The 220 mile trek around the great, semi-circular,
multi-summitted, Annapurna Himal takes some
20 days to complete and is one of the classic journeys through
the Nepal Himalaya.
Starting amid lush, sub-tropical rice-paddies
the route follows the course of the Marsayangdi
Khola ( khola - river ) on primitive trails through small farming
settlements and alpine forests
of fir and pine to the arctic tundra of the yak pastures
surrounding the medieval village of Manang
nestling beneath the huge ice-fall tumbling from the giant, 7000
metre Gangapurna.
Beyond Manang the crux of the trek is the
high-level crossing of the snow-covered Tharong La
to reach an arid, wind-swept, mountain-desert region in the upper
valley of the Kali Gandaki.
From the sacred temple at Muktinath the
return leg heads down-river on the trade route from Tibet
via the caravanserai of Jomson and Tukuche through the deepest
gorge in the world between the two
8000 metre peaks of Annapurna ( the world's 10th highest mountain
) and Dhaulagiri ( the world's
7th highest mountain ) to finish at Phewa Tal ( Tal - lake ) on
the outskirts of Pokhara - the
second city of Nepal.
It was my first visit to Nepal and at our
trek starting point at the ancient royal city of Gorkha,
namesake of the illustrious Gurkas ) I suffered from conflicting
emotions - anticipation and
apprehension of what was to follow. The thought of being up to 10
days away from the nearest
roadhead was daunting - in Scotland and the Alps the most had
been only a couple of days.
Another member of our group, Judith, a doctor from the USA, was
also concerned and her rucksac
was extra heavy with medicines for all eventualities.
As we headed up the scenic valley on narrow
trails beneath high rock walls and lofty snow peaks,
criss-crossing from bank to bank on long, swaying, suspension
bridges, the tension in our party
increased as we approached the huddle of flat-roofed houses of
Manang. Rumours circulated of an
early snowfall blocking the pass, disconsolate trekkers were met
returning having been defeated by
altitude sickness.
Our group leader, Phil did not help morale;
" If you don't make it over the pass you won't see your
kitbags ( carried by our porters ) again until Kathmandu!".
My daysac was therefore at its heaviest for
the 1000metre climb over steep scree and snow slopes to
the col at 5500metres - some 2,000 feet higher than my previous
best on 4800 metre Mont Blanc.
However, by late evening, everyone,
including Jack, a 60-years-old Irishman, had successfully
struggled into the walled, fortress-like camping ground at
Muktinath. We had enjoyed perfect
conditions but others have not been so fortunate. A party of four
Sherpas died on one occasion in
a vain attempt to secure help for their group snowbound on their
attempt at crossing the pass.
Poorly clad porters have also succumbed to exposure and
hypothermia.
From the pagoda-style temple with its
sacred water spouts and natural gas flame a dramatic view
unfolds of the barren moonscape of the upper Kali Gandaki valley
and the huge, white dome of
Dhaulagiri far to the South.
The numerous small, simple lodges in the
Kali Gandaki valley originally served as overnight staging
posts for porters carrying goods on the trade route to and from
Tibet but are now the haven of
'tea-shop' trekkers and the route between Pokhara and Jomson, the
most popular in Nepal, is now
known as the 'coca-cola trail'.
A long uphill slog from the riverside at
Tatopani to the col at Gorapani is alleviated by superb
views of Dhaulagiri and its neighbouring Tukuche Peak rising
sheer above the valley floor.
Poon Hill, a short climb above Gorapani, provides an even better
vantage point to witness the great
peaks flame red in the rays of the rising sun.
However the finest panorama is saved for
the end of the trek in Pokhara. On a clear day, from the
dam on Phewa Tal, the entire northern horizon is lined with
mighty peaks ranging from Dhaulagiri in
the West through Annapurna South Peak, Hiunchuli, Annapurna I,
the shapely Macchapuchre ( the
'fish-tail' mountain ), Annapurna III, Annapurna II and the
Lamjung Himal to terminate with the
Manaslu Himal in the East.
As is customary our trekking crew and
porters were well rewarded with generous backsheesh ( money
presents ) for their stalwart efforts in ensuring the success of
our trek and our sirdar
Ang Jangbu, drew lots to allocate the donations we also made of
clothing and other items of
trekking gear. Most, but not all, of Judith's medicines were used
in evening surgeries to treat
local villagers at our camping places.
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
| Find what you want at Amazon.com | Find what you want at Amazon.co.uk |
|
|||
Note: Books may be bought New or Used fromAmazon.co.uk or Amazon.com or Amazon.fr( The SEARCH boxes can be used to find items and also to compare prices and delivery times ) |
