|
| Day
2 |
|
|
Dhoban on
the Nadi Khola. A delightful morning walk eastwards along the
ridge through farmlands leads to the little village of Lipyani for
lunch. There are some fine campsites close to the river.There is a
little settlement of temporary huts at the confluence of the Mardi
river and the Rudi river near the campsite |
|
| Day
3 |
|
|
Beyond
Salma (1585 m). The trail leads along the bank of the Rudi river
for lunch. After lunch a delightful afternoon walk to campsite |
|
| Day
4 |
|
|
Baglung
Pani (1524 m). Descend through fields to the Midam river towards a
very fine camping area at Baglung Pani. Views are of Manaslu,
Himalchuli and Peak 29 |
|
| Day
5 |
|
|
Bulbule
(853 m).The trail descends towards the village of Khundi on the
Marsyangdi river. Opposite Khundi, the trail rises high above the
river and round the corner revealing further views of Himalchuli
and Peak 29. We camp near the river at Bulbule |
|
| Day
6 |
|
|
Syange
(921 m). Continue up east bank of river, crossing Nadi river
bridge. We climb to Bhawandande ridge (1310 m) in about 2 hours.
Descend towards river again and reach vicinity of bridge at Syange.
A 7 hours walk |
|
| Day
7 |
|
|
Tal (1646
m).Trail climbs slowly into increasingly narrow canyon. Cross
bridge near Chamcha and continue ascent past canyon descending
from rock barriers of Peak 29 and Namun Bhanjyang. Camp at Tal,
the gateway to Manang District |
|
| Day
8 |
|
|
Temung
Meadows (2591 m). Ascend on a new trail to Dharapani, confluence
of the Marsyangdi and Dudh Khola rivers. Turn west and follow
trail ascending on south side of Marsyangdi through forests and
meadows. After this we climb steeply towards Namun Bhanjyang to
Temung Meadows |
|
| Day
9 |
|
|
Kupar
(2591 m). Near Chame, the headquarters of Manang District the
trail runs diagonally from Temung through Thenchok village 2865 m
and down towards river to Kupar. Kupar is situated on the junction
of the Marsyangdi and Nar rivers. A 4 hours walk |
|
| Day
10 |
|
|
Pisang
(3354 m). Pass Chame after half hour and cross bridge to north
side of river near horticultural apple farm at Brathang (2744 m). |
|
| Day
11 |
|
|
Jule (3445
m). Even on this normally busy route it is possible to get away
from almost all other trekkers and this is what we intend to do
for the next 2 days. It is about an hour across the valley floor
passing one fair sized lake before a steepish 1200' climb leads to
the first of a series of villages called Ngawai. Overnight at
Chegaji |
|
| Day
12 |
|
|
In
Jule we have a rest and acclimatization day. Jule is a lovely spot
to spend the day. |
|
| Day
13 |
|
|
Chakadunga
(3963 m). Down through Jule village we turn west towards Braga.
This is a steady climb most of the afternoon |
|
| Day
14 |
|
|
Thorong
Phedi (4405 m).The trail turns northwest up the tributary valley
of the Jargeng Khola. It is sometimes possible to see herds of
blue mountain sheep along the cliffs. Cross a covered bridge we
ascend to Phedi. The last camp site before we pass |
|
| Day
15 |
|
|
|
Muktinath
(3810 m). We ascend steeply for 2 hours to see the top of Thorong
La (5396 m) and of the Annapurna Range to the south and the Mukut
Himal bordering Dolpo to the west. After a 3 hours descend to
Mustang down a steep trail we reach Muktinath. Muktinath is one of
the most important pilgrimage sites for the Hindus. It is
mentioned in the classic Indian epic, the Mahabharata. We may see
pilgrims bathing in the holy water flowing from the 108 carved
spouts surrounding the Vishnu temple in a grove of sacred Poplars |
|
| Day
16 |
|
| |
Jomsom
(2713 m). We will descend gradually through fields and Poplar
groves. Afterwards we steeply towards the Kali Gandaki River
valley to reach Eklaibhatti (2774 m). We will follow the valley
southwards to the headquarters of Manang District, Jomsom (2713
m). Jomsom is a large settlement with an airstrip, police station
and bank |
|
| Day
17 |
|
|
|
Flight
from Jomsom to Pokhara for connecting flight to Kathmandu |
|
|
