Annapurna Circuit Trek(April 16th-April 30th)

 Annapurna Circuit Trek encircles the Annapurna Massif. The path reaches its highest point at Thorong La(pass) at 17,800 feet, reaching the edge of the Tibetan Plateau. Our itinerary was slightly different from the actual circuit trek itinerary. We added one more summit, Lake Tilicho which sits at 16,500 ft and is considered as World’s highest lake.

Annapurna Circuit Trek is considered one of the best if not 'The Best' trek in Himalayas! If you ever get an opportunity to go do not miss it.

I debated so much before I committed, but was so glad that I went and finished it!

High Altitude Treks

The thing about high altitude treks is you don't know before hand how your body 

will react to the altitude. Unless you go you wont find out and that's what I did.

At higher altitude the oxygen in the air subsides which makes you breathe

harder and faster.

Everybody had done high altitude treks before except for myself, Awadhesh, and Arun, but luckily we all were able to finish it without any issues and sickness.

AMS

Acute Mountain Sickness known as AMS is a serious condition, so before going on

any high altitude treks it's better to read about it first. Some of the symptoms 

could be but not limited to headache, nausea, fever, disorientation, etc. If 

you feel anything that is  not normal let others know, don't let it go

unnoticed.

 Preparation for this trek

 I worked out 6 days a week with one rest day. Cardio, Weights, Spinning, walking, Core Strengthening and Hiking. Hiking usually happened on weekends, practiced by carrying 15-18 lb backpack. 

Trek Bookings

The tour operators in Nepal arrange everything related to the trek. You just have to find a tour company that arranges these kind of treks. We just booked air tickets for Nepal. 

Accommodation and Meals during the Trek

All the meals and accommodation were perfectly arranged by our tour operator.

Guest Houses or Tea Houses as they are commonly called were arranged for our stays during trek and all of them had their own restaurants. Their menu was amazing, they had wide variety of menu from Pizza, Burgers, Noodles, Sandwiches, Tacos to the usual Nepalese Meal of Dal, Bhat and Sabzi along with tea, coffee. Morning breakfast also included variety of eggs, scrambled, omlette, oatmeal, muesli with milk, toast with butter and jelly. 

Porters

Porters carry our stuff in huge duffle bags. We just carried our backpacks with snacks, water, jackets and some miscellaneous stuff. In a way it was a luxury trek compared to backpacking trip (John Muir Trail) which I did in August last summer.

We were provided 4 porters and one guide. All the porters and guide went above and beyond to help us and keep us safe and comfortable.

Each of us were given a duffel in which we could keep all our stuff that we don't need during our daily walks and those duffel bags were carried by porters. Porters normally left before us and reached the next destination before us so our stuff was already there before we reached every single day!

Prakash-:  The main guide use to set the pace

Nabhraj-: Assistant guide, use to be a sweeper and walked behind the last person in the group and made sure that no one is left behind. He also carried a duffel bag.

Bir-: Carried rest of the luggage

Birda-: Carried rest of the luggage

Pramod-: Carried rest of the luggage

Team

It is always fun to do treks with a group. We were 7 people in our group, 5 of us knew each other since we did JMT(John Muir Trail) last year in August. Other two were new to me.

Our Team from left to right. Vibhakar, Arun, Awadhesh, Jai, Meenal, Anu and Samir

Each one of us are passionate about hiking/trekking. We all had prior experience in trekking though mine was first time trekking in Himalayas and doing a high altitude trek. Maximum altitude I went was Mt Whitney which is 14,500 ft and on this trek I crossed that and went 17,800 ft!

Our Trek Route Map 

The red dots on the above map indicate our trek route. Starting from...Kathmandu, Dharapani, Chame, Pisang, Manang, Siri Kharka, Tilicho Base Camp, Yak Kharka, Thorong High Camp, Muktinath, Jomsom, Pokhara and back to Kathmandu.

Here are our Trek Statistics

• Total number of days-: 15 (Pune to Pune)
• Walking Days-: 10(including 1 acclimatization day)
• Total Summits-: 2 (Thorong La and Lake Tilicho)
• Thorong La(pass) Altitude-: 17,800 ft
• Tilicho Lake Altitude-: 16,500 ft
• Everyday Walking-: Between 8-15 kms

Peaks Seen on this Trek

Though you cannot see Annapurna I on this trek there were plenty other peaks which were awesomely, stunningly beautiful!

• Annapurna II, III and IV (26,040 ft, 24,786, 24,688 ft respectively) 
• Manaslu (26,781 ft)
• Gangapurna(24,459 ft)
• Khangsar(24,557 ft)
• Tilicho(23,405 ft)
• Chulu(21,059 ft)
• Pisang(19,981 ft)
• Dhaulagiri(26,795 ft)

The elevation profile for each of the peaks above is just mesmerizing! Our guide Prakash told us that if a mountain is less than 6,000 meters which is 19,685 ft then it is not even considered as a peak, it will be just a regular mountain with no name! Such is the grandness of Himalayas! 

Time Period of our trek(Apr 16th to Apr 30th)

The period above included our travel time from India to Kathmandu and back to Kathmandu from trek. 

On early 16th morning myself, Anu(my sis-in-law) and her husband Samir flew from Pune to Delhi. We had a good 6-7 hrs layover in Delhi and as it was my first time visiting Delhi we decided to venture out. Three of us explored all the major landmarks in Delhi. 

We arrived in Kathmandu on Apr 16th and we were picked up by Shree Ghimire(our tour operator) and greeted with fresh marigold garlands.

In the pic above from left to right. Meenal, Anu, Jai, Awadhesh and Samir. Arun and Vibhakar had already arrived in the morning.

 

We were taken to our hotel 'The Address' in Kathmandu. It was located in Thamel, very touristy area which was crowded with shops, restaurants and hotels. You can buy fake branded stuff at cheap prices though I didn't buy anything as we had everything needed for our trek. 

Our hotel was really nice and our rooms were attached to a huge balcony which had lots of colorful flowers and plants. View was just amazing, we could see tall mountains and sunset was just so pretty!

I could just sit here all day and sink in the beautiful view! If this view was amazing then I was wondering what it would be like when we actually start our trek!

Beautiful Sunset from our hotel balcony!

We got everything ready for our trek next day, packed our backpacks, duffel bags that were provided by the tour company. Later we went for a traditional Nepalese dinner which also included a dance show by local artists. We walked  the crowded streets of Kathmandu and arrived at a restaurant. Food was decent, and we were entertained by the dance show. 

Dance Performers dancing on Nepalese songs. Nepali music is very similar to Bollywood music. Though this was more of a folk dance but it was entertaining! 

Us enjoying the dinner! 

We walked back to our hotel, put our phones and battery packs to charge and slept. 

Our trek unofficially started the morning of Apr 17th. Yes I said unofficially because we were going to drive from Kathmandu to Dharapani from where our walking part of the trek was going to start. 

As I mentioned in the introduction our trek route was slightly different as we wanted to fit Tilicho Lake in the same itinerary without adding extra days. Hence we drove from Kathmandu to Dharapani from where we started our trek. 

On our way to Dharapani we witnessed beautiful views of mountains, deep valleys, waterfalls and villages. We stopped at couple of waterfalls in between. Though the route was scenic sadly I cannot say the same thing about the roads 😞

After gurelling and bone shattering 12 hr drive we reached Dharapani at 7:30 Pm where we spent the night at 'Phulbari Guest House'

Beautiful valley with layers of mountains in the background!

Group Picture in front of the waterfall!

Waterfalls are always my favorites! The sprinkle of water just freshens me up.

'Phulbari Guest House' located in the midst of mountains. Could hear river water gushing in the back from here. We use to stay in these kind of Tea Houses though not all of them were this nice 😀then they had all the basic amenities, a bed with sheets, pillows and comforters, electricity, bathrooms(either attached or common) decent food to eat what else can you ask for?

Day 1 Dharapani to Chame

Total Distance-: 10 miles

Total Ascent-: 3,386 ft

End Elevation-: 8,451

Finally the day arrived when we were actually going to start the trek. I was feeling more confident this time as I had previous experience of hiking JMT (John Muir Trail) last year in August. We all had early breakfast. Our daily slogan before we left was decided, everyone shouted 'Har Har Mahadev' and left the tea house around 7:30 AM on Apr 18th. 

Instantly we saw Manaslu Mountain Range and Manaslu Peak.  At 8,163 m(26,781 ft) Manaslu is the 8th tallest peak in the world. Today's trail was mostly along the road with vehicles passing by us and blowing dust. We stopped multiple times and covered our noses. There was one section where we took a trail away from the road and got a break from blowing dust. Trail started with a steep climb and instantly I got breathless so I slowed my speed down and took it easy stopping and hydrating myself. Chirping crickets were really loud on that trail. We also saw Annapurna II peak. 

Group Picture with Manaslu Range in the background!

This was the steep trail we took away from the road 

Took plenty of pictures, as this was first day and views were just mesmerizing! We passed beautiful villages along the way, Bagarchhap, Danaque, Timang, Koto. To be honest it was hard to remember names of these villages, thanks to Samir who diligently wrote notes every night about our day. 

As a group we decided not to stop for lunch in the middle and go directly to our next stop 'Chame'. So we finally reached Chame at 2:15 PM. First day went really well and everyone was happy, suddenly during lunch Awadhesh fainted in Jai's arms and we all got really worried. Apparently he has Diabetes and went too long without eating anything and hence the episode. We gave him some sugar and juice he felt better and regained consciousness. After eating lunch he was back to normal!

Went for a walk around village, sipped hot lemon tea at White Stupa Hotel. We witnessed some area which was destroyed by flash flood. 

 

'Potala Guest House'

Marsyangdi River changed it's course and caused flash flood because of which many areas of the village was damaged. We went pass by a school which was severely damaged.

Scenic Chame Village!

Day 2 Chame to Upper Pisang

Total Distance-: 10 miles

Ascent-: 2,638 ft

End Elevation-: 10,346 ft

After having nice breakfast we left Chame at 7:15 Am. We were gaining altitude daily and getting closer and closer to mountains yet they were far far away. 

Around 11 we stopped at a Village called Bhartang where there are huge apple orchards. Prakash told us we can enjoy organic apples there, but apples we saw were really bruised and had black spots on them, me and Anu didn't even touch them. 

Entering the village of Bhartang where Apple Orchards were.

                   Our backpacks also got good rest at Apple Orchard :)

One part of the trail was quite interesting. It was the steepest part of Marsyangdi valley, so steep that the trail is carved through the vertical rock. On right side of the trail was the vertical rock and on the left side Marsyangdi valley far below, though it looked quite dangerous it was not that bad at all. 

Trail carved through the vertical rock and Marsyangdi river on the left.

Spectacular view of Annapurna II

                                                       Me and Anu walking on that interesting part of the trail.

At 12:15 we reached colorful village of 'Dhukur Pokhri' and ate nice hot lunch there.

Enjoying our lunch at Dhukur Pokhri

Colorful Village of Dhukur Pokhri

One of the many suspension bridge that we crossed throughout the trek. 

We also shared the trail with these guys :)

‘Paungda Danda’ is quite a notable attraction of the circuit trek, known for its western rock face that rises 1500m(4,900 ft) above Marsyangdi River. It is locally known as ‘Swarg Daar’ (Gateway to Heaven) as people there believe that the spirits of deceased must ascend the wall to reach heaven. 

Beautiful view 'Swarg Dwar' or 'Gateway to Heaven' in the background!

Finally reached Upper Pisang at 2:35 Pm. We could see beautiful Annapurna II peak from our hotel! This guest house had a rooftop and it was a picture perfect spot a great view of Annapurna II in the backdrop.

Mandatory group picture after reaching our final destination of the day :)

Sinking in the beautiful view!

I had a bad headache today because of the altitude, felt better after sometime. We all went for a short acclimatization hike to a Monastery which was very beautiful. These acclimatization hikes really help to get acclimatized.

Beautiful Monastery at Upper Pisang!

Picture taken from the roof top of our hotel. Because of cloud cover Annapurna II is not visible.

Had a good time playing antakshari and Prakash danced on 'Resham Feriri' Nepali song, soon Jai and Anu also joined him. After dinner we went back to our rooms and slept. Though I never slept the whole night single day on this trek but sometimes use to get good 4-5 hrs of sleep.

Day 3 Upper Pisang to Manang

Total Distance-: 13.59 miles

Ascent-:2,913 ft

End Elevation-: 11,605 ft

This day ended up being the longest and toughest for me.  Our guide gave us two options, one route was shorter(6.2 miles) along the roads with vehicular traffic and another route was longer(9.3 miles) but had great views so everyone voted for longer route which eventually turned out to be 13.59 miles!

After early breakfast as usual we headed out around 7:20 Am for Manang.

We witnessed an avalanche happening on one of the far away mountain as soon as we started.

Not sure how much of it is visible though in this video

Just before the steep climb to Ghyaru Village(12,150 ft elevation) started our guide showed us the point from far below to where we were supposed to go. That point looked like a small needle in a haystack way up high. It was a switchback trail which offered plenty of astonishing views, even though climb was hard but the views made it enjoyable.

Switchbacks to Ghyaru

Absolutely Stunning Views! What a contrast between these two mountains!

One step in front of other was my mantra today and started climbing. It was a steep climb with switchbacks. Myself, Awadhesh and our assistant guide Nabhraj were walking together. I was taking my time and enjoying the amazing views! 

Finally reached Ghyaru, rest of the team members were waiting for us up there. It was a nice village, saw a vendor selling yak cheese as soon as we entered the gate. Took a five minute break, ate snack, took some group pictures and started again. From ghyaru we continued walking to Ngawal Village where we had lunch. This is the place where we got our ‘surprise’. Jai checked the map and realized that it is going to be longer distance to Manang than what we were initially told by our guide.

Entrance to Ghyaru Village, it was tiring after climbing all those switchbacks.

Afternoon sun was blazing and it was getting very tiring, my head had started to hurt again. Somehow I managed to walk and reached Brak Village at 4:15 PM. I was completely done at this point, with headache and now nausea kicking in I was not sure how I was going to finish last three miles to Manang. I laid my head on a bench of the store, the store owner brought combination of herbs in a box for me to smell to help with nausea, also gave me some kind of spice to chew(which tasted somewhat like clove) I was even considering to take a ride on motorcycle and had almost booked one, then Samir convinced me to walk the rest of 3 miles which I did and was glad and thankful that I didn’t take the easy way out. Finally saw the entry gate to Manang and let a sigh of relief! 

Entrance to Ngawal Village where we had our lunch. All the entry point of villages had colorful doorway.

Me walking relentlessly after lunch hoping to see the glimpse of Manang Village. 

Finally reached Manang at 6:15 PM

Next day was our acclimatization day in Manang, meaning we were going to take a rest day but also do a acclimatization hike.

Dinner was scrumptious in Manang, we ate dum aloo and egg curry with roti and rice! It was sure rewarding to eat hot meal after a tiresome day. 

Day 4 Acclimatization Day at Manang(Elevation at Manang-: 11,600 ft)

I was thinking to get up little late today as it was a rest day but in mountains it was hard to sleep till late, it use to dawn very early at 5:00 Am! One can easily figure out the highest peak as it would don the golden crown given by Sun's first rays.

Annapurna Range glowing in bright yellow color at dawn!

Like me Anu also had headache and nausea yesterday but we both were fine today and ready for acclimatization hike!

Acclimatization day is very important in high altitude treks. Climb high, sleep low is the thumb rule for acclimatization. Keeping this in mind we decided to do a small hike up to Gangapurna Glacier view point about 1,000 feet high in 5 Km 

We had breakfast and left around 7:45. It was slow and steady climb, taking our time and stopping in between to enjoy the views. 

Men and Woman in Red walking up the trail :)

The lonely cloud

We saw all major peaks, Annapurna II, IV and III, Gangapurna, Tilicho, Thorong, Chulu, Pisang and Manaslu! It was an amazing experience to see all these peaks, they were so close yet far away.

A little glimpse of all the peaks

At the base of the glacier there use to Gangapurna Lake unfortunately the lake has vanished, unexpected monsoon rain has caused many landslides and all the sediment got deposited in the lake which made the lake a muddy mess and almost dried out. Nevertheless, the views were amazing. We climbed 1000 ft in 5km!We got a nice close up view of Annapurna IV, we were joking it looked so close that we could just run up there :)

It was picture perfect up there surrounded by mountains!

I don't want to be anywhere else than here :)

Some silly pictures!

Doing a plank on that surface was painful 😄

Samir took a session of meditation while we were up there and it felt very peaceful, at that moment it felt like time has stopped. Fresh air, beautiful views and calmness does wonders for you!

Just after we finished meditation a big noisy group of people showed up there and all that calmness went away 😁. After they left I noticed an unattended iPhone lying on the nearby rock, which was accidently left behind by someone from the noisy group. Awadhesh carried it down and handed the phone to the owner, she was glad to have it back.

After climbing back down to the hotel we had a hearty meal of burgers and fries tacos and enchiladas. Though the taste was not very authentic but it was delicious.

Samir went in room to take a short afternoon nap. Me, Anu, Jai and Arun played antakshari for a while and later other members of the team also joined.

Later we all decided to take a short walk again in the town, Manang was comparatively a big village it had lots of shops, bakeries and cafes. There was this one small street where all the houses were very colorful. We went to one bakery and had chocolate cake and coffee!

Lunch Time!

At a bakery having coffee and cake

Prayer Wheels and Engraved Prayer Stones were seen everywhere in all the villages. For good luck you should always walk from left side of these wheels and spin the wheels as you go. 

Colorful Houses!

Had dinner at 7:30 and called it a night short while after. Tough part of hike was to start from next day. Overall it was a nice relaxing day at Manang!

Manang to Shree Kharka

Total Distance-: 5.74 miles

Ascent-: 2,80 ft

End Elevation-: 13,300 ft

Mileage wise it was not much today, with slight ups and down we were going to reach our next stop at Shree Kharka. 

Everyday there was an amazing treat to our eyes. Magnificent landscape, layers and layers of mountains, interesting rock formations, lot of suspension bridges which we had to cross, birds, river, nature around us was just breathtaking!

Walk on suspension bridge. When everyone walked at once the bridge use to vibrate and sway.

No words left to describe the beauty of Himalayas!

Trail weaving across the mountain

After crossing a long suspension bridge trail went straight up. Along this trail we saw vultures hovering up in the sky. They were there to eat what was left of a dead mountain blue sheep.

Picture Credit for Eagles Pictures goes to Vibhakar who took these great pictures from his fancy big lens camera!

Reached Shree Kharka by Noon, our guest house name was 'Tilicho Peak'. It's seating area was nice and cozy. We ate lunch of dal bhat and sabzi. Meanwhile it also started snowing outside. People went outside to take pictures, I have had enough of snow this winter season in Virginia hence I decided to stay warm and cozy inside and sip hot lemon ginger tea! The owner started woodfire heater and instantly it felt warm!

Start of light snow. It added just a light layer on ground later and stopped. Sky opened up later! 

We played dumb charades for quite some time and it was lot of fun! Post dinner we also played card game called 'Judgement'. It was a fun day! 

Day 6 Shree Kharka to Tilicho Base Camp

Total Distance-: 4 miles

Ascent-: 1,108 ft

End Elevation-: 13,600 ft

Leaving early was a norm, by leaving early we use to reach early at next destination. Weather was perfect again this morning after yesterday's snow. It was cold but sunny! Jai flew his drone and took some pictures before we left. 

Our hike started with a steady climb, we had heard rumors that a bridge on the way to tilicho base camp was broken, if that had been the case we would had to take the alternate route which was longer and harder. But luckily that was not the case. 

The Bridge came and it was intact but the trail connecting to the bridge from left side was washed out so we had to climb down a little from right go under the bridge and climb up again. It looked tricky and dangerous, you could see Marsyangdi river straight down below, it was better not to look down and focus on your step. We all managed to pass through that section. Our porters helped us through the last part of that treacherous section. 

You can see in this picture, the trail after the bridge on left side was washed out so we went on right side and climbed down, went under the bridge and climbed up again on left. 

All Smiles :) Finally made it to the top!

After that initial climb and bridge crossing, the trail started going down. There was a long landslide area which we had to go through. Some portion of the trail was quite interesting where we went through tunnel like part, due to erosion some of the rock formation was very unique! 

Tunnel like area! Interesting rock formation.

We passed through landslide area quickly, as it was all downhill or flat. Reached Tilicho Base Camp around 11:30 AM. 

Walking down towards Tilicho Base Camp, you can see blue and red colored roofs

Jai and Arun decided to go to Tilicho lake on same day. After lunch they both took off with 2 porters carrying their backpacks. Rest of us decided to do it next day as planned. 

The rest of us ate lunch, took some rest and went for acclimatization hike, did a climb of 500 ft, spent some time up there and descended back to the base camp. 

We had early and called it a night, packed some cheese sandwhiches for next days breakfast as were going to leave for Tilicho Lake super early.

Day 7 Tilicho Lake + Tilicho Lake Base Camp to Shree Khark

  Total Distance: 6.84 miles

   Total Ascent: 2,821 ft

   End Elevation: 16,310 ft

Samir, Anu, Awadhesh, Vibhakar and Myself along with our guide and two other porters left before dawn at 4 Am. It was completely dark outside so we put our headlamps and started walking. After initial walk trail instantly started climbing up, there was this calmness in the air. Night sky was quite beautiful, moon and stars shining bright in the sky! 

The Night Sky with Moon and Stars!

Sunrise!

The dawn breaks and sky turns light orange and nearby tallest peaks starts glowing and it was the prettiest sight. 

We were walking slowly, reached at the midpoint around 6:45 Am. Ate some of the sandwich, couldn’t eat much though. The climb was going to be arduous from there on. There was a steep climb with lots of switchbacks. 

Vibhakar, Samir, Anu and Prakash in this picture

The midpoint of the trail 

After switchbacks we encountered snow, so we put gaiters on shoes. From there on we walked in snow for last 45 min until we reached the lake! That walk in the snow was very tiring and slow as we had to walk through narrow passages of snow.

Awadhesh walking in the snow

It was super cold and last 45 minutes seemed like forever

Reached top of the lake at 8:50 Am and as expected the lake was frozen but beautiful! We did it! At Worlds Highest Lake, what an amazing feeling we all had. Took plenty of pictures, each one being creative and suggesting a pose😀

Mandatory Tree Pose at the Summit :)

I made them all do the tree pose as well :) 

Wish I could stay here all day!

Spent an hour and a half up there and started to descent. After mid way weather started to change quickly, it became very windy and dust started blowing everywhere so even though we were descending my speed slowed down. Me and Bir(porter) reached last at noon. I was done by that time as my head was pounding and we still had a long way to go back to Shree Kharka, I was really worried at this point. I took off my backpack and shoes and lied down for good 15 min at the seating area of the restaurant. Somehow managed to get up later and ate some lunch and we left base camp at 1:15 for Shree Kharka.

We immediately started climbing and had to walk fast as were passing high landslide area and since it was super windy and a possibility of landslide happening.

We crossed first part of the landslide areas quickly then came one area where wind had wiped out about 20 ft of the trail and small stones were falling from above.

We waited for few minutes and then took decision to pass that part quickly before it got really bad. We made the run for it and went past that section of the trail but Awadhesh, Vibhakar and Nabhraj(porter) couldn’t cross the trail and had to wait for winds to die down so that they can pass safely.

The rest of us had to make a tough decision of moving ahead as wind was just not giving up and we still had to cross pass the landslide area. Plus we also had to cross the washed out trail near Shree Kharka area before sunset. Hence we continued walking and safely crossed the washed out trail area.

Finally we were back to Shree Kharka after that nerve wracking experience at 4:30 Pm. The rest of the 3 members who were stuck also reached Shree Kharka safely later and everyone was relieved after seeing them all!

Day 8 Shree Kharka to Yak Kharka

Total Distance-: 6.5 miles

Ascent-: 1,605 ft

End Elevation-: 13,216 ft

Slowly we were nearing to the end of our trek, last 3 days remaining. 

Today was kind of easy day as we were going to lose some elevation, not much about 100 ft but still to do that we had to ascend 1,605 ft, now this is known as ‘Nepali Flat’ :)

Jai decided to fly his drone in the morning before we left Siri Kharka. Around 7:30 we left Shree Kharka, trail was constantly going up and down. This was the most enjoyable day, everyone was taking it easy and enjoying the view along the way. We saw plenty of Yaks and blue sheep(mountain sheep which were not blue, so not sure why they are called blue sheeps) grazing around.

It is difficult to see sheeps and yaks grazing around in this picture as they were far below us

Our guide Prakash said we will get to see plenty of Yaks at Yak Kharka and he was right we not only saw plenty after reaching Yak Kharka but also along the trail.

There was one lady on the trail who was walking up and down the trail searching for her lost pony. She was asking everyone if anyone has seen a Pony on the trail.

Yak grazing along the side of the trail.

The trail going downhill, nearby trees were all dry

We took frequent stops to enjoy the amazing views!

Yak Kharka that way :)

Wish I could fly! 

Group Pic was must at this beautiful spot!

We saw rescue helicopter flying today, it definitely gives you chill to see a rescue helicopter, wondering where it is headed and hoping everything or everyone is ok for whoever it is going for.

Mesmerizing views along the way, took plenty of stops and pictures! Reached our hotel in Yak Kharka at 1 PM.

Reached our Hotel Thorong Peak

Huge Yaks outside our hotel

Freshened up and went for lunch across the street, ate the usual dal bhat sabzi lunch. It was a very small village not many hotels around so we didn't venture out much and stayed at hotel and played Antakshari and dumb charades after lunch. Had dinner around 7 Pm and played cards for some more time and then called it a night.

Day 9 Yak Kharka to Thorong High Camp

Total Distance-: 5 mile

Ascent-: 2,907 ft

End Elevation-: 15,816 ft

After filling breakfast we set off to tackle the tough part of the trail to Thorong High Camp, we were going to ascend 3,000 ft! 

Early morning start from Yak Kharka

Me and Anu 💕

Trail started with lots of ups and downs. There came a point where we saw two trail going up, one was going down and straight up and other had switchbacks. We decided to take switch backs. There was a small landslide area but it was not bad, we crossed by quickly. 

Walking Up &

Down the Trail

Up Again :)

We were told that after Thorong Phedi(village), climb is going to be really steep, 1300 ft in just .50 miles! We reached Thorong Phedi around 10:30 Am. We re-filled our water bottles, in the meantime we saw a rescue helicopter which landed there. 

At Thorong Phedi

Helicopter hovering above at Thorong Phedi

Steep climb started, I walked really slow and took my time, climbing steep at that high altitude is not a joke. Awadhesh, Nabhraj(porter) and myself, we were walking slow and steady. We saw people taking pony rides to reach the high camp. 

       Steep Climb after Thorong Phedi

Sky started getting dark, weather at high altitude is very unpredictable so I wanted to make sure I reach in time before it starts snowing. Finally reached Thorong High Camp, I reached 15 min after everyone. 

Last few steps until I reach the hotel at High Camp

Had a nice hot meal of dal bhat in a fancy plate, couldn’t eat much.

Simple Dal Bhat Lunch

After lunch we sat around the heater to keep ourselves warm, some went and did a short acclimatization hike. There was just one hotel at Thorong high camp so it was pretty crowded, luckily our rooms were booked in advance. There’s no electricity in rooms so we decided while there’s still light outside pack our things for tomorrow’s D-day!

Our Hotel at Thorong High Camp

It had started snowing outside, we were worried about our summit hike next day. Kept our fingers crossed and prayed that it stopped snowing so that we can go do our summit as planned the next day. Soon it got dark we had to use our headlamps to navigate around the camp and in our room. 

Night time at High Camp

Beautiful View from High Camp

We ate early dinner, it was really good, hakka noodles, sandwich, pasta and egg curry with roti. 

After dinner we called it a night. Couldn’t sleep much as I was feeling quite anxious for tomorrow.

Day 10 Thorong High Camp to Muktinath Via Thorong La

Total Distance-: 8 mile

Ascent-: 1,700 ft

Max Elevation-: 17,800 ft

End Elevation-: 12,530 ft

The final summit day has arrived, we all got up very early and gathered in the restaurant at 3.55 Am. We came to know that one of our porters, Pramod was having AMS so him along with Nabhraj started their descend as that’s the only option left when AMS hits you. So now we were short of two porters and hence it was more important that we all stick together. We started with our headlamps on at 4 AM in pitch dark. We saw many people starting the summit same time as ours. 

Night Time Walk with Headlamps

It was decided that I will set the pace and everybody will follow me as going slow and steady was the key to success at high altitudes. 

It was brutally cold and windy. The cold weather just hit me, even after wearing layers of clothes it was brutally cold. Hand and feet warmers were not enough to keep them warm, my fingers and toes were completely frozen.

Brutal Cold Weather

At one point it became unbearably cold and I couldn’t move, Arun and others helped me put an extra layer of wind jacket which helped a lot. 

We were continuously walking in the snow, the trail was very deceptive, whenever we thought we have reached the pass, layers of mountain kept hitting us which we had to pass. Trail kept stretching and stretching.

Last stretch to the top of the pass

We were told that there is a small Tea shop at the top of the pass so we were eagerly waiting to see a glimpse of it but the walk was never ending.

After relentless walk in the snow, reached the top at 8 AM! Believe it or not there was a tea stall at 17,800 feet, where we had a nice pot of ginger and lemon tea!

The Tea Shop at the top!

Sipping hot tea is a must!

It feels amazing up here!

We all were wearing our red t-shirts. In freezing temperatures we decided to take our jackets off and pose in our matching t-shirts for pictures! The stunning beauty of Himalayas always seem to amaze me, we could see Tibet on the other side of the pass far away. We spent good hour and 15 minutes up there and started descending. 

Vrukshasan/Tree Pose at Thorong La

Thorong Peak looks deceptively close.

Tibetan Mountains far away

Samir, Anu and Me

Group Picture

Next part was all downhill, now one would think it will be easy but all downhill also gets tiring after a while. With all the excitement gone, everyone just wants to get this part over with and enjoy the celebration part later!

Downhill All The Way to Muktinath

We descended 5,300 ft to Muktinath. Jai went running down and rest of us walked. 

We reached Muktinath at 12:45 PM, visited Muktinath temple and had Thakali Food for lunch(it was basically the same dal bhat curry meal). 

At Muktinath Temple

There were lot of steps to climb the temple

Last group pic with porters and guide

Enjoying Thakali Lunch

So this was the end of our trek, felt accomplished! My first ever Himalayan trek! Hoping for many more in future!

From Muktinath we drove to Jomsom where we spent the night in a hotel. It felt good to take a nice hot shower. From the dining area of our hotel we could see Nilgiri Peak.

Nilgiri Peak 

Next day we took flight from Jomsom to Pokhara, it's a 15/20 min flight but weather is always very dicey to fly, all the flights mostly take off in the morning. Both these airports were very small. Flights were taking off like taxi or bus service. It was a small airplane with about 20 people on board. There was major turbulence and I was scared to death praying that we land safely and quickly.

Jomsom Airport

Pokhara Airport

Amazing Views from the airplane

Great View of Dhaulagiri Mountain from Airplane

We saw some amazing views from the air, Dhaulagiri Peak was amazing!

Landed safely finally, we had booked nice resort at Pokhara, did some sightseeing in Pokhara, visited lake, took a boat ride and did a small hike to Stupa.

Boat Ride across Pokhara Lake

Trail to Stupa again lots of steps

Beautiful greenery around us

It felt very peaceful here!

Pokhara Lake

Had lunch at an Indian restaurant, food was ok. Later we went shopping, it rained heavily in the evening. Had to wait until the rain subsided and then in night went to a nice restaurant to eat dinner.

Last Dinner Together as a Group!

Next day we took flight back to Kathmandu and spent a night there and left the day evening to India. 

Interesting Facts-:

• Colorful Prayer Flags were seen at the top of the summit. When you see colorful flags it means you have reached the top! Each color denotes 5 elements. Blue depicts 'The Sky'  White depicts 'The Air',  Red depicts 'The Fire', Green depicts 'The Water' and Yellow depicts 'The Earth'! 
• Along our way we met an Israeli family with their two kids a 9yr old son and 5 year old daughter. They were hiking till Manang Village which was very impressive as we didn't see any other little kids on this trek. 
• Their culture is very similar to India.  People, even little kids will greet you with 'Namaste' and a big smile. 
• Other similar etiquette was they don't waste food, if the portions were huge especially for rice we use to ask for an empty plate and take some rice out before we started eating.