, that half of the people on the bus seemed to be hikers bound for the Annapurna Circuit. As it was November already, I hadn’t been sure about the amount of people on the trail and the sight in the bus was definitely soothing my nerves. :) Lucky me, I sat next to a lovely girl from Singapore and we chatted more or less the whole way about god, the world and the upcoming adventure. It made the journey feel quite a bit shorter. As usual it was a bumpy ride and as the surroundings were still tropical, I soon was down to T-Shirt and shorts. How the guy in front of me could sit in a down jacket the whole way through remained a mystery to me. :) Arriving at our final destination, the ride had taken us five hours and not wanting to spend another two hours bumping along a dirt road in a cramped, uncomfortable and hot bus, the decision was made at once to start walking from Besi Sahar. Getting off the bus, all of us that were without a guide, first had to register at a checkpoint and right there a local walked up to me and asked where I was going. Telling him that I was about to start walking and that I didn’t know yet where I would end up, he responded by shoving a visiting card of his guesthouse into my hands and told me to use the hiking trail just beyond the town to avoid the walk along the road. “Cool, thanks for the tip”, and off I was. While most of the other tourists either had a guide or opted to take a bus or jeep, another guy walked up to me when I was on my way out of town and asked if he could tag along. "Yeah, of course", and together we walked along the road for a couple hundred meters before crossing a bridge to join the hiking trail. In the meantime he had introduced himself as Dave from the US and we soon talked about our travels as customary when two backpackers meet. :) After the bridge, the very first ascent of the trail had to be conquered and walking behind Dave I noticed that he was only wearing sneakers. As he also had the plan to walk as much as possible of the original trail, I wondered if he had any other shoes with him. “Nope”, he replied and I saluted his bravery to attempt this whole thing without proper hiking shoes.
Once the first ascent was behind us, we hiked along a surprisingly well marked trail through a lovely countryside. We basically were the only tourists on there and soon agreed that it had been the right decision to start walking from Besi Sahar. Well, at least up to that point where the signs suddenly vanished and we came to a dead end. :) Looking left, right, up and down, the only reasonable way to follow was a dry creek bed down towards some farming fields. That “path” soon petered out and after having walked just a couple kilometers, we were lost for the first time. :) Luckily a farmer was there to help us out and he was so nice to point us into the right direction. When we finally had found a proper path again, it took another 10 minutes until we were back on the track on which we were supposed to be. Well, that was what I called a good start. :) Descending through a forest, we joined the main road for a bit, before we took a turnoff over a hanging bridge to follow another trail through the beautiful countryside. As it was way after lunchtime and we hadn’t eaten so far, it would have been nice to stop in the next village to eat something, but unfortunately the weather wasn’t on our side. While the sun had been shining in Besi Sahar, we were walking towards some very dark clouds and soon enough we felt the first rain drops falling. Hoping that it would hold a little bit longer, we came across a tiny village before long, where we found a shelter to stop while the rain was getting heavier. There was no restaurant or guesthouse, but at least we were able to fill our empty stomachs with some snacks. While we sat there, the rainfall increased more and more and soon turned into a veritable downpour. Actually it had been the plan to walk as far as possible today, but neither of us was keen to head out into the rainstorm, so we just stayed under the shelter and waited it out. :) About an hour later the rain ceased and we were able to resume our walk. It went upwards steadily and soon we reached a nice viewpoint over the valley we had come from and into the valley we were heading to.
Descending into that next valley, we joined the main road again and came upon the first proper village since Besi Sahar. Deciding that there was no need to stop, we just passed through, ignoring the requests of many owners to spend the night in their guesthouse. Once out of the town, the trail kept following the road, but even though there was quite some traffic, we had a pretty enjoyable walk. Not only the locals amused us by trying their best to sell us some weed, but we also walked past a sign that pointed towards a hiking trail and while we opted to stay on the road, we came upon the end of that “hiking trail” five minutes later in front of a huge waterfall that could be seen from the road as well. :)
Coming towards the end of the day, we eventually had to choose where we wanted to spend the night. As we were walking upwards again, our pace wasn’t that fast and when we finally arrived in the next village we had to make a decision. Unfortunately neither of us knew when exactly it would start to get dark, so when we asked a local how far it would be to the next place and he answered that Bahundanda was only about 30 minutes away, we decided to continue. That wasn't the wisest decision though. :) Lucky us, the trail was on a road which was wide enough to walk on safely once the sun went down. Spending the next 15 minutes in complete darkness, guided only by our flashlights, we finally came upon the very first guesthouse in Bahundanda and immediately decided to stay right there. We were the only guests, but that was okay. The owner was super friendly and proudly told us that he had installed a hot shower today and we were the first ones to try it out. It worked perfectly fine and when they also served some local chili with our dinner, all the little troubles of today were forgotten. :)
Day 2: Bahundanda – Tal Phedi
Getting up early morning, we settled in for breakfast to a clear sky and a beautiful view of some colorful rice terraces just outside our guesthouse. Planning to cover as much distance as possible, a long day was awaiting us and we started walking right after breakfast. Picking up the trail outside of the guesthouse, it led us upwards through the outskirts of Bahundanda until we reached the center of the village on top of the hill. Passing through a street full of guesthouses we came upon the other side and had a good outlook into the valley ahead of us. Descending from the hill, we were surprised that quite a few sections so far had been marked pretty well. Nevertheless, we didn't make it through the morning without another involuntary detour. :) Luckily though, like the day before, there was a way to go back to the official trail without doing any backtracking. Despite that short detour we had made good way and soon arrived in the village of Ghermu where we took a first break. Many children passed us on their way to school and we were surprised how late school began, as it was close to ten o’clock already. Moving on, we came upon a turnoff at the end of the village. Being an official one, we had the possibility to choose between walking on the main road or following a well marked hiking path. Having read about that detour in the blog of Stingy Nomads, we knew that the hiking trail was more appealing, but also was longer and had more ups and downs in between. While I first said, I didn’t care which way we took, the main road didn’t sound very promising to me the longer I thought about it. Dave said that he could do with either option and left me the choice. So off we went onto the hiking trail and after passing the farming fields around Ghermu, a rather long ascent started.
Fortunately, it wasn't too steep and keeping a steady pace, we walked upwards until we eventually saw the end of the ascent ahead of us. A gate to a tiny village on the hillside greeted our eyes and once we passed through it, a marvelous view opened up before us. We could see the hiking trail going along the hillside and in the distance the houses of Jagat made their first appearance. It was time for a short break to regain our breath and enjoy the view.
While from the top, the trail seemed to continue more or less on the same altitude, we directly started to descend once we left the village. Down and down it went on a narrow dirt path and knowing that at some point we had to go uphill again, we prayed that the slope would level off soon to keep us from losing all the altitude that we had gained before. Well, our praying was futile. Coming upon a large gap in the hillside, a steep descent to a hanging bridge awaited us, followed by a super steep ascent on the other side. Damn! Having no other choice but to continue, we walked down to the bridge and crossed over. From there the way led up in switchbacks and while I had enough experience with steep slopes, it looked a bit different for Dave. Being on his very first proper hike in the mountains, he wasn't yet used to an ascent like that one and definitely didn’t look forward to go up there.
So while I made my way up slowly and steadily, Dave basically cursed his way upwards. :) I felt quite guilty, as it was because of me that he had to endure this and I felt even guiltier once I came over the top of the ascent and realized that it still continued to go uphill. Well, there was nothing I could do about it and we walked on after a short break to catch our breath. Luckily it wasn't that steep anymore and rather sooner than later we came upon another turnoff. One led up to a village on top of the hill and the other one pointed along the hillside into the direction of Jagat. There was no point in going up to the village and I was happy for the short cut as it meant that the ascent was finally over. About 10 minutes later we joined the official hiking trail on the other side of the hill and with a superb view towards Jagat started to descend. The way down was as steep as the way up and it was no wonder anymore why we were the only tourists on that trail. :) Eventually reaching the bottom of the valley, we crossed over the river to the main road and settled into the first guesthouse we saw for a hearty lunch. It was a late lunch though, as the detour had taken quite some time. Starting to walk again an hour later, clouds obscured the sky now and we began to worry that yesterday’s downpour would repeat itself. Hiking along the main road for the next hour, we ignored a couple more detours and passed some stunning waterfalls that tumbled down the steep mountain walls around us. The village of Chamje appeared before long and again we faced the same question as the day before: stay or continue. It seemed too early to stop already and checking the map, we saw that there was a guesthouse halfway between Chamje and the next bigger village called Tal. So we decided to try our luck there and crossing back over the river joined a proper hiking trail again.
It went up and down for a while, but nothing compared to the steep ascent and descent from the morning. The guesthouse came into view pretty soon and we were happy that there was no walk in the dark today. Coming closer, we suddenly noticed a lock on the door and yes, sure enough the guesthouse was closed. Oh dear! That thought hadn't really crossed our mind, as we were still in high season. Well, once more there was nothing else to do than to move on. Checking the map, the clock and the sky, our worries were growing though. More than three kilometers were left to reach Tal, there was a steep ascent in between and dusk was about to set in. The clouds had intensified as well and some raindrops were falling already, leaving us with the prospect of a rainy walk in the darkness on an unknown trail. The only remaining hope was that we would come upon another guesthouse somewhere before Tal. Obviously there was only one way of finding out and we walked on as fast as we dared. Luckily the sky refrained from another downpour, but once we had reached the final ascent of today, it was apparent that we would be walking in darkness again. Daylight was vanishing quickly and the slope we were in was just too steep to keep a fast pace. With the strain of today morning, the legs weren't the freshest anyway and when we finally made it up the hill, we had to use the flashlight to see what was written on the sign on top of it. Knowing that it wasn't too far to Tal anymore, we came upon some houses a little while later. A group of locals was passing by and asking them if there was a place to stay right there or if we have to continue to Tal to find a guesthouse, they told us: “You have to go to Tal, it’s about 10 minutes.” So off we went, just to turn our flashlight a minute later onto a sign that announced a guesthouse right where we were. Haha. :) There was no point in going further and we happily settled into that guesthouse. Dinner was served soon and after a cold shower it eventually was time for a well deserved rest.
Day 3: Tal Phedi – Thanchock
A clear blue sky was greeting us when we got up in the early morning and we first took a moment to have a look at our surroundings. The valley and its river stretched out before us and we could see that Tal indeed hadn’t been far away anymore. Setting out after breakfast, we came upon Tal in no time and passed through the village that basically consisted only out of guesthouses. Henceforth a pleasant walk along the riverside ensued: the slopes were gentle, steep walls loomed all around us and plenty of waterfalls could be seen along the way. The only downside was that we walked in the shade the whole time and the air therefore was rather fresh. Nevertheless, we enjoyed that part a lot also because neither mine nor Dave’s legs were aching from yesterday’s effort. Taking a break once we had reached the village of Karte, we were sitting at the trailside, when a group of porters came along and one of them started to chat with me. He was a porter for a group of 31 (!) tourists that had been doing a different trek in the area. As they were on their way out, the whole group passed us a bit later when we were walking again.
Not only because of that group had we noticed that the trail was more crowded. Already after Tal, we shared the path with quite a few other hikers and also some bikers. As we passed the bikers several times, we asked them where they were going and believe it or not, their plan was to do the Annapurna Circuit on a bicycle including the crossing of the 5416 meters high Thorong La pass. Crazy guys! :) About one kilometer after Karte, we crossed over the river and were back on the main road, but fortunately for not too long. Another detour presented itself and while I chose to go that way, Dave decided to stay on the road. The detour wasn't a long one and rejoined the road later on, so we agreed to meet each other in Bagarchhap again, the place right at the end of the detour. Saying goodbye for now, I started to head upwards to a tiny mountain village called Odar. The ascent was steep, but pretty short and soon enough I stood in the middle of the town. It was a lovely place that not only offered several homestays, but also a viewpoint from a big rock right in the center of the village. Going up there to have a look, the panorama that came into view was simply superb. Rice terraces and mountains surrounded the whole village and made for a stunning scenery. Looking into the direction where we were heading to, even the first really big mountain could be seen peeking out at the horizon.
Once my eyes had feasted enough on the view, I picked up the trail again, headed further upwards to cross a huge plateau and descended on the other side to Bagarchhap. Arriving there, I made my way to the end of the village, where we had agreed to meet, but no Dave could be seen and somehow I wasn’t too surprised about that. :) When after a while, he still hadn't showed up, I decided to continue to the next village and try to get some Wifi there to send him a message. Passing by a couple houses about 10 minutes later, I walked around a bend and suddenly beheld Dave sitting on a bench at the roadside. :) He hadn’t been sure where exactly the end of the village was and therefore had walked a bit further than necessary. "No problem at all", I told him and we moved on to the next village to get some food. Setting out again after lunch, we soon came upon the next ascending slope. That one turned out to be a long one and alternated between walking on the road and some short cuts on proper hiking trails. Marveling at the diversity of our tropical surroundings, we became more and more accustomed to not being alone on the trail anymore, as we still shared the path with quite a few other hikers. Before long we arrived in the village of Timang and having a déjà vu, we once more had to decide where to spend the night. Many other trekkers opted to stay in Timang as apparently the surroundings were super beautiful. Unfortunately clouds obscured the scenery around us and it was hard to judge if that in fact was true. As it wasn't too late in the afternoon, we decided again to continue, following our motto that we had developed in those early days: what we can do today, we don’t have to do tomorrow. :) Leaving Timang, we walked along the road for a while, before a turnoff led us off the track and to the first houses of Thanchock.
Deciding to head to the center of the village, we walked amongst some farming fields, descended a gentle slope in the woods, crossed a hanging bridge and conquered today’s final ascent towards the center of the town. On the bridge a girl from Germany caught up with us. She had planned to stay in Thanchock as well and ended up in the same guesthouse as we did. So finally we had managed to arrive before darkness and also for the first time there was someone else at the place we stayed overnight. It was a nice guesthouse with some hospitable owners and we were glad that we didn’t stay in Timang like everyone else did. Bedtime came after a hot shower and nice dinner, as the hiking rhythm already fully engulfed us and sent us to bed early. :)
Day 4: Thanchock – Upper Pisang
The advantage of having gone the extra mile the day before was, that when we hit the trail after breakfast, we had it virtually to ourselves for the first hour. Soon we were back on the main road and followed it until we reached Chame, the biggest town we came across so far. Souvenir stalls and guesthouses lined the way and a checkpoint wanted to see our permit for the Annapurna Circuit. Ascending gently, the walk after Chame continued to be a pleasant one as the scenery got better and better and the mountains around us were growing bigger and bigger. Not only the mountains were impressive though. We still followed a very colorful river and walked in such narrow valleys with steep mountain walls that at times it felt like we were walking through a canyon. :) Arriving some time later at an apple orchard with a café, it was the predetermined spot for a break and we rested our legs for a while. From the orchard the way continued to go upwards, but still gently enough to enjoy the superb surroundings.
Coming around a bend, we walked for quite a while with a pretty uniquely looking mountain wall ahead of us. Standing out because of its many different colors and semicircle shape, a closer look also revealed that there had been a massive landslide not too long ago. Turning around, the view towards our back was not less imposing. With a tall snowcapped mountain looming over us, it was apparent that we eventually left the tropical realm behind us and got into more alpine regions. Another short cut led us off the road into a steep ascent through a forest, the views disappearing for a while. Joining the road again after the ascent, the panorama was back for good and we marveled at it until we reached the village of Dhikur Pokhari. Sitting outside on the rooftop of a guesthouse, we enjoyed our lunch for once with a good view and a few sunrays. :) Leaving Dhikur Pokhari with a full stomach, we came upon another turnoff at the end of the village and had to decide if we wanted to go to Lower or Upper Pisang. As the views from Upper Pisang apparently were much better, the decision was an easy one. We joined the hiking trail going into that direction and soon entered a huge and open valley. Having spent the last couple days walking in narrow valleys only, it was almost difficult to cope with all the open space around us. :) To top off an already fantastic day, the ascent to Upper Pisang was a gentle one as well and boasted some of the best views we had so far. Not only were we able to look back to that unique mountain wall, we also enjoyed a view over the forest we had walked in before and caught a first glimpse of Annapurna II, showing itself every now and then through some gaps in the clouds.
Upper Pisang soon appeared at the mountainside we were walking along and beholding great views towards Annapurna II, Lower Pisang and the whole Pisang valley, we knew it had been the right decision to spend the night there.
Arriving in the village, it was the first time we didn’t have to ask ourselves if we wanted to continue or not. The day tomorrow was given and we therefore had plenty of time to look for a nice guesthouse. Once more there were way too many though and again we wondered how to choose the right one, as each of them offered exactly the same amenities. :)
Well, we took a room in the first one that looked kinda nice and happened to be lucky with that choice. A hot shower, a clean western toilet, working Wifi, enough blankets, we were quite happy there. :) Once settled in, there was still enough daylight left to do a little walk through the village. Narrow paths led further upwards, ending in a lovely monastery residing just above the village. Behind it was a little hill to climb, but there were too many trees for a better view of the surroundings. Nevertheless, that little afternoon workout felt good and a rich dinner was well deserved. Today we had crossed over 3000 meters above sea level and we could feel that difference, as it went pretty cold as soon as dusk set in. Knowing that tomorrow was a big day and no fire was lit in the dining room, we joined the land of dreams once again pretty early.
Day 5: Upper Pisang – Manang
Today was the first day where our itinerary matched with everyone else's. Upper Pisang to Manang was something of a must do and it soon would become clear why. Once more two different ways were on offer: one followed a high route above the valley, the other one went along the main road in the valley itself. For me the choice was obvious and so it was for Dave. He wanted to save some energy for the next tough days and opted for the lower route, while I was keen to explore the upper one. Agreeing to meet each other again in Manang, we said goodbye after breakfast and I made my way out of Upper Pisang. It seemed as everyone else left the village at the same time and people were flocking together from every direction to do the hike along the high route. Before it went upwards though, there was a gentle walk through a nice forest, perfectly suited to warm up the legs. Coming to the bottom of the steep ascending slope, many other hikers took a break there, while I just kept on walking in an attempt to ditch the crowds. Naturally the way led up in switchbacks and slowly but steadily gaining height, the views got better and better with every step I took.
My attempt had been pretty futile though, I realized that soon enough. :) Numerous people had started way earlier than I had and as I kept a steady pace, I overtook quite a few of them. Looking back to the bottom when I was higher up, loads of trekkers were still starting their ascent and I began to wonder how the trail would look like in the high season of October. As I knew beforehand that there would be many people, it didn’t bother me at all. What bothered me more was the weather. Clouds were hanging low in the sky, a few raindrops and snowflakes had already fallen, but at the same time the sun was trying her best to push through the clouds. It was a bit annoying as I didn’t know what to wear. :) But all in all it made for an insane atmosphere and when I reached the village of Ghyaru at the end of the slope, I enjoyed a superb outlook towards the Annapurna mountain range with the valleys underneath enlightened by the sunrays that broke through the clouds. The ascent had taken a full hour and now a longer break with a hearty snack was more than needed. :) As quite a few people settled into the guesthouses when they arrived in Ghyaru, I took the opportunity for a second attempt to ditch the crowds. This time with more luck. :) Heading out of the village, I was more or less alone on the trail and enjoyed the solitude while hiking along the mountainside. The views in that part simply remained fantastic. There were so many viewpoints towards the valleys below, I basically stopped every 10 minutes to take some pictures. :)
The only downside so far was that the clouds never lifted and constantly barred the views of the higher mountains in the back. But that was lamenting on a high level. Walking around a bend, the airport of Manang appeared in the distance and a bit later I came upon the first houses of a village called Ngawal.
Knowing that I already had burnt loads of calories and that the next possible lunch spot was pretty far away, I decided to stop and get some food. One potato curry later, I was on my way again and opted to take another detour. Instead of going down to the valley, I kept the altitude and found some more solitude while passing a couple stupas and a pretty modern monastery. Having a look at a sign outside of the monastery, two dogs on the inside suddenly began to bark and started running towards me. Very well then, time for me to leave. :) Luckily they didn’t chase me any further and I was able to start the descent just after the monastery all by myself. The panorama that spread out before me was once more incredible. Snowy mountains enclosed a valley full of green trees, red bushes lined the way and together with the grayish dirt made for a colorful walk even though the sun wasn't shining. Arriving in an abandoned village at the end of the descent, the markings for the detour suddenly vanished and left me with no other choice than to head back to the official trail. Walking along a dirt road first, a short cut soon took me through the trees on a proper hiking trail and when I hit another dirt road some time later, I eventually was back on the official Annapurna Circuit.
Coming upon the village of Munchi, the trail joined the main road again and taking a break to get a snack from a local bakery, I immediately realized that the previous quietness was gone as there was quite some hubbub on the road. As I had a magnificent day so far, I didn’t really care about that and kept on walking with a smile on my face. :) Passing through Braga, a village about 20 minutes away from Manang, I came across the turnoff towards Ice Lake, which I knew to be a side trip for a possible acclimatization day. Arriving in Manang, I was a bit early and passed the time with a hot tea and another snack from a local bakery. :) On the trail I had heard, that the town would be crowded and that made sense. Not only because of all the people I had seen along the way, but also because it was recommended to stay two nights in Manang to acclimatize properly. Well, I wasn't worried. As Dave had the shorter way he should have been there early enough to secure us a room and so it was. While the bedroom was a pretty standard one, the dining room was not. It looked and felt more like a chalet and as it was pretty busy, we shared a table with two other guys coming from Spain and Belgium. Having a really fun chat about politics in our countries and surveillance on our cell phones, it was the first time that we broke our habit and stayed up “late”. That was not a big problem though, as we had planned to sleep in tomorrow. :)
Day 6: Rest and Acclimatization Day in Manang (Ice Lake)
There had been various options what to do with today. As mentioned already, it was recommended to spend two nights in Manang for the purpose of acclimatization. Neither of us had any troubles with the altitude though, so we had the following three possibilities: stay in town to get a good rest, carry on to the next village to gain time on our itinerary or do a day hike in the area of Manang. Doing nothing at all seemed not to be the best idea, as some more acclimatization would have been useful for the upcoming days. The option to walk on was waved aside as well, as Dave had brought some clothes to the laundry and they were only ready by today evening. At the same time he had also bought a new pair of hiking shoes and it would have been good to walk them in before the challenging days up ahead. Unfortunately the problem with the side trip to Ice Lake was the altitude. Manang resided on a height of 3500 meters while the lake was on 4600. 1100 meters difference was a lot and against all rules to avoid altitude sickness. The Spanish guy had told us yesterday, that he went up to the lake and came back with a headache, which wasn't very surprising. So what else was there to do? Having passed the turnoff to Ice Lake, I remembered that a sign mentioned a restaurant about halfway to the lake on 4200 meters. An idea crossed my mind: why didn’t we go up there to have some lunch and afterwards just walk back to Manang? Like that we would have everything that we were looking for: we could sleep in, we would get some acclimatization and Dave would be able to test his new shoes. It was by far the best option and so we set off about 10 o’clock, walked back to Braga, took the turnoff towards Ice Lake, passed a nice looking monastery and started hiking along the mountainside after a short ascent. The weather had improved drastically overnight and without a single cloud in the sky, we finally were able to see what the clouds had obscured the day before. To the opposite side of us the Annapurna mountain range rose majestically, reaching up to almost 8000 meters above sea level. It was hard to focus on the trail, as the eyes just kept on darting back to the mountains. :)
After a longish walk along the mountainside, we reached another turnoff and turned onto a steep ascending slope. Slowly and steadily we walked upwards, stopping here and there to take some breaks and pictures. Once over the first slope, a little plateau brought some respite, before another steep ascent waited to be conquered. Again we took our time, constantly marveling at the gorgeous scenery around us.
Even Manaslu showed itself in the distance, one of the mountains in the area with a peak over 8000 meters. Having walked ahead a little bit, I was sitting on a stone at the trailside waiting for Dave, when I heard him approaching talking to someone else. It was the German girl that we met a few days ago in Thanchock. She was on her way to Manang and had spontaneously decided to do the side trip up to Ice Lake, so she carried all belongings with her. What a tough girl! Tagging along with us, we came upon the restaurant not much later. The place was quite busy and it took a while until we got our lunch, leaving us with enough time to enjoy the good company and relaxed atmosphere.
Being early afternoon already, the German girl decided to skip the lake as well and together we retraced our steps, chatting the whole way down about religion in general and traveling in India. Back in Manang our ways parted once more. Our guesthouse was fully booked and as she wasn’t planning on doing the detour to Tilicho Lake, we didn't expect to see her again. Well, what a day that was! The weather had been superb, the scenery just breathtaking and still neither of us showed any signs of altitude sickness. We were in time to get the laundry, had a hot shower and as the Spanish and Belgian guy were still in Manang, we had some more good chats at the dinner table. Tonight we didn’t stay up late though as we intended to reach Tilicho Lake basecamp tomorrow and that meant another full day out on the trail.
Day 7: Manang – Tilicho Lake Basecamp
Waking up after a rather rough night to the same clear blue sky as the day before, we soon were ready to hit the trail. To start the day properly, we took a wrong turn on our way out of the village and wandered around until we eventually saw several other hikers in the distance, walking on what was obviously the correct trail. :)
Joining the throng of people that were heading towards Tilicho Lake, we first walked on a dirt road for a while before we crossed over another hanging bridge. A steep but short ascent followed, ending on a little plateau which was perfect for a brief stop to take off some clothes. Even though we were getting close to an altitude of 4000 meters, it was no problem to walk in T-Shirt and shorts as long as the sun was shining. Among the other hikers on the trail were also many Nepali and Indian tourists and some of them already struggled in that very first slope, making us wonder if they would ever reach the lake. Resuming our walk, we headed towards the village of Khangsar and deeper into the beautiful valley ahead of us. The throng of people that we had followed in the beginning luckily had spread out by now and when we arrived in Khangsar it spread out even more, as many of our fellow hikers took a break there, while we decided to continue without a pause. As the basecamp had only three guesthouses, we were a bit worried about a place to sleep for tonight and thought it better to keep on walking. Right after the village we started to go uphill and soon noticed that, compared to the light daypack from the day before, it was something entirely different to carry a full backpack in those heights. Being in a pretty long ascending slope, we had a good time all the same, as the scenery easily made up for the strenuous walk upwards. Beautiful mountains towered around us, many red bushes lined the way, a greenish blueish river could be seen to our left, another lovely monastery appeared at the hillside and a guy ahead of us wasn't only carrying a full backpack but also a classical guitar. :)
At the end of the ascent, we arrived in a village called Shree Kharka, which was the perfect spot for a short break. Back on the track, we walked on a more or less even path along a mountainside, overcame a few minor ascents and passed a couple nice viewpoints, while the mountains in the distance were coming closer and closer. As it was customary to visit Tilicho Lake in the early morning, we came across many hikers that were on their way back from the basecamp. Having been to the lake, they were a great information source and so we asked a few of them how it had been. While they all agreed that it had been beautiful, the answer to how long it would take to reach the lake, couldn't have been answered more differently. Somebody told us that two and a half hours was doable, while someone else said that we definitely need around four hours. Well, at least we had an idea what was awaiting us tomorrow. :) Whereas our map indicated two possible ways to reach the basecamp, in reality there was only one, leading us directly through a massive landslide area. The Nepali had made a good job though, as they had built a well maintained path into the scree. A feeling of insecurity never arose and as it went mostly downwards, it was just another pleasant part of another pleasant day. :)
Not everyone felt like that though. :) Suddenly appearing behind us, a guide told us to run through the landslide area, as there still were rock falls from time to time. Running? With a full backpack? Yeah, sure! We made space for him, as he and the English girl he was guiding sped past us, never to be seen again. Once out of the landslide, we walked around a long bend and in the distance the guesthouses of the basecamp eventually came into view.
Walking with a constant pace had brought us there faster than expected and our hopes of finding an available room were pretty high. We weren't disappointed. Already the first guesthouse had a free room, but they wanted a tremendous price for it. So we tried next door and they had one for half the price. Perfect! Settling in, we first had a hearty lunch and then some time to rest our legs. While it had been a hot day so far, it turned way too cold as soon as the sun disappeared behind the surrounding mountains, giving us the perfect excuse to chill and hang around the rest of the afternoon. :) Thinking about today, two fun facts came into my mind: walking upwards under a scorching sun in an altitude over 4000 meters basically had drained my body of all fluids. I downed a record of 5 liters of water today and still went to bed thirsty! And believe it or not, being somewhere in the middle of nowhere, our guesthouse had some of the best Wifi we had so far. Well, at least as long as it was working. :)
Day 8: Tilicho Lake Basecamp – Tilicho Lake – Shree Kharka
To save some time in the morning, we had ordered our breakfast already yesterday evening. Coming into the dining room of our guesthouse around 5.30 am, everything was still dark though and our hosts were nowhere to be seen. Other guests were joining us soon and when the owners finally got up to serve breakfast, the time we initially had wanted to set out was gone for quite a while. Never mind though, as at the end of the day we were still in Nepal and not Switzerland. :) Unfortunately the delay had gotten us right behind a throng of people that had started with their ascent shortly before we did. Many of them walked very slowly and as they didn’t make space for the faster ones, we got stuck behind them for quite some time. When we finally were able to overtake them a bit further up, the sun had already started to rise. It made for a wonderful atmosphere with some reddish glowing mountain peaks ahead of us and a valley in our backs that slowly got illuminated by the first sunrays.
Cold it was until the sun came over the mountains, but with all our clothes on and moving upwards in a steady pace, the coldness never was an issue at all. Again we saw several Nepali and Indian people struggling uphill, some of them carrying purses, others walking in sneakers only. Lucky for them (and for us) the ascending slope wasn't that steep, but that changed once we reached the end of the valley. Switchbacks greeted us once again and falling back on our enhanced experience with steep slopes, we went up slowly but steadily, all the time enjoying the shining sun and marveling at the superb landscape around us. All taken together, it turned the ascent into a piece of cake. :) When the trail leveled off again at the end of the slope, it didn’t take long anymore and we started to walk on snow. Parts of the path were still frozen from the cold night and while the trail was easy enough to follow, we had to be careful not to slip. It was a stunning walk though and Tilicho Lake appeared in front of us in no time. Having an altitude of 4919 meters, the lake belongs to the highest worldwide and being crystal clear blue, with lovely mountains all around, it simply was a pure beauty. :)
Three hours it had taken us to overcome the 700 meters difference in altitude and we both were happy that we had made it. Still neither of us had any troubles with the altitude, which meant we had done everything right so far and were ready to cross Thorong La pass in a couple days. But first it was time to appreciate the magnificent scenery around us and once the mandatory photo session was over, we decided to walk a bit further along the lake. Following a more or less visible trail that started behind the teahouse, it turned out that going this little extra mile was a very good decision, even though it took us quite some time to reach a nice viewpoint at the right side of the lake. As everyone else just gathered around that first viewpoint, we had found some solitude after all. Sitting down on a big rock, we enjoyed the perfect weather and the stunning view over Tilicho Lake. What a lovely place!
While we sat there, eating a well deserved snack, we suddenly saw an avalanche going down the steep mountain wall on the opposite side of us. Wow! Luckily it was far to the right side and no one was in any danger. Having heard that usually there was a strong wind at the lake, we realized how lucky we were with the weather, as not even a breeze was going during the whole time we spent there. Unfortunately though, we didn’t have time forever and eventually made our way back to the first viewpoint, retraced our steps through the snow, walked down the switchbacks and soon were back at our guesthouse.
Picking up our stuff that we had left behind, we repacked our bags, had a lovely lunch and like the people yesterday, started our walk back towards Shree Kharka and Khangsar. As there was only one way to take, we naturally came upon the landslide area again. Doing the whole part in reverse, it meant that we had to ascend this time and while we did so, we wondered if the guide and the girl from the day before also were running when they had to go upwards. :) Well, once more no rocks were falling and we continued our walk towards Shree Kharka safe and sound. Passing a lone guesthouse along the way, we soon had to decide where we wanted to spend the night. Shree Kharka itself seemed to be the best place and arriving there some time later, we asked for a room in the only two guesthouses, just to learn that both were already fully booked. Somehow that wasn't surprising as the village was sort of an intersection with people coming from every direction. As we sat there discussing what we should do, the lady of one guesthouse offered us to sleep in their dining room. Not being the main dining room but a separate one, with mattresses and blankets provided and free of charge, it basically was impossible to decline that offer. Settling into the dining room, we had some spare time to charge our batteries, take a shower and rest for a while. Two German girls that were stranded as well soon joined us and we had a nice chat over dinner about our hikes and travels. Expecting to be only the four of us to sleep in the dining room, we realized before long that we were totally wrong. When bedtime finally came, our hosts stowed away all chairs and tables and set up mattresses and blankets for not less than twelve people. :)
It definitely was the most cramped “bed” I ever slept in, but at least it was only for one night and allowed us to boast afterwards that we had the full Nepali trekking experience. :)
Day 9: Shree Kharka – Churi Ledar
The sleep was pretty rough as you can imagine and the morning after wasn't much better. Awoken by some guys that left early, it was difficult to keep on sleeping as there was quite some hubbub in the room. When the time eventually had come to get up, there were so many people that I had to queue for the toilet and when I wanted to brush my teeth, a fellow hiker told me that the pipes were frozen. Well then, the day could only get better. :) At least the weather was still with us and we were in for another day full of sunshine. Due to the rather extraordinary circumstances of last night, we hit the trail later than usual, coming upon the turnoff we had to take, about 10 minutes after we left Shree Kharka. Following the mountainside, we were ascending slightly and once more enjoyed some great views towards the valley below us. After a while we reached Upper Khangsar and turned left to keep walking along the mountainside.
Coming upon a viewpoint a bit later on that had a magnificent outlook towards Manang, it was time for a break and to marvel at the beautiful panorama in front of us. The viewpoint was also our turning point and going around a bend, we started with the descent into the next valley that eventually would lead us to the Thorong La pass. Down and down we went on a dusty and rather slippery path until we reached the bottom of the valley where another hanging bridge brought us safe across a river.
Going uphill again on the other side of the bridge, we walked along an arm of the main river, when we suddenly spotted a tiny herd of mountain goats drinking water at the edge of the stream. While we observed them and tried to take some pictures, they abruptly turned around, scaled a nearly vertical slope and bounded off over the grassy mountainside. If only ascending would be that easy for us. :) Reaching a dirt road shortly afterwards, we joined the hiking trail coming from Manang and taking a break at the roadside a little bit later, we were overtaken by a donkey caravan for the first time on the entire hike. While that had been a common happening on the EBC trek, at Annapurna it was quite rare, as with the newly built roads the cars had taken over the transportation of cargo and relieved most of the donkeys and yaks from their burden.
Resuming our walk after the donkeys had passed, the trail led us gently upwards until we reached Yak Kharka. On many Annapurna itineraries, that village was a given place to stay overnight, but as we had plenty of time and stamina left to move on, we just passed through and continued with the gentle ascent, leaving all other hikers behind us. Thanks to the terrific weather, the views of our surroundings were still excellent and to top off another lovely day on the trail, we bought some yak cheese from a local shop to have an appetizer before lunch. :) The next village was called Churi Ledar and we reached it at some time after noon. Actually we could have gone even further, but because the next days were given, it made no sense to walk on. So we checked into a nice guesthouse, ate the delicious yak cheese, had a tasty lunch and settled into our room to relax a little. For me it was too early though to just hang around and I decided to explore the surroundings of the town for a while. Following some tiny paths up the hillside directly behind the village, they soon petered out and I started to make my own way across country. From pretty far below I had seen a huge cairn on a hilltop and while in the beginning I thought it was too far away, it came closer pretty quickly, leaving me with no other choice than to walk all the way up to it. :) Coming over the hill, some lovely snowcapped mountains unfolded ahead of me and turning around to where I had come from, a splendid panorama of the Annapurna mountain range greeted my eyes. Wow! The slowly setting sun gave the whole scenery a serene atmosphere and I had to sit down for a while to admire the beauty of mother earth.
It would have been possible to go even further, but having walked enough for today and knowing that it was going to be cold once the sun disappeared behind the mountains, I retraced my steps back to Churi Ledar. Rounding off our culinary day with some Swiss “Rosty” for dinner, it simply was the perfect ending of another great day. :)
Day 10: Churi Ledar – High Camp
To get over Thorong La pass, there were two possible starting points along the trail. One was the village of Thorong Phedi and the other a place called High Camp. We opted to stay in the latter one to make our most demanding stage as short as possible. As High Camp only had limited space available, we wanted to use our head start of yesterday and set out in the early morning. While our lucky streak with the weather continued and the sky was clear once again, it was still bitterly cold when we left Churi Ledar. As the sun wasn't over the mountains yet, we walked in the shade for about an hour and were glad when the first sunrays finally reached into the valley to give us some warmth. Despite the coldness, the two hours it took to reach Thorong Phedi were quite pleasant. There were no strenuous slopes to tackle, a hanging bridge and a teahouse brought some diversity into the walk and our tactic had played out well as we met only a few other hikers along the way.
Coming upon Thorong Phedi, we took a break to rest our legs for a while, even though it hadn't been a tough walk so far. Looking upwards we could see High Camp above us and instantly knew it had been the right decision to stay there overnight. The tiny settlement was reached by going up a steep slope, gaining around 350 meters in altitude over a distance of about one kilometer. Imagine sleeping in Thorong Phedi and the first thing you would have to do in the morning was going up that slope. :) Of course the way led up in switchbacks and being pros in the meantime, we walked up steadily, turned around a couple times to enjoy the gorgeous view and arrived in High Camp 45 minutes later.
Checking into the only guesthouse, there was plenty of space left and we settled into our room around 11 o’clock. With only three hours walking, it was the shortest day of the whole trek. As it was a bit early for lunch and the weather was still perfect, I decided to head to a viewpoint outside of High Camp to have a better look at our surroundings.
Dave joined in and reaching the outlook a little bit later a breathtaking scenery unfolded before us. Mountains wherever we looked, it was easily the best panorama we had so far. Enjoying the silence for a while we were happy with the decision to stay in High Camp. Not only didn’t we have to do the steep ascent anymore, but we also were able to enjoy that fantastic view as long as we wanted to. :)
Back at the guesthouse, we had an early lunch and while Dave passed his time with podcasts and reading, I opted to hang out at the viewpoint for a while. Clouds soon begun to gather though and the wind picked up as well, so at around two o'clock it was that cold already, that I decided to join Dave in the common room of our guesthouse. Spending the rest of the day in there, we were glad that for once our hosts lit up a fire after dinner. As many other people had arrived during the course of the day, it was super cramped in there, but at least it wasn't cold. :) Seeing the guy again that carried the guitar, we thought that it would have been the perfect moment for a serenade, but he obviously thought different. :) Having our alarm set for tomorrow morning 5 o'clock, it was an early evening again, but when I went out to the toilet a last time before sleep, a full moon was rising up behind the mountains and let me pause for a moment to behold the beautiful night sky. To stand there motionless was unbearable after a minute though. Being on 4800 meters above sea level, it was that cold that even my warmest clothes for once were pretty useless. Now you probably wonder how it was possible to survive a night like that in a guesthouse with no heating and zero isolation. Well, with many clothes, a sleeping bag, two blankets and the thought of having a hot shower soon. :)
Day 11: High Camp – Thorong La Pass – Muktinath
Enjoying a plate of fried rice and a self made burrito for breakfast just after 5 am, we actually were among the late starters. Many others had finished their breakfast already and were setting up to tackle the last four kilometers to the pass. Surprisingly enough, the first difficult situation of today didn't arise on the trail, but in the squat toilet of our guesthouse. :) Being outside and made of stone, the water that was splashed around to clean out the human waste was frozen and I had a hard time not to slip on it. Well, I overcame that precarious situation and turning on our headlamps, Dave and I joined the crowds heading out into the darkness. Snow or ice on the trail had been my biggest fear for the pass crossing and when we came upon some frozen snow literally around the first corner, I expected the worst. But luckily that brief frozen part was the exception and was repeated only once more a little while later on. Walking steadily upwards, dawn set in before long and turning around from time to time, we were treated to a spectacular sunrise over the mountains behind us.
Today of all days our lucky streak had been over and the sky for once was full of clouds. Nevertheless the weather was still good enough: it wasn't snowing, there was almost no wind and walking with all our warmest clothes on, even the coldness was no issue. Only my hands were pretty frozen, but that was because I took way too many pictures. :) Keeping our steady pace, we once more overtook quite a few people, even though we made some stops as well to enjoy the beautiful landscape and to give our backs some rest from the heavy backpacks. Comparing it to the Cho La pass crossing on the EBC trek last year, two things stood out to me: first, the way up to Thorong La was technically much easier than the one over Cho La and second, learning from my mistakes of last year, I actually managed to eat and drink enough this time. :) No frozen water in my camelbak, no headache, I was rather pleased with myself. :) Reaching the pass after two hours on the trail, Dave and I congratulated each other, took the mandatory pictures and beheld the hustle and bustle around us for a while.
With 5416 meters above sea level, Thorong La pass was the highest point on the circuit and it was no matter of course that we had reached it. For Dave, who never really had done anything like that before, it was the highest point he set foot upon in his life so far and as it was the first time for me to have reached that altitude without any helping hand, we both felt a little bit proud of our achievement. :) Sitting down on a rock away from the crowds, we simply enjoyed the moment for a while. Once we felt we had spent enough time on the pass, we started an epic descent towards Muktinath. 1600 meters altitude difference was between the pass and the village and that meant a real challenge for our knees. At least we constantly had a spectacular view up ahead and that made the going definitely easier. The path however was a permanent change: steep in some places, level in other places, sometimes full of rocks, other times full of scree, then full of dust again and every once in a while some good old switchbacks made their appearance. :)
During the whole descent, we only met two persons going uphill, one hiker and one biker. Facing an overall ascent of 1600 meters, they also had a real challenge in front of them. Further down we eventually could see a couple houses at the bottom of the valley, but it felt as they were never coming closer. The descent wore on and on and when we finally reached those houses, we decided to continue right away as it was too early for lunch and it wasn't Muktinath after all. Walking straight ahead on an easy dirt path for a while, the village appeared at last once we had reached the end of the valley. The town seemed to be very close now but it somehow felt as if another couple hours had passed before we eventually arrived there.
Muktinath was a fairly developed village and after High Camp, our guesthouse was more like a hotel, providing working Wifi, electricity and a hot shower. Having arrived around noon, there was enough time left for a walk through town after lunch. Except tons of guesthouses and souvenir shops there was nothing else to see though and so I returned to our "mansion" for a lazy afternoon. Dinnertime came and went and when I finally was ready to get that hot shower, only ice cold water splashed down my body. Damn… Well, hopefully more luck with that tomorrow. :)
Day 12: Muktinath – Jomsom
Granting ourselves some more sleep after yesterday’s challenge, we started a bit later into the day than usual and coming upon a turnoff at the outskirts of the village, once more had to choose between walking on the road or on a proper hiking trail. As Muktinath was accessible by road, we also could have taken a bus and finish our trek, but of course that was out of question. :) For me the choice was obvious, as I still intended to escape the main road as much as possible. Dave decided to tag along and so we turned onto the hiking trail, heading towards a low mountain pass in the distance. Luckily the ascending slope was pretty gentle and as the weather was back to perfect again, we got some gorgeous early morning views while making our way steadily upwards.
Interestingly neither our legs nor bodies felt the effort of the day before and so we reached the top of the pass in no time at all. A breathtaking panorama unfolded towards either side and a short pause was needed to take it all in.
Two different trails led from the pass and with no sign telling us which one to take, I decided to turn left after a quick look on the map. Naturally that was the wrong choice. :) Realizing my mistake soon enough, we retraced our steps, took the correct trail and started to descend towards the lovely village of Lubra. It was another steep descent that reminded us at the part after Thorong La pass yesterday. Again the scenery in front of us was absolutely splendid, again the path was dusty and slippery in places, again it alternated between steep and gentle slopes and again it took quite a while until we got closer to our destination. Crossing over a very long hanging bridge, we descended to the river bed on the other side and after a short walk along the river made our way up to Lubra. Stopping at the very first guesthouse, we had a delicious lunch, noticing that the prices for food were coming down rapidly after the remote places around the pass. According to our map, there were again two possible ways to take after Lubra, one along the mountainside, the other one down in the valley. For once we didn’t have to choose though, as in reality there was only one. Plenty of signs and markings led us along the mountainside and although it went constantly up and down, it was a nice walk that offered some good views. Approaching the end of the valley, we came upon the final descending slope and could see the main road ahead of us coming closer. One last time we enjoyed some solitude and the beautiful panorama before we brought that last slope behind us.
Scrambling down to the road as the trail had vanished in the very end, we placed our feet onto the dirt and were immediately blown away. Not by the scenery for once, but by the wind that was rushing through the valley in a tremendous speed. It was another five kilometers to Jomsom and they turned out to be the most unpleasant ones of the whole trek. Walking along the road first, we soon were able to take a short cut through a massive river bed. Unfortunately that one was full of rocks, dust and sand and felt more like a barren desert than anything else. With the wind blowing frequently dust into our faces, a ground that was arduous to walk on and under a scorching sun, we struggled through the river bed for about three kilometers before we went back up to the road.
Walking there wasn't that much better however. While the ground was firm enough, the passing vehicles raised the dust into the air and the wind kept on blowing it all into our faces. Although the scenery itself was still striking, neither of us complained when we finally had reached Jomsom and were off the main road. The village itself was pretty sprawled and as all guesthouses were at the end of the town, it took a while until we had settled into one. Being the most expensive guesthouse so far, it felt more like a fancy hotel and the only downside was the lack of a hot shower in our room. Jomsom was one of the given ending points of the Annapurna Circuit, as the town wasn’t only accessible by road, but also had an airport with quite a few departures to Pokhara and Kathmandu. So it felt right that we treated ourselves to a celebration beer for coming that far and after the struggle in the river bed it felt like the best beer I ever had. :) Our trek though, was still far from finished. Knowing that five more days with a couple more highlights were up ahead, one beer was enough and we ended the day as usual with a nice dinner and a well deserved rest.
Day 13: Jomsom – Sauru
As we were in no hurry today morning, we left Jomsom when the town was wide awake already. Skipping the main road once again, we turned left onto another hiking trail just after the airport and started to walk into the direction of Lake Dhumbra. After following a stream for a while, we turned onto a dirt road, overcame a short ascent and arrived at a pond that obviously was Lake Dhumbra. It seemed like the place to be around Jomsom, as many other (local) tourists were paying a visit. Being not promising enough to pay the entry fee, we took a look from the outside and then carried on to overcome another short ascent right after the lake, leaving all other tourists behind us. A German girl was on the same way as we were, but she would remain the only other hiker on the trail until late in the day. Descending into the next valley after that second ascent, we faced the first challenge of today. Being insufficiently marked, we came across so many different paths and roads that we repeatedly had to check the map to make sure we were still on the right way.
Finally having reached the other side of the valley, we ascended again and followed an abandoned road for a while when we suddenly heard some noises. Coming around a bend, two diggers were hammering away at the rock wall to our left. Once we had passed them, we all of a sudden were back on a proper hiking trail and immediately realized that they were building a road into the steep mountainside. Taking a look at the track ahead of us, I thought it crazy what they were planning to do, but as there were some other workers measuring the way, it seemed that they were pretty serious. Well, glad of being back on a trail we slowly but steadily descended into the valley ahead of us.
Reaching the end of the descent, the path leveled off and soon enough we entered the village of Chhairo. It was a bit early for lunch, but as the next town was quite far away we decided to stop and eat something. The only guesthouse in town had closed though, but before we even had the chance to move on, some locals went to fetch the owner and he prepared us a delicious meal. He was a nice guy and very generous, giving us a lot to eat even though he had one of the cheapest menus all along the Annapurna Circuit. Strengthened by the food, we continued our walk amongst a surprisingly nice scenery. Quite a few parts were now covered in pine woods and with the snowcapped mountains as a backdrop, it almost looked like home. :)
At some point in the middle of the afternoon, we once more lost the trail and followed some random way towards the river bed to our right. For the whole day already the signage had been quite confusing: sometimes there were three signs within five meters, sometimes there were none at all for a few kilometers and sometimes the markings were that old we almost couldn’t see them anymore. We also came upon signposts that suddenly had different town names on it than they originally had and while many of them also indicated the approximate walking time to the next village, the numbers usually were completely wrong. All in all we were glad that we had a map where we could cross-check everything. When we eventually had found the right way again at the river bed, we came upon a signpost that served as a good example: it told us that four kilometers where left to Saura (which was correct) and that that would take us four hours. :) Obviously that was nonsense, we were lucky enough to realize that. Resuming our walk, we suddenly were confronted with a steep ascent that kinda came out of nowhere and it took a while to bring it behind us, but at least we got some more beautiful views over the river that meandered through the valley below us.
As Saura was located at the riverside, a similar steep descent ensued. Arriving in the tiny village we had enough for today and checked into the most basic guesthouse we had come across so far. Sitting in the garden outside and eating some yak cheese, a Portuguese guy suddenly showed up and joined us for a while. During our conversation he told us, that in celebration of getting over Thorong La pass, he had bought a whole chicken for about 15 dollars, ate it with a local family and got drunk with them. He recommended us to do the same. Haha, not exactly what we came here for. :) As he decided to stay at the main road on the other side of the river, we were the only tourists left in the whole village. What a difference to the days before! Not being sure what exactly was awaiting us after Jomsom, we had been pleasantly surprised by today and now wondered what tomorrow would have in store for us.
Day 14: Sauru – Ghansa
Still feeling a bit tired when we settled in for breakfast, I suddenly noticed a shape floating around in Dave’s tea that kinda seemed out of place. Wide awake now, Dave fished it out and we were beholding a nice big bug. :) Well, lucky him that the tea had been served in a glass. :) The good weather had returned overnight and leaving Sauru behind us to follow the hiking trail along the river, we marveled at the surrounding panorama that had escaped us yesterday. Dhaulagiri, the 7th highest mountain of the world, loomed over us and he would be our companion for the rest of the day. It was a gentle morning walk and the turnoff towards Titi Lake appeared in no time. Having read about this detour in the Stingy Nomads blog, I wanted to check that place out as it was supposed to be very beautiful. Dave opted to tag along and turning left, we started to walk upwards on a wide dirt road. Following the road all the way up, we passed a scenic mountain village and before long came upon the lakeside. Compared to Tilicho Lake or all the other gorgeous landscapes we had passed over the last two weeks, Titi Lake wasn't really able to make a big impression on us, but now that we were there anyway, we sat down at a lovely spot above the lake and enjoyed a longer break.
Back on the track, we walked through a forest and soon reached a plateau that hosted another nice mountain village. Taking a short cut through some farming fields, we came across another turnoff at the outskirts of the town and had to decide if we should stop by the village for our lunch break. As it still was quite early we opted to walk on, even though we didn’t know if the next village would have a place to eat. Descending towards a huge river bed, we came around a bend a little while later and as a new valley was spreading in front of us, a short pause was needed to admire the stunning scenery.
Reaching the bottom of the valley, we walked along the almost dry river bed until we arrived in the settlement of Chhoyo. Looking for a guesthouse or restaurant, we couldn’t find one and no other choice was left than to continue and try our luck in the next village. Shortly after leaving Chhoyo behind, we entered another forest and through a couple openings between the trees had some marvelous views over the river bed and the mountains at the horizon.
We were getting a bit hungry though and looked forward to reach the next village. Arriving in Jhipra Deurali a little while later, we walked through the whole town and already thought that we had run out of luck, as we couldn’t find a place to eat. Eventually the last house appeared and we were relieved to see that it was a guesthouse which served some food. A huge plate of fried rice later, we started with the descent towards Ghansa and soon were out in the open again, having a superb outlook into the valley ahead of us.
With that view in sight, we descended some time on a narrow, dusty and partly overgrown path. Knowing that Ghansa was on the main road on the opposite side of the valley, we were wondering where the trail was going along, as all we could see ahead of us were trees, white water and steep mountains walls. Well, there was only one way to find out and we kept on walking downwards until we reached the bottom of the slope. From there the trail led to an arm of the main river, which we crossed by using another hanging bridge. Coming to the other side, we had some trouble to locate the trail, as the narrow track to our right almost vanished among the high grass surrounding it. Heading towards another forest, the overgrown track eventually widened and turned into a proper dirt path. For quite a while we stayed under the cover of the trees and it was no wonder anymore why we hadn’t seen the trail from far away. Having the Stingy Nomads blog in mind, we knew that there was a landslide to be crossed and that the bridge to Ghansa would follow soon afterwards. Passing a sign that announced a landslide, we traversed carefully and thought that the bridge would appear in a few minutes. But we kept on walking and walking and walking and even when we were able to have a look into the distance, there was no bridge to be seen at all. An already long walk turned into an endless one, but at least the scenery remained stunning throughout the whole way. Gorges, cliffs, a gushing river, landslides and the not perfectly maintained trail, made the hike quite entertaining despite our struggle.
Yes, you read correctly: landslides. :) In total we came across three of them and only after the last one the bridge finally appeared. Cursing Stingy Nomads for their misleading information, we went over the bridge and somehow failed to find the correct way up to the main road. Instead we scrambled up a steep slope full of loose rocks and having overcome that rather dangerous part, we first wondered how far we had walked today. It turned out to be the longest distance covered since day 2. Wow! Celebrating with two packs of cookies, we settled into the next guesthouse we could find. To our relief, there finally was a hot shower again and it didn’t matter at all that it was a bucket shower only. :) Surprisingly the common room at dinnertime was almost bursting. There was not only a big group of about 15 people, but basically all the solo trekkers that we had met over the last couple days. Among them were the German girl and the Portuguese guy and so an eventful day ended with a fun chat over dinner.
Day 15: Ghansa – Ghara
For once the day started with a commotion. While Dave was back in the room already, I sat in the dining room eating my breakfast, when suddenly an argument over a 10% service charge erupted between the owner and the leading (local) guide of the big group. Even though the charge was mentioned on the menu, the guide told his clients not to pay it. In some way that was understandable, as it was the only place on the circuit where I had seen a charge like that. The argument was pretty heated and soon the porters, the clients and the wife of the owner were participating as well. :) Before long the two of them looked ready to exchange some fists outside, when luckily the other people involved somehow found a solution. It was sad to witness a scene like that, as the famous Nepali hospitality had vanished in an instant with the prospect of losing cash. Well, we settled our bill without an argument and heading down the main road for a bit, used another bridge to join the hiking trail on the other side of the river again. Walking steadily downwards, the first part of the morning was pretty nice with a few decent viewpoints and many lovely villages.
Coming upon one of those villages, we unexpectedly ran into the German girl again that we originally had met in Thanchock and on our way up to Ice Lake. What a pleasant surprise! We chatted for a while and then separately continued our way towards Tatopani. At last getting closer to civilization, the next couple hours turned out to be some of the toughest of the whole trek for me. Leaving the beautiful mountains behind, the views started to get poorer as many telephone masts and buildings lined the way. Almost exclusively we now were walking on roads and missing a turnoff somewhere along the way ensued in a pretty long detour. Additionally, with only two more days to go, my body eventually gave the first signs that he actually was tired. My shoulders were hurting quite a bit and a break was needed to give them some rest.
Shortly after the break, the trail led us through a beautiful countryside village just outside of Tatopani and I knew that for now the worst was over. Arriving in Tatopani itself, we treated ourselves to a big lunch, having a delicious appetizer followed by a huge meal. On many other itineraries, Tatopani was a given place to stay overnight, but as we knew that one last very long ascent awaited us, we decided to move on to shorten the day tomorrow. Heading out of the town, we came upon another permit checkpoint and while our permit consisted of two papers, they only wanted to see one. Resuming our walk along the main road, the turnoff towards Ghorepani and Poon Hill, our last goal of the circuit, appeared a little while later on. Crossing over a hanging bridge, we passed a couple houses and were surprised to see another checkpoint. Of course they now wanted to see the second paper and we were wondering why they couldn’t do just one checkpoint to check both papers there. Well, whatever. :) Right after that second checkpoint the ascent towards Ghorepani started and while we first walked on a dusty road, we soon came upon a turnoff that led up the hill on a proper hiking trail. Deciding to follow that one, we quickly realized that it was way steeper than the road, but continuing anyway, we gained a lot of altitude in a very short time. When the slope finally leveled off, we took a short break to regain our breath and before long joined the dusty road again. As it hadn’t rained for quite a while, an incredible amount of dust was on there, but fortunately no wind was blowing and not many vehicles were passing by. Eventually overcoming that arduous part, a lovely new scenery came into view, with many villages and rice terraces lining the hillsides ahead of us.
Taking a couple short cuts to skip the road, we ascended further towards Ghara where we had planned to stay overnight. Coming to the outskirts of the town, we were looking for a place called Namaste Lodge, as we had met the owner earlier on and he had promised us a room free of charge. As the lodge also was on our map, we ignored some signs that pointed into the direction of Ghorepani, only to realize a bit later on that that was a mistake. :) Unfortunately the location of the lodge on our map was incorrect and we ended up taking some random paths to find a way back to the official trail. Well, we never found Namaste Lodge but instead just stayed at another guesthouse once we were back on the track. Most probably we should have continued our search though, as the place we settled into was definitely not the best one. The Wifi was working for as long as 5 seconds, the beds were so hard they could have been out of a prison cell, the toilet also had seen some better days and to end the day like it had started, we overheard husband and wife having a rather strong argument. It almost seemed that the quarrel between them was because of us, but we never found out. :)
Day 16: Ghara – Ghorepani
Knowing that after today only one more day was left, we intended to bring the 1100 meters difference in altitude between Ghara and Ghorepani as fast as possible behind us. So we hit the trail rather sooner than later and walked steadily upwards for about one hour, noticing along the way that there were neither good views nor other tourists.
After that first hour and a short break, the ascent intensified and the way knew only one direction: up up up. Three long hours we struggled uphill and it was evident before long that we were in the most relentless slope of the whole circuit. It wasn't only the steepness, but also the path itself wasn't very nice to walk on. Loads and loads of uneven stairs had to be climbed and if for once there were none, rocks and roots covered the ground to make sure that the trail remained arduous at all times. Having the final day tomorrow in the back of our heads, we also were mentally not that fresh anymore and our bodies started to feel the effort of the past two weeks. Nevertheless, we tried our best to keep a steady pace and ignoring our tired legs, slowly made some progress.
Getting closer to Ghorepani, I happened to get a glimpse of something that looked like a house on a plateau up ahead. Thinking that we had made it, I called out to Dave and told him that we were there. Coming around the next bend, I realized that it wasn't a house after all, but only a gate that welcomed us to Ghorepani. Unfortunately all that was behind that gate was another steep ascending slope and struggling on for 10 more minutes, we asked ourselves why the hell they had placed that gate so far from Ghorepani itself. At that point, Dave slipped back into cursing mode and was swearing even more than during the steep ascent on day 2. :) Eventually a guesthouse appeared and even though the reception was on the third floor (!), we would have stayed right there had the owner not insisted on a pretty expensive price for the room. So we moved on to the center of Ghorepani and tried another guesthouse. While the price seemed okay, the owner wanted to show us the room, which naturally was on the third floor as well. :) Having had enough uneven stairs for one day, I was glad that we decided to stay and once settled in, the time had come for a little feast. :) For lunch it was two huge plates of Dal Bhat for me, a local “all you can eat” dish, ensued by a short walk through the town and a beer in the local German bakery. To top the day off, I treated myself to a Snickers roll after dinner, but unfortunately it wasn't as good as it sounded. As we had seen it on almost every menu, we were curious to know what exactly it was. It turned out to be a fried Snickers wrapped up in dough, reminding me very much of the fried Mars bar I once had tried in Scotland. Well, it was definitely the first and last Snickers roll in my life. :) So tomorrow had one last big highlight in store for us: the sunrise on Poon Hill. Looking forward to our final day on the trail, we went to bed early for one last time.
Day 17: Ghorepani – Poon Hill – Nayapul – Pokhara
After a rather short night, we woke up early in the morning, got dressed and headed out of Ghorepani in direction of Poon Hill. To reach the top, a steady ascent with about 400 meters altitude difference was waiting for us just beyond the village and turning our headlamps on, we started to walk upwards with a few other tourists. The further up we went though, the more people there were, it seemed like the whole village was on the move. :) Many of them took a break about half way, but as we didn’t feel the need to stop, we brought the whole ascent in one go behind us. Coming upon the top, dawn had already set in and having no desire to join the crowds on the hilltop, we sat down at the hillside a bit further below. Looking at the scenery around us, we had to hold our breath. A sea of clouds lay over the lowlands, Annapurna I showed itself on our left side and the upcoming sunrise painted the horizon in a bright yellow and red.
Although more and more people kept pouring onto the hill, it didn’t trouble us at all and we enjoyed the ensuing sunrise to the fullest. It definitely was one last highlight and worth the whole struggle we had the day before.
Once the sun was up and the people started to scatter, we took a look from the other side of the hill and marveled for a last time at the Himalayas in the distance.
As we were aiming to get back to Pokhara within today, we left the hill rather sooner than later and descended back to Ghorepani to have some breakfast. Packing up afterwards for one last time, we soon set out again and started the long way down to the village of Nayapul, which marked the end of the original Annapurna Circuit. Leaving behind the alpine regions for good, we entered the tropical realm once more and before long the well known jungle feeling was back. :) The scenery in that part stayed mostly the same: trees, rocks and roots dominated the landscape and in regular intervals guesthouses appeared on the trailside. Making good way, we soon were out in the open again and started to approach the big settlement of Ulleri. Crossing over a dirt road, we were offered to take a jeep to Nayapul for the first time. Not wanting to "cheat" on our final day, we declined and walked on to Ulleri, where we decided to get some food.
Resuming the descent after our lunch break, the toughest part of today was directly ahead of us. Steeper and steeper it went downhill on a trail that consisted only out of … uneven stairs. :) It felt endless like the day before and I had pity with all those hikers that were on their way upwards. Down and down we went and finally coming closer to the bottom of our final valley, we eventually left the stairs behind us. Passing through a couple tiny villages shortly afterwards, we came upon the main road and another jeep offered us a ride to Nayapul. After that long strenuous descent and knowing that a rather unspectacular part was ahead of us, the offer was tempting. But as we had come that far without cutting short a single meter by bus or jeep, we declined again and continued on foot, descending gently along the wide dirt road. While the scenery as expected was rather dull, it seemed that the stream of people heading towards Poon Hill never ceased. Today had by far been the most crowded day on the trail and somehow that gave justice to the overwhelming amount of guesthouses that we had passed all day long. Arriving in the village of Birethanti, we knew that the end was near and being pretty excited about that, we almost missed the checkpoint to check out of the Annapurna Circuit. :) Once successfully checked out, a second checkpoint five minutes later raised the same question as a couple days before, but at least gave Dave the time to organize two victory beers for the final two kilometers. :) Marching into Nayapul about half an hour later, we actually had made it! Unfortunately there was no sign to mark the ending of the trek, so you just have to believe me that we really walked until the very end. :) As it was only about three in the afternoon, we knew that enough time was left to head back to Pokhara and after declining an expensive jeep ride, we settled into the bus station to wait for the bus. While I was organizing another celebration beer for the ride back, the bus suddenly appeared out of nowhere and we would have been left behind without the help of some locals that were holding the bus back for us. :) And so the circle closed, as we ended the trip how it began: with a bumpy bus ride. It somehow felt appropriate and being not as cramped as expected, we enjoyed the cold beer and the good feeling of having completed the whole Annapurna Circuit.
A few days later, I met Dave again in Pokhara for an afternoon beer. I told him that I had a lot of respect of what he had accomplished and I would like to repeat those words here. Hiking about 280 kilometers in the Himalayas for 17 days in a row, gaining and losing an overall altitude of over 12000 meters, reaching the highest point of his life so far on 5416 meters above sea level, walking first in sneakers only then in hiking shoes that fell apart after a couple days, cursing the whole adventure only twice in the steepest slopes he had to conquer, while actually never having done anything remotely like this, he not only deserves my respect but also yours. :) So kudos to you Dave and thanks for the good times on the trail!
Highlights of the hike: the scenery between Upper Pisang and Manang, Tilicho Lake, the views from High Camp, reaching Thorong La pass and the sunrise on Poon Hill
This hike is for you if:
- you’re looking for a relatively easy hike to reach an altitude of 5000 meters
- you want to visit one of the highest lakes in the world
- you’re a solo trekker but don’t want to be alone :)
- you want to try yourself for the first time on a long distance hike in the Himalayas
This hike is not for you if:
- you want to walk on proper hiking trails only
- you mind to stay overnight in basic accommodations
- you can’t handle the variations in temperature going from humid and hot to dry and cold
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