We completed the Annapurna circuit last night with our arrival into Pokhara. The final segment had it's ups and downs.
The first part of the trek was from Manang to Khangsar. Manang was a nice place with great views of Gangapurna and it's glacial lake. There was an old gompa that we visited that took about an hour to climb to. It was very interesting. The monk there lived in rooms carved out of the rock face, similar to Mesa Verde.
We've had a chance to visit many monasteries and gompas. We received several blessings for safe passage over Thorong La.
Following Khangsar, we had 4 tough days in a row. First was Khangsar to Tilicho Lake and back to Tilicho Lake Base Camp. This was a very long and tough day. Not quite as long as Long's Peak, but we've been hiking for several days straight, carrying a lot more weight, and hiking at 16,000 feet. Tilicho Lake was beautiful. The left side had high snow covered mountains which came down to the lake. In the back you could see far off snow capped peaks. Tilicho Lake is one of the highest lakes in the world at ~16,200 feet. The base camp there was at 13,500 feet, the highest elevation we've slept at so far. The accommodations there were very meager. It was a bit like sleeping in a cave, and some small rodent got into Tom's energy bars during the nights.
After Tilicho Lake we headed to Yak Kharka. It was a nice hike, but just back along the same mountain range, so not too much new to see. It was still a very long day with a lot of up and down hiking.
After Yak Kharka we headed to Thorong La high camp to spend the night at 15,500 feet. It was between Yak Kharka and Thorong La that both Tom and I had trouble sleeping with the altitude. One minute you were laying fine in your bed, and the next you were gasping for air. It was a very weird feeling and made it scary to try and fall asleep. Since we weren't getting much sleep, it also made the treks harder. High camp was another very basic lodge. That was our earliest trekking start thus far, at 4:45AM. Everyone starts that early to avoid the high winds that can start later in the morning. The hike to Thorong La (the highest point on the Annpapurna circuit at ~17,700 feet), was tough and incredibly cold. The temperature at the top was 14F. We only stayed for a few minutes to capture some photos and enjoy the view before we started down due to the cold. The hike down was a very steep 5000 foot decent. Although it was tough, we hiked from above the clouds to below which was a very neat experience.
After the decent of Thorong La, we spent the night in Muktinath. This is a pilgrimage site for many people in India and Nepal. We got to visit the temples and monasteries there. It was a larger town with a lot of shops. It was also a little warmer, which felt great after going over the Thorong La.
After Muktinath, we hiked to Khagbeni, and then to Jomsom. Khagbeni was a very interesting town. It had a newer part with shops and restaurants, but also had a very old part which was very mid-evil looking. There was a very old gompa there which we visited.
The downside to the hike after Muktinath is that the road there is somewhat heavily traveled by buses, jeeps, and motor bikes. This means you are always going off the side of the road, and breathing in a lot of dust. For how nice the Annapurna trail is, it's ashame to end it hiking on a road like that. The views are still beautiful, but it does distract from the ability to lose yourself in the environment.
Our flight from Jomsom was delayed due to bad weather in Pokhara, so we decided to take the bus since the planes might not fly for several days. We also hear that the flights to Lukla to start the Everest Base Camp trek have been delayed for 6 days now. We are hoping this will clear out by the time we get there. I can't imagine what the people are thinking that are stuck in Lukla trying to get home. But back to Pokhara. The flight delay meant a 20min plane ride turned into a 12 hour bus/car ride. The bus ride was neat for about 1 hour. It was loud, dusty, crowded, and uncomfortable. The road is just a bumpy dirt road, so you were constantly bouncing all over the bus. The seats had metal bars which would constantly bang my shins and arms.
We finally arrived in Pokhara at 9:30PM, had some dal bhat and went to bed. The next day in Pokhara was great though. Pokhara is a very neat and relaxing town. I feel like I could spend a week here just walking around and drinking tea. We almost skipped this town, but I'm glad we got to spend a full day here. It was nice to just relax as we start to prepare for the Everest Trek.
From Pokhara we will go to Kathmandu by a 5hour car ride. The next day we will try to get our flight to Lukla, and start trekking towards Everest Base Camp. I hope to update the blog again when we get to Namchee Bazaar in 3-4 days.
The first part of the trek was from Manang to Khangsar. Manang was a nice place with great views of Gangapurna and it's glacial lake. There was an old gompa that we visited that took about an hour to climb to. It was very interesting. The monk there lived in rooms carved out of the rock face, similar to Mesa Verde.
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| Gangapurna with it's glacial lake. View from Monk's home in Manang. |
We've had a chance to visit many monasteries and gompas. We received several blessings for safe passage over Thorong La.
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| Having my luck stat increased by +10. |
Following Khangsar, we had 4 tough days in a row. First was Khangsar to Tilicho Lake and back to Tilicho Lake Base Camp. This was a very long and tough day. Not quite as long as Long's Peak, but we've been hiking for several days straight, carrying a lot more weight, and hiking at 16,000 feet. Tilicho Lake was beautiful. The left side had high snow covered mountains which came down to the lake. In the back you could see far off snow capped peaks. Tilicho Lake is one of the highest lakes in the world at ~16,200 feet. The base camp there was at 13,500 feet, the highest elevation we've slept at so far. The accommodations there were very meager. It was a bit like sleeping in a cave, and some small rodent got into Tom's energy bars during the nights.
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| Ryan and Tom and Tilicho Lake. |
After Tilicho Lake we headed to Yak Kharka. It was a nice hike, but just back along the same mountain range, so not too much new to see. It was still a very long day with a lot of up and down hiking.
After Yak Kharka we headed to Thorong La high camp to spend the night at 15,500 feet. It was between Yak Kharka and Thorong La that both Tom and I had trouble sleeping with the altitude. One minute you were laying fine in your bed, and the next you were gasping for air. It was a very weird feeling and made it scary to try and fall asleep. Since we weren't getting much sleep, it also made the treks harder. High camp was another very basic lodge. That was our earliest trekking start thus far, at 4:45AM. Everyone starts that early to avoid the high winds that can start later in the morning. The hike to Thorong La (the highest point on the Annpapurna circuit at ~17,700 feet), was tough and incredibly cold. The temperature at the top was 14F. We only stayed for a few minutes to capture some photos and enjoy the view before we started down due to the cold. The hike down was a very steep 5000 foot decent. Although it was tough, we hiked from above the clouds to below which was a very neat experience.
 |
| Tom and Ryan on top of Thorong La. |
After the decent of Thorong La, we spent the night in Muktinath. This is a pilgrimage site for many people in India and Nepal. We got to visit the temples and monasteries there. It was a larger town with a lot of shops. It was also a little warmer, which felt great after going over the Thorong La.
After Muktinath, we hiked to Khagbeni, and then to Jomsom. Khagbeni was a very interesting town. It had a newer part with shops and restaurants, but also had a very old part which was very mid-evil looking. There was a very old gompa there which we visited.
The downside to the hike after Muktinath is that the road there is somewhat heavily traveled by buses, jeeps, and motor bikes. This means you are always going off the side of the road, and breathing in a lot of dust. For how nice the Annapurna trail is, it's ashame to end it hiking on a road like that. The views are still beautiful, but it does distract from the ability to lose yourself in the environment.
Our flight from Jomsom was delayed due to bad weather in Pokhara, so we decided to take the bus since the planes might not fly for several days. We also hear that the flights to Lukla to start the Everest Base Camp trek have been delayed for 6 days now. We are hoping this will clear out by the time we get there. I can't imagine what the people are thinking that are stuck in Lukla trying to get home. But back to Pokhara. The flight delay meant a 20min plane ride turned into a 12 hour bus/car ride. The bus ride was neat for about 1 hour. It was loud, dusty, crowded, and uncomfortable. The road is just a bumpy dirt road, so you were constantly bouncing all over the bus. The seats had metal bars which would constantly bang my shins and arms.
We finally arrived in Pokhara at 9:30PM, had some dal bhat and went to bed. The next day in Pokhara was great though. Pokhara is a very neat and relaxing town. I feel like I could spend a week here just walking around and drinking tea. We almost skipped this town, but I'm glad we got to spend a full day here. It was nice to just relax as we start to prepare for the Everest Trek.
From Pokhara we will go to Kathmandu by a 5hour car ride. The next day we will try to get our flight to Lukla, and start trekking towards Everest Base Camp. I hope to update the blog again when we get to Namchee Bazaar in 3-4 days.
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| Sunrise in the Himalayas. |
Hey Ryan,
ReplyDeleteI just read your blog because I am planning on doing a similar trek. I, however, plan to cross the Tilicho lake over the cliffs. I have two questions that you could possibly answer for me to my email as soon as possibly as I am leaving in 2 days to Nepal and starting the trek in 5 days. 1- How did you get from Pokhara to Manang? and How much is a flight from Jomosom to Phokara?
My email is : julian1rodriguez@hotmail.com
Thanks