Trip Reports

Annapurna Circuit - 1 to 23 Apr '06

Written by Leader Steve Findlay, April 2006

Jagged Globe's first Annapurna Circuit trek started with the team meeting at Heathrow on April fools day. Everything went according to plan through Doha and Kathmandu to the wonderful Summit Hotel. Our first day in Nepal was spent seeing some of the sights in the city, Pashupatinath, Bodinath and Swayambunat, an interesting intro to those on their first visit to Kathmandu. At 8am on Day 3 we took the bus for the 7hr road journey to Besisahar, the countryside looked very dry after months of no rain and the rivers particularly low. We drove straight through Besisahar to unload near the bridge at Khude (790m) at the confluence of the Khude Kola and the Marsyangdi River. With the campsite only 10 minutes walk, the first day was no training for what was to come.

Day 4. Khude-Syenge (1,100m), 6-7hrs walking up the Marsyangdi Valley through some lovely Gurung farming villages, including Bahundanda perched atop a ridge. From here we dropped down to spend the night camping next to the river at Syange. After dinner the local children gathered to dance for us in aid of the local community fund.

After crossing the bridge the next morning we climbed up into the narrowing canyon then across the river again to Chamche. Here we were politely relieved of 1200 rupees each by the United Revolutionary Interim Peoples Council, Gandak, for which a receipt was issued. Hopefully it was not spent on weapons. The afternoon was enjoyably spent gradually gaining height up to Tal (1,700m), where we camped in the garden of the Dragon Hotel. Early the next morning we left the flat old lake bed of Tal, passing waterfalls to enter a deep canyon where the path is cut out of the cliff face. At Darapani we could see east up a spectacular valley to Larki c7,000m, our first view of the big mountains. In the afternoon we saw Langurs in the forest leading up to the new road being built from Besisahar to Manang, which waswe followed to our next camp site in Temang. Again village people presented us with silk scarves and flowers before inviting us to dance round the fire, the perfect warm down after a hard days walk.

The day from Temang to Bratang is mostly on the new road but does offer an amazing view of Annapurna 2, far above. The scenery is even more spectacular in the afternoon as we walked past avalanche debris into the tiny village nestled under huge walls.

Day 9 was another superb days walking, at first through pine forest with enormous granite slabs to the west, then into a more open valley and more evidence of winter avalanches. Our lunch stop was in Pisang, a classic Buddhist village with a splendid Mani wall in the centre. In the afternoon we went on to Humre, in retrospect it would have been better to extend the day to Braga, thereby gaining a day. The short (2hr) day to Braga was dominated by snow, by evening a couple of inches had fallen, no problem though, as we watched it fall from the fireside in the New Yak Hotel.

Braga is just 15 minutes walk from the regional capital of Manang, the perfect place for a rest day. We enjoyed short walks to Gangapurna Lake and the local monasteries, as well as good coffee and cakes in the town!

The weather was perfect the next day as we walked up out of Manang through fields being ploughed in readiness for planting. The local Griffon vultures had found something dead in a field, we watched as they fought over it with Annapurna 3, Gangapurna and Tarke Kang as a backdrop. We continued up towards Yak Karka through Juniper hillsides being grazed by Blue sheep. Dinner was Yak "steaks" and Seabuckthorn juice.

Day 13 saw us trekking up 500m to Thorong Phedi, the base of the pass, the weather deteriorating, with cloud and gusting wind. The team sensibly decided that paying an extra 100 rupees for a room was a good idea as we were going for a 4 o' clock start, easier for us and the lads who could definitely do without packing tents at that time. We could have gone on up to High Camp, another 45 minutes but Gyalzen was concerned there may not be room for us, Jean took a stroll up there anyway. Phedi is at 4,591m but is very comfortable with warm rooms, food, electricity and even a satellite phone at $5 per minute.

Day 14, the big day! Up at 3am, away at 3.45am in the dark and cold, Bistari, Bistari, slowly, slowly. The weather had improved overnight and the moon was out, lighting our way past High Camp and on to the snow slopes which lead to the La (pass). When the sun rose we could see the Annapurna range to the south and much closer, Shya Gang, Thorong Ri and to the north the yak head peak, Yakawakang. We are sure the tracks we saw in the snow were Leopard. Strangely enough there are tea shops halfway and on the pass itself, a chance to get in from the cold for 10 minutes. The team was going well and we made good time getting to the pass at about 8 o' clock for brilliant views and photos. It's a long way down the other side, 1,500m, on snow for the first 500m or so. Mat discovered that his big toe was not just cold but frost nipped, keep your socks dry! After visiting the Hindu temples above Mukninath we arrived in town around 3pm to find that one of the kitchen boys had done the day in 5hrs!

We felt the lack of a rest day over the next 9 as we descended the Kali Gandaki valley through Jomsom, Marpha and Kalopani to Tatopani where we visited the hot springs. The day up to Gorapani was hard work for some, 1,600m up for 8 hrs, in the rain but worth it for the amazing views of Dhaulagiri and Tukuche the next morning. We made the decision not to go to Poon Hill because of people's tiredness, poor weather and the uncertainty of transport to Pokhara due to the political situation. After descending down to Naya Pul where we should have met transport we continued for 2hrs to Lumle where we spent the night in a tea shop. This was the scene of the trips most serious near miss when Mat got attacked by a giant spider in the shower. Another long day got us to the Meera Hotel in Pokhara.

Kahtmandu was in turmoil when we returned, the Kings shoot-on-sight curfews being ignored by hundreds of thousands of Nepalis demanding a return to democratic government. A relaxed day at the Summit Hotel was followed by a rather more uncertain day getting to the airport just in time for the flight back home.

Steve Findlay, Trek Leader« Previous report | Next report »

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