Around Annapurna (part 2)

After the challenges and excitement of the detour to Tilicho Lake, it was time to rejoin the Annapurna Circuit, with a few easier days before the ultimate challenge of crossing Thorong La Pass. If you missed it, you can catch up on part 1 here .

Day 11: Shree Kharka to Yak Kharka - 10km (6.2mi)

Our destination today was a settlement called Yak Kharka - with a name like this translating to ‘yak pastures’, we held high hopes of seeing some yaks! Our dream was fulfilled very quickly as we approached the abandoned settlement of Upper Khangsar. There was a large herd of yaks across the trail, and we weren’t sure whether to be excited or nervous to cross their paths. Luckily yaks are relatively docile and we passed without issue (after a few photos of course!). From the top of Upper Khangsar, we were greeted with sweeping views of the valley in one direction back to Manang, and the other up toward Tilicho Peak. It was a great perspective, and the perfect spot for a rest from the climb.

What goes up, must come down again, and it was a steep descent back down into a neighbouring valley before meeting up with the main trail again. We were surprised to walk among crisp autumn colours, and soon reached a beautiful riverside spot for lunch. We weren’t far from our destination for the night, and it was a little frustrating to wait nearly 2 hours for momos (dumplings) and Tibetan bread, but there were worse places to be waiting for food!

We then rejoined the main Annapurna Circuit route after our 3 day detour, and immediately noticed both the increase in trekkers and the better quality track! We parted ways with our German companions, who wanted to continue on to the next town of Letdar. We were content to stop in Yak Kharka as planned, and pleased to see the Yak Hotel appear earlier than expected.

We were the only guests at this teahouse - and to think Jelley had been worried about reserving it in advance! It was a really cute, historic family-run place. The owner’s Dad had built the guest house 28 years ago. We tried a couple of different local delicacies while here, the Thukpa noodle soup, and a hot sea buckthorn juice. The sea buckthorn is a berry that only grows in high elevation cold temperate environments, and is somewhat of a superfood.

Right on schedule, as with every day in this region, the clouds rolled in over the mountains filling the valley in late afternoon, fully covering the beauty up before the glory would be exposed again at sunrise.

Day 12: Yak Kharka to Thorong Pedi - 8.5km (5.2mi)

We set off alone for the first time in a few days, but not for long as we passed a few bigger groups of trekkers before reaching Letdar, and subsequently the Germans again, ready to set off from their teahouse the night before! Unfortunately, they had shared their accommodation with a mouse that night, and didn’t have the best night’s sleep. Mario had to cut his trip short and made the decision to return to Manang that morning rather than cross the upcoming pass, and we were sad to see him go. It's a really difficult decision to decide the turn around, but always the right one. The Sebastians continued with us for the day and it was great to have a couple of extra minds to make decisions on which paths to take with various landslide zones and options.

Just before 11am we arrived at Thorong Phedi, a small ‘base camp’ at 4,450m which marked one of the final spots before the Thorong La Pass. The boys decided to continue on to sleep at the High Camp at 4,880m to save the extra 500m ascent in the morning and, although we were feeling fine, we decided to err on the side of caution and sleep at the lower altitude.

The infrastructure in this very remote spot was unbelievable. Somehow, the wifi coverage was decent enough that Luke was able to submit his vote in the New Zealand general election. This could have been the highest vote of the whole election! We spent the afternoon and evening relaxing, chatting to other travellers and playing card games.

It was a full house at Thorong Phedi base camp, packed with trekkers ready to tackle the pass. While we were feeling fortunate not to be feeling any effects of the altitude (the side-trip to Tilicho Lake helped with this!), there were many people very sick people around us. The strangest thing we saw today was a 15 month old child who had been carried by his mother and her friends. He was struggling to breathe in the elevation, and had a nasty gash on his head from falling off a deck on the first night of their trek. We tried to hide the judgement from our faces as the mother shared their stories from the trip.

After a couple of games of ‘America’s favourite card game’ with some more Americans who had never heard of Quiddler before, we went to bed nice and early, ready for the challenging day awaiting us.

Day 13 - Thorong Phedi to Muktinath - 18.3km (11.3mi)

It was Friday the 13th of October - perhaps not the luckiest day to attempt a high elevation dangerous mountain pass crossing! The majority of those leaving from our teahouse were leaving at 3:30am. While we heard them in our light sleep, we rose at 4:30am for breakfast then left just before the first light of the day. We were conscious that we were possibly the last on the trail and the accommodation was very quiet when we left.

The skies were clear, and we started with the bright lights of the moon and stars guiding us. It was a steep ascent mostly in darkness, with the views getting better as we reached the high camp at 4,880m; the first light touching the Annapurnas in the distance. Upon reaching high camp, we came across a family of shy deer grazing, which was hard to believe at this altitude, and what appeared to be alpine chickens. They were, in fact, Himalayan Snowcocks, which are apparently very rare to see, but we were surrounded by them and they kept us entertained.

High camp was deserted, everyone staying here had also left early, and there was still no one behind us! We were feeling really good and made great pace, soon reaching groups stopped for a drinks break. We then caught up with the Sebastians, and it was great to reunite to share the Thorong La pass experience!

After several false peaks, and crossing a very sick traveller on a donkey (headed up, not down!!), we saw the pass! Unsurprisingly, given the abundance of teashops to date, there was a small tea & coffee shop at the pass at 5,400m! We queued up for the classic photo with the sign signifying our accomplishment, and wandered around our surroundings to make the most of the panoramic 360 degree views. We reached a small lake, and looked out at a base camp for some ‘proper mountaineers’ who were likely summiting a nearby peak. Little did we know at the time, but 5 weeks after taking this photo, we would actually meet one of the guys who was at the camp at the time! It transpired they were a group of university students completing an assignment to climb their first 6,000m peak. Small world.

While we found the ascent relatively straightforward and not too tough on the body, the descent was another story. It was punishing, dropping 1,700m over a short distance, and consistently downhill on loose gravel. Jelley had a small tumble, and it was tough on the knees for both of us. The landscape ahead of us changed dramatically as we crossed the pass, opening up into the wide, arid and dusty open-spaces of the Mustang region. We were relieved to take a lunch stop, before continuing to our destination after a very long day. Eventually, we arrived in Muktinath.

We had read a little bit about this iconic pilgrimage town filled with temples honoured by Hindus and Buddhists alike for different reasons, but it was such a contrast to the villages we’d encounter so far that we were still taken by surprise! As trekkers, we were suddenly the minority, and looked very out of place compared to those around us. We felt like we had transported across the border into India! We found an accommodation which was more of the trekking vibe - fittingly called Bob Marleys! We had been vegetarian since arriving in Nepal, but couldn’t resist the temptation of trying a yak burger. It was surprisingly good!

Day 14: Muktinath to Kagbeni - 14.8km (9.1mi)

We had just 4 days left to make it back to Pokhara, a deadline imposed by a looming job interview and the need to look presentable and have reliable internet. We had been too tired to make a decision the night before, but this morning decided to keep on moving and bid farewell to the Sebastians (again!). They would be spending a rest day at Bob Marleys, as they intended to trek for at least another 8-10 days to complete the entire circuit.

Before leaving town, we decided to explore the small town of Muktinath. It is one of the most important pilgrimage site in Nepal for both Hindus & Buddhists because it hosts the Muktinath Water Template. Although remote and challenging to get to, it is a revered place of worship that attracts pilgrims and tourists alike. Many pilgrims even walk all the way from India here! Muktinath is considered a place of liberation in Hinduism, and it is believed that taking a dip in the holy waters flowing from 108 water spouts shaped in ornate cow heads cleanses one of sins. The temple also houses a natural gas flame that is believed to have emerged spontaneously.

As we approached the temple complex, we were overwhelmed by the amount of people and chaos that surrounded us. There were people everywhere trying to getting a dip under it and running through the fountains, along with a huge queue for the temple. It was quite the unique experience for us! There was not so much of a crowd for the giant Buddha statue overlooking the valley, but we were soon keen to get moving again and leave this bizarre but very interesting town.

We walked to the town of Kagbeni, which is a gateway town to the ‘forbidden kingdom’ of the Mustang. The track was dry and extremely dusty, and our legs were sore from the descent yesterday. We saw signs for blue sheep and snow leopards, but had no luck in spotting any. The infamous winds of the region picked up around midday, and we were very happy to arrive in the town.

Evidence of a huge flood which swept through the town just 7 weeks prior was everywhere. Luckily no lives were lost, but 35 homes and businesses were destroyed, and the riverbed had uplifted to take over many streets and gutted building frames. It felt almost post-apocalyptic, but the locals were happy to have tourists visiting and providing much-needed income. We got the vibe that this was another small, remote town feeling neglected by the Nepalese government, forced to take recovery into its own hands.

While there are no McDonald’s Restaurants in Nepal, there is a 'YacDonalds', in the tiny town of Kagbeni. Complete with a red & yellow logo and a Happy Meal, the cheeseburger is replaced with a yak burger, and the interior had a familiar American diner feel to it. We couldn’t resist - 2 yak burgers in 2 days!

Another neat spot in the town was the Kag Chode monastery, built in 1429 (you read that right). A confident 17 year old monk nearing the end of his training gave us a tour of the complex. Usually there are 90 boys based at the monastery, but the boarding house was destroyed in the flood, so there were currently just 10. The Dalai Lama was a regular visit, and photos of him adorned the more modern monastery. We were also taken into the original wooden monastery, which felt like it could fall down at any moment in the wind. It was incredibly intricate inside, but we weren’t allowed to take photos unfortunately.

Day 15: Kagbeni to Marpha

Jelley didn’t sleep well, and we didn’t love our accommodation in Kagbeni. Perhaps because it was accessible by ‘road’ and the nearby Jomsom airport, the prices were significantly higher than our previous teahouses, and the cheapest place certainly felt cheap. We were feeling lethargic, with really sore calves and the prospect of walking 4-5 hours on the dusty windy road wasn’t attractive. We decided to end the walking component of our Annapurna Circuit journey here, and find transport to continue on towards Pokhara.

We waited at a ‘bus stop’, and hailed down a jeep to the town of Jomsom. It was surprisingly pleasant and we quickly realised the fare we were paying the driver would enable the other locals all waiting for the bus to pile into our jeep too. In Jomsom, we transferred to a local bus for the 7km trip to Marpha, which turned into a long, tedious trip. We were very happy to arrived, and super surprised how cute this town was!

Marpha was a total gem in the rough - featuring winding alleyways with no cars, mud & stone houses, and surrounded by apple orchards. The style of buildings felt like we could be on a Greek island, which was a strange thought in a remote part of Nepal. It was like going back in time. We grabbed lunch at an iconic family run cafe (which was more like their house), with exceptional food and a glass of local apple cider for 75 cents!

After wandering the town and taking in the views from the top of the monastery, we settled in at our equally cute guesthouse for the night. The local apple brandy didn’t go down quite as easily as the cider, and it felt strange to be drinking alcohol again after taking a break due to the high altitude of the trek.

We arranged our next bus ticket for the day, to break up the journey back with one more stop in Tatopani (translation, hot water).

Day 16: Marpha to Tatopani

We got up bright and early to wait at the bus stop, tickets in hand and optimistic about the journey ahead. A couple of full buses passed by, and the lady at the ticket office assured us they weren’t ours. A very full, sketchy bus then pulled up, and we were told this was it. There were no seats, and the seat numbers we had pre-reserved didn’t even exist on this bus! The driver tried to persuade us to squeeze in the front cab with about 15 other people, but we weren’t comfortable with this suggestion, especially since we had paid for a ticket based on a reserved seat and we knew the road wasn’t in the best condition. There was accepting the risks of taking a bus in Nepal, and this was another level we weren’t going to go with. After some disagreement and holding up the bus, we negotiated a refund and walked back to our guesthouse a little deflated.

There were no other bus options for the day, and the solution from our guesthouse of a private jeep was going to cost nearly as much as a flight from Jomsom! We went back to the main road and stuck our thumbs out, and sure enough a local jeep pulled over pretty quickly.

We couldn’t believe our luck - our bags in the boot and plenty of space to sit in the jeep with a group of locals and we were on our way, direct to Tatopani! Or so we thought … 5 minutes into the journey, the driver mentioned a ‘quick 5 minute stop’ to pick up some apples … 45 minutes later, the jeep was completely stuffed full with boxes of apples, our bags now tied to the roof and we were gifted one of the damaged apples to snack on as a token of appreciation for our patience. The jeep was now around 100 times heavier than before, and we slowly made our way along the road for one more stop - for the local guys to stock up on bottles of the Marpha apple brandy. One perk of carrying this extra weight was that we drove a little more cautiously so that we didn't bruise the precious apples.

The road was horrendous and extremely sketchy. It was narrow, dug out of the side of the cliff and with a steep drop to the river gorge below. When we came across other jeeps or buses, it required careful reversing and getting precariously close to wheels hanging off the cliff to get past. The horn didn’t work in our jeep, but that didn’t stop the driver from relying on it to make it look like he was beeping before going around blind corners. He even dismantled the steering wheel and tried to fix it while driving!

Needless to say, we were extremely relieved to arrive in Tatopani around 7 hours later, and grateful we weren’t in this jeep all the way to Pokhara (another 4-5 hours away). We stayed in a lovely hotel which was just a short walk from the town’s main attraction - natural hot springs next to the river! We’re not sure if our bodies needed the soak more from the sore muscles caused from hiking, or our trauma of the jeep ride for the day. Either way it was such a relief to have some comfort after the long journey of the past 16 days.

We bought our bus tickets for the next day, and went to sleep hopeful it wouldn’t be a repeat event of today.

Day 17: Tatopani to Pokhara

Luck was on our side this morning, as an empty bus arrived on time as scheduled, and we had surprisingly comfortable seats for the journey ahead. The road was still sketchy the majority of the way, but it was a relatively standard bus trip with limited comforts, an average food stop and getting stuck in traffic as we approached the city again.

We were reunited with our bags at the backpackers in Pokhara - it was so nice to ditch our hiking clothes at the laundry service, have a long hot shower with good water pressure, and put clean, different outfits on again! Thankfully the temperature and humidity levels had dropped since we were last in Pokhara - the seasons had changed.

We ventured out to an outdoor ‘movie garden’, which was showing the movie ‘Sherpa’. It was a super cool spot, designed for foreigners to enjoy pizza, drinks and English language movies in a serene setting - a great concept! It was buzzing with other travellers and we were lucky to get a seat. The movie itself was thought-provoking, and very relevant to our current location.

Our trekking journey was complete, and we were tired, with a long list of life admin to catch up on after a couple of weeks without wifi. Jelley spent the day preparing for an interview, and Luke caught up with our German trekking buddy Mario who had to turn around before the pass. It was great to catch up and reflect on the time in Tilicho lake together, and meet his girlfriend who is also an American living abroad. Jelley joined for dinner, where we ate way too much Western food and shared a lot of laughs.

Recovery time

It was time to decompress and relax, and we were keen to get out of the hustle of Pokhara. We found a cute guest house located between Rupa and Begnas lakes, approximately 45 minutes away. Our sole intention was to relax here, rest our bodies; and plan the rest of our year!

After a windy taxi ride, we arrived in a gorgeous spot which felt like we were in heaven (if heaven had the background noise of high pitched cicadas). The guest house was located on the top of a hill, and had an incredible rooftop view. We were at the same height as the birds circling for their prey from above, and it was butterfly season so the garden was filled with colour. As the monsoon had recently ended, the rice harvest was just starting around us. The landscape was really different from the Annapurna circuit, and it was so serene to be able to escape here!

We talked with the proud owner of the guest house who built it 18 years ago. He had used earthquake prevention building techniques from Dutch friend, and later acted as an advisor to local schools on this construction method. While some locals were skeptical at the time at the extra effort and cost to the building methods, they were put to the test in the 2015 earthquakes and those same locals appreciated sheltering in the schools built this way in the aftermath. Our host was then featured on BBC news , and received a hosted trip by Japan authorities for 2 weeks to share knowledge on the matter. Like many Nepalese guest house owners, their children live abroad in the USA and Australia. We were promised the best Dal Bhat curry we have ever had by our host ‘mother’, and it was delivered with fresh vegetables from the lush surrounding garden. It was so good, we had it two nights in a row.

The mornings followed a routine of waking up to an alarm clock before sunrise - although it was natural alarm clock, not the phone! Cicadas, barking dogs and roosters were Jelley’s cue to go up to the rooftop and watch dawn transform into day. This was a magical experience. As the first light touched the Himalayan mountains in the distance, the cicadas and barking sounds somewhat subsided and were replaced with birdsong.

As ‘active relaxers’ we had to take a couple of walks to keep our legs moving! We went down to an extremely long suspension bridge which crossed Rupa Lake, and tried to find a waterfall unsuccessfully. On our return, we saw the end of the HUGE snake on the trail, and then while trying to find a coffee shop we narrowly missed an attack from some territorial dogs.

The next day at breakfast, our hosts mentioned we could go up to the local temple as there was something happening there for the Dashain festival, the longest festival in Nepal lasting between 10-15 days. We wandered up to check it out, and the next thing we knew we were wrapped up in a parade with singing, dancing, and local instruments. The parade continued throughout the hilly streets - it was a walking dance party, we just wish we knew the moves! We also learnt more about our hosts and their community. The Mum was part of a local women’s empowerment group (who wanted Jelley to record a TikTok video for them), and the Dad grew up in the village, attending the primary school before having to walk 2 hours each way to attend the nearest high school. His parents fundraised to build a local high school so their kids could have better access to education, and our host Dad subsequently taught at the school. This was an awesome, unexpected local experience and we felt really welcomed by the community.

While it was epic to be part of the village for this part of the festival, we were pleased to be leaving before the next stage of celebrations. We finally learnt why there had been so many goats absolutely everywhere for sale. Part of the Hindu tradition is to make an animal sacrifice - the wealthiest families would go for an ox, middle class the goat, and poorer the chicken. At the largest temples in Kathmandu, mass sacrifices would take place. We were happy to not have to witness this.

We then walked down to nearby Begnas lake, which was a gorgeous still lake with a reflection of the Annapurnas in the background. It was bizarre that it was a Saturday and there was no one else around! We had a local coffee spot to ourselves, and enjoyed the relaxing environment.

On our final morning at Rupa View guest house we felt an earthquake during breakfast! 5.2. It was ironic given our conversations on how safe this building was. Luckily, no one was killed or injured in the quake, but there was damage at the epicentre between Kathmandu and Pokhara. We were reminded daily of how hard working Nepalese people are, and reflected on the resilience and strength of communities and people as they navigate a constant stream of natural disasters and rebuild. Every year during the monsoon rains, thousands of landslides are triggered with roads washed away and communities cut off from supplies, and they have no choice but to keep calm and carry on. We felt there were some parallels to the forced resilience of people in Christchurch. We left the lake house rejuvenated and somewhat sad to leave this little oasis. Our host mum gave us a small bunch of flowers picked from the garden that morning, and we were returning to Pokhara.

With the Dashain festival continuing, it was a difficult time to travel around the country by bus. We decided to stick it out a few extra days in Pokhara before moving to another region of the country, and stayed in an alternative location from our previous visits. This made all the difference to our opinion of this odd city. It was a much more relaxed vibe in the northern lakeside area, with lots of local vegan eateries around and a lovely walking path along the lakefront, including a walk past "Pokhara Disneyland" (a makeshift theme park that did not look the slightest bit safe).

We ticked off a lot of key life admin decisions (including some long overdue wedding ones !!), and finalized our plan for the remainder of 2023. It was a very productive few days, with lots of incredible food. It was refreshing to have salads, smoothies and Western food again after our limited options while trekking.

One of the most renowned viewpoints in Pokhara is the Sarangkot View Tower. While we had seen some epic mountain views already, we decided to check it out via the cable car, with low expectations. A panoramic view greeted us from the tower (or ‘Pokharamic’ view according to the sign), and we loved this perspective with the entire Annapurna Himalayan range stretching out in the distance. It was a really neat spot, and we’re glad to have gone up there!

After a final dinner catch up with the Sebastians, who had just returned after their extra week completing the greater Annapurna Circuit, we were ready to leave this region of Nepal after nearly one month.

Our next destination was a totally different part of Nepal in the hot, southern flatlands of Terai; Chitwan National Park!

Until then,

- A Kiwi and A Cali

P.S. Don't forget to write your name if you leave a comment! :)