Break shackles

Mardi Himal – the zenith

2nd April, 2024

Every trek in Nepal has one or two days, which could be called “the day” – the day which yields the best of what nature has to offer, but also the toughest in the itinerary and at times, risky too. A literal expression of the term “no risk, no gain“. The Everest Base camp trip had two, the day when we scaled Kalapathhar to get the closest view of Mt Everest and the crossing of Cho La to get to the Gokyo valley from the Khumbu valley. For Manaslu, it was the day when we crossed the Larkya La. In our last trip to the Annapurna Circuit, the first was our hike to the Tilicho Lake and then the crossing of the Thorong La to get to the Mustang region from Manang. On this occasion, it wasn’t that big, but nevertheless, it was to take us to the highest point that we could reach, the Mardi Himal base camp, almost at the toe of Mt Fishtail (aka Machapuchhare). Before that, the hike should take us to the Mardi viewpoint, which is no less beautiful.

Even before 2.30 AM, when the alarm declared the inevitable, my eyes opened and I could hear movements outside our room. People have already started to make their way up. A quick peek outside the room in the dark showed me a moving array of head torches lacing the upper slopes. My other two room mates were still in bed, though awake. Contrary to my expectations, the toilets were vacant. The cold was significantly higher than the earlier days. As we started getting ready, we contemplated about our warm wears. The cold outside prompted us to use as many of them, but we also knew they’d weigh down upon us as the sun would gain power. After some adjustments, it seemed to be a reasonable trade off and we started. The entire group started at about 3.45 AM, so did the entire support staff (guides as well as porters). It was a deliberate decision taken by our main guide Kumar, which was to have at least one person to support every two. There was a slight debate the day before about the hour of start. Some members of the group insisted starting much earlier (to give the slow movers enough time to reach the viewpoint before sunrise), but the guides didn’t agree (to be fair, it would have been tough on them, especially for the porters). Though me and Dhananjoy started at the rear, we gradually moved ahead of others, first through the dark alleys of the other tea houses, then to the actual trail, which had stair cases very early on and started moving up briskly. Having stair cases right at the start, throws you off a bit, but it was expected since we had to reach 4250 m for Mardi viewpoint and in just about two hours to give us a chance with the sunrise. Dhananjoy led the way but I kept close on his heels. I was actually following him, not in terms of deciphering the trail, which was clearly visible in the light cast from our head torches, but it was mainly to take the breaks at places where he did. The stairs increased their steepness. Whenever we stopped, invariably our eyes moved up where we could see trails of torches moving up the slopes like an army of glowing ants. We tried to see the last of the glows to get a sense of the hike and it seemed never ending. After a few switchbacks, we could see patches of snow lying by the side. It was pitch dark all around with only our torches showing the way. After hiking for an hour, we could see a hut at the highest visible top. Some lights already reached there. One of our porters said, it was the lower viewpoint. I was aware of only a single viewpoint, but if the porter was to be believed, the “higher” viewpoint was a hike of another hour from there. The base camp was a further two hours ahead. Whatever may be the case, we had to continue. The staircases now had guardrails on the side of the steep drops. They also reduced in width and increased in steepness as time went on, causing us to stop more frequently and on a couple of occasions, to sip water. Breaths became heavier, mouths drier, steps slower. A soft light started to spread through the eastern horizon exposing the dark silhouettes of the mountains. As we scaled the stairs, we made the junction points between the switchbacks as our milestones. Every such point seemed to be the last only to reveal another one, on reaching there. But everything ends, so did this hike and we finally reached a flat top with only a single hut dwelled by a few locals who were busy serving tea and noodles to the passers by. There were a few tables and chairs laid out in the open where we rested our bags and walking poles (for me, the camera as well). It was 5.45 AM. Me and Dhananjoy were the first in our group to reach the viewpoint. Others were still down below at different points on the trail. By this time, the sky was clear with initial rays of the sun penetrating through the rough edges of the mountains to spray crimson over the low hanging puffs of cloud that hovered over the mountain tops.

Annapurna South, Hiunchuli, Gangapurna and others were clearly visible and so was Mt Fishtail, but they were yet to strike gold. The biting cold prevented us to remove our gloves, but I couldn’t operate my camera with them on. My naked fingers pained in the cold air but that’s a small price to pay to capture the views at our disposal.

Nature acquired its brush and the canvas was painted first with crimson and then gold, which started gracing the crowns of Annapurna South and very soon, it spread like fire to its neighbors. Annapurna Main (one of the coveted 8000-er for the climbers) was behind the wall of Hiunchuli and could not be seen. The south base camp of Annapurna (where we were in 2018), was right behind the wall that spanned between Annapurna South and Hiunchuli.

People fortunate to be there, must be having a treat to their eyes. By this time, other members started making their appearances in batches of two or three. The next to arrive was Niladri, Mishti and Sagor. They now joined the party of photo shoots. Every passing moment unfolded new shades of color and we couldn’t take off our fingers from our cameras and phones. Mugs of tea were served to us from the hut, which helped reducing the shivers. As more members were awaited, I moved into the hut momentarily. The burning stove and the closed walls provided some shelter against the biting cold, but I couldn’t stay long inside due to the smoke. By this time, the display of snow was in full glory. Plumes of snow were forced into the sky above from the mountain peaks appearing like silk scarfs surrounding them. They looked innocent from distance, but were actually caused by strong gales of wind that dashed the summits.

Breakfast was served in the form of noodle soups. I never had breakfast at a better ambiance. We sat in an amphitheater surrounded by towering mountain peaks of the Annapurna Himalayas. All of them basking in their full glory in the morning sun. The trail towards the Mardi base camp was clearly visible along the top of the ridge. It was gradual, but exposed with steep drops on both sides. Groups of people plodded along it.

After sometime, we joined the trail. The initial part was almost level but it gradually moved up. The walking path was devoid of snow, till we reached a rocky area where we had to make our way through narrow alleys between boulders strewn with snow. I treaded on with care but the trail was still fairly easy. The snow that initially lay by the side, started to close in and after sometime, covered the trail.

We kept closing in towards the mountains which grew in stature and revealed their interiors. The glacial trails along their slopes were becoming clearer.

The mountain that got magnified the most was Mt Fishtail. A plume of cloud held its sway above its crown acting like an umbrella.

The trail by this time was fully covered with snow and at a point, I pulled out the micro spikes from my backpack and Kumar helped me to put them on. The layer thickened and there were patches of black hard ice in between. Even with micro spikes on, my steps were circumspect and at places where the trail moved along steep slopes covered with snow, I had to take support from our porters or Kumar.

*En-route Mardi base camp, picture courtesy, Dhananjoy De*

While treading on the trail, one of our porters pointed out a fade hint of a tinned shade along the slopes of the distant hill and shouted “MBC” (Machhapuchhare Base Camp), the famed place along the Annapurna base camp trail. We already knew that the ABC trail ran in parallel through the valley on the left of the ridge that we were walking along. With that statement, our minds went back six years when we treaded that trail. Focusing back on the trail at hand, we could now see chortens at a distance hanging off a pile of stones. A typical sign of a high mountain pass. That was our destination, the Mardi Himal base camp (4500 m). We dragged along and finally reached there.

*Mardi Himal basecamp, picture courtesy, Dhananjoy De*

To me, it gave a sense of satisfaction, but others were ecstatic. Some of them have never ventured into such close corridors of the inner Himalayas and their excitement was palpable. Photo shoots ensued at the base camp with different groups and subgroups with varying poses. While this was going on, a part of my mind kept saying that we had to depart as a look at the sky revealed hovering clouds. We had to descend the snowy slopes, a task more risky than plodding up. We had to trace our way back to Mardi viewpoint, move down the slopes to the lodges of high camp, pack our bags, have lunch and then head down to Badaldanda. That seemed a long way ahead. So we headed back down the same trail and by the time we reached viewpoint again, none of the mountains were visible anymore. Without wasting any time, I headed down the staircases. This time I was alone as Dhananjoy was ahead of me, while the rest followed behind. The stair cases seemed never ending and while climbing them down, it put a pressure on my knees. The switchbacks seemed infinite and after seemingly a very long time, I could see a bird’s eye view of the tea houses of the High camp.

*High camp, picture courtesy, Dhananjoy De*

I reunited with Dhananjoy at the dining room. We had to change our clothes, getting rid of the extra warm wears. Some re-adjustments had to be done to our luggage. We had to hurry up as it was already 2 PM and the lodge owners were hurrying us to vacate the rooms as the tourists on their way up, had to occupy them after a strenuous hike from Badaldanda. We obliged them, had our lunch and hit the trail once more towards Badaldanda, our destination for the day. I walked down the trail, that was familiar to me. Since I was on my way down, it took less time. Also, I was aware of the detours which shortened the distance and by 4 PM, I reached the dining room of the tea house. By that time, a strong gale of wind swept the place as was evident by the violent flapping of a Nepalese flag planted outside in the lawn of the tea house. Clouds hung all around the place and nothing was visible, lending credence to the name Badaldanda.

3rd April, 2024

We woke up to a bright sunny morning and the great mountains of the Annapurna Himalayas basked in the bright sun.

Blooming rhododendrons laughed all around the place. The sky was crystal clear and it was difficult to believe it was the same place that was blanketed by the clouds the day before. The scarlet displays of rhododendrons provided a wonderful frame through which one could view the splendid mountain peaks in their full glory.

After breakfast, we started on our long way down from Badal Danda through the rhododendron forests and retraced our trail through the places of Low Camp, Rest camp to reach at Forest camp. We were treated with ample display of rhododendrons once more as we headed down the slopes.

After lunch at the forest camp, we reached the junction from where the steep staircases commenced which led us all the way down to the village of Landruk.

We settled in the tea house at Landruk with tired legs. The evening was vibrant with cans of beer. The members of the support staff also joined the party.

4th April, 2024

The next morning, we left Landruk for the village of Jhinu Danda, a familiar place to us, which we visited on our way down from the Annapurna base camp, six years ago. The aim was to bathe at its famous hot spring. The trail was level and went along the banks of the river Modi Khola.

Local village life unfolded before our eyes as we moved through the villages. We came across an old woman who was cleaning sheep wool. We saw a flour mill driven by water power of a running torrent. A serene laid back life that one wishes to live amid these beautiful mountainous landscapes.

The trail moved down to a place where we crossed the river via a suspension bridge, our first encounter with one on this trail. On the other side, the trail moved up the dusty slopes steeply from the river bank and another half an hour took us to the second suspension bridge before Jhinudanda.

Along our way we went through lush green fields of barley which were on the cusp of harvesting. Green terraced fields laced the mountain slopes that went down towards the river. Quiet village hamlets were nestled amidst the green fields.

The village hamlets, the suspension bridge, terraced fields, all were so familiar to us from our earlier visit to the ABC trail, it felt almost like homecoming to me. I crossed the bridge to reach the other side and started moving up the slopes towards Jhinu Danda. After reaching the place, we kept our luggage, put on our shorts and headed down towards the hot spring. A full hour was spent there bathing in the comfort of the warm water. The tiredness was swept away. After lunch at the tea house, we proceeded to the jeep stand.

By that time, the sun had started its journey towards the western horizon. That added the evening glow to the fading solar rays which sprayed its colors on the terraced fields and the village hamlets nestled among them. The trekking trails of the Annapurna region bade us goodbye as we boarded the jeep towards Pokhara. As it traversed the slopes, I looked at the trails we left behind for the last time and kept thinking “Shall we come back again in the future?”. May be, who knows?

Earlier

Mardi Himal – the launching pad

Earlier

1st April, 2024

Reaching the rest camp was the first full day hike for us on this trip. This caused some muscular fatigue to some of the first timers. I had to dispense a few pain killers for them. Some of them raised doubts whether they could sustain the long hikes for subsequent days, but I assured them. Once the ball gets rolling, the rest happens automatically. The body gets in tune. It was really a very good morning, crisp & clear.

The outline of Machhapuchare was prominent & it was nearer to us than what was at the Australian camp, the day before.

Dhananjoy had his second hot shower last evening after the hike, but I couldn’t muster enough energy for it. Warm water wasn’t available in the morning, neither was Wi-Fi. Power wasn’t available, neither was fresh water for us to fill our bottles. These areas being driven mainly by solar power, this wasn’t unexpected. The rest camp is a stop gap halt between the more prominent forest camp below and low camp, lying above. Both these places had more tea houses and are more common places of halt in this route. We were told that we could fill our bottles at a place which lay about half an hour above the rest camp on our way up. The breakfast with bread toasts, egg & tea/coffee added the fuel, probably enough to carry us up till Badal Danda where we were supposed to have our lunch. It was followed by a group photo shoot along with our support staff and then the caravan hit the trail once again. An initial set of stairs went beneath the shades of rhododendrons.

The fresh morning dew added to the glaze of sunlight that slipped along the surface of the green leaves. Walking can be a charm with no pain or hurry whatsoever in such circumstances. As promised, we reached a tea house after a hike of about half an hour. That gave us an opportunity for an early rest as we filled our bottles from a tap nearby. The crown of Mt Fishtail was getting bigger & drew nearer as we gained height. Here too, it prodded it’s head above & amidst the blooming rhododendrons.

After the brief halt, we resumed our hike along the serpentine trail winding up through the entrenched roots of rhododendron trees. Many such hikes offered short detours which attempted to shorten the distance, branching from & joining to the main trail at different points. I took some of them but avoided the steeper ones. The sun was still prominent, the sky still clear and mountains revealing their full glory. Within our mortal reach, the green forest canopy was interspersed with blooming rhododendron flowers.

The shades of color ranged from dark red (lesser in numbers than the day before), dark pink & mix of light pink & white. Many of the trees, especially in the higher altitudes, displayed buds expecting to bloom in a few days. By this time, it was expected to be a full bloom, but it hasn’t yet arrived, thanks to the late winters & snowfalls.

A year earlier, in the Uttarakhand Himalayan region, I saw them bloom much earlier towards the end of February. It’s way erratic these years caused by rising global temperatures. But whatever was at our disposal, we lapped it up. Our hike was interrupted frequently by sounds of camera shutters. People posed in front or under the shades of blooming rhododendrons for their “perfect” shots which were to make their way to social media at the earliest available opportunity. These interspersed hikes through the bends, switchbacks & occasional stairs led us to a point from where we could see the tin shades of a few tea houses. A board beside declared it as Badaldanda. I got ecstatic about reaching it so early. While I reached there, which was an elevated flat area, I could see the slopes rising above, covered with forests, but beyond the canopy, at the top of a hill, lay a few more tea houses and I came to know, a bit to my disappointment, that too, was Badaldanda & was our destination for lunch. By this time, clouds started making their way through the sky & started to shield some of the mountains (going true by the name Badaldanda, which means “hill of the clouds” in Nepali language). Mt Fishtail was trying hard to stay afloat with most of it engulfed by the clouds, while Annapurna South still held its sway.

The hike looked daunting, but once we resumed, the forest subsumed our thoughts. The trail moved up gradually, once again aided by stairs. We first had to descend a few to reach a flat ground, then regained height once more though another set of stairs which finally gave way to a winding trail through the forest.

After sometime, the forests started depleting with trees getting scantier. That told us, we were about to leave the tree line, though there were still patches of forests, but their continuous cover was ceasing. After sometime, we were at the base of the final set of staircases which would take us to our destination for lunch, a tea house named “Hotel 360”. This would also be our resting place on our way down from Mardi High camp (the next day). Once we reached there, clouds covered the entire place with gale of winds blasting the place. Regardless of the tiredness, we quickly made our way to the dining space to avoid the onslaught of the chilly afternoon winds. A quick look at the rooms gave us satisfaction of comfort. Moreover, there was free Wi-Fi. That allowed us to announce our safe arrival to our respective homes. As we waited for our lunch to get served, I started feeling the cold and rued not having my jacket in my backpack. Nevertheless, I scouted for the upper half of the raincoat and kept it handy for the walk after lunch.

Once I resumed my walk after lunch, it proved to be a wise decision as the raincoat provided shield from the chilly winds and walking, more or less, proved comfortable. An initial hike through an exposed ridge took us to another tea house at the top of a nearby hill. As I was ascending it, another group took a side detour, which offered a more gradual rise. But by that time, I had ventured much ahead along the stairs and hence, I stayed on that path. While I was descending on the other side of the hill, I saw the side detour merging ahead. So, obviously, I took the path that actually led to the tea house rather than the normal trail. It was a lesson learnt well and I applied to subsequent sections, most of which had steep as well as gradual trails branching and merging at different points. I took the latter in most of the sections to avoid the unnecessary hikes. While rhododendron trees were still dotting the trail, their numbers reduced and we realized that we were now walking over the top of a ridge exposed on both sides. Steep declines into the gorges graced both of its sides, but the trail was wide enough and comfortable to tread on. It was all cloudy around and nothing was visible on the distant horizon except for sections of the trail we were on. After sometime, we arrived at a junction where our porters took sometime to rest their backs. We joined them too to gulp down some water through our throats. A word with the porters revealed that another half an hour should take us to the high camp, our place of stay for the day. With the depletion of forest cover, dust and stones increased on the trail, which was now gradual. After some steps, I tried taking another detour, but it seemed to circumvent around the tea houses I could see on the slopes above. So, I stopped and turned around to reach at the junction from where I started off to wait for Shishir to arrive. After he arrived, as I already guessed, he signaled to take the other direction where a set of stairs moved up towards a tea house called “Fishtal hotel”. We arrived at about 3 PM, while the rear of the group was still being brought up by Kumar.

Once again, I shared my room with Dhananjoy, but also with Kunal. Such rearrangements are often necessary in these trails where room sizes don’t often match the privacy needs. We should be thankful for presence of tea houses and dining rooms in such remote areas (which are not common in the Indian Himalayas). After settling in our rooms, we headed for the dining place to have tea. People assembled there for the normal evening routine of gossip and card play. While we were engrossed in those activities, I suddenly noticed that a section of the clouds gave way, revealing the afternoon sun’s glory on a section of Mt Fishtail. Fading rays of sun sprayed their colors over it’s crown as well as on the floating clouds over its head.

By the time I took out my camera to train my lenses, the scene was already gone. But moving clouds gave me hope that it would repeat again and I wasn’t disappointed. In the next half an hour, there were multiple opportunities where Mt Fishtail revealed itself amidst the clouds only to get covered again. As evening wore on, we continued our assembly at the dining place and finally, dinner got served. As we settled in our rooms, we segregated our warm wears for the morrow. At 3.30 AM, we’d have to venture out just to be in time to be at the Mardi View point when the sun was about the grace the skies. It would be a steep hike along stairs till viewpoint, beyond which an exposed trail on the top of a ridge should carry us to the Mardi base camp after approximately two hours. The latter sections of the trail are likely to have snow, though a local person allayed the fears that snow lay on the sides, not on the trail, which was apparently clear. For the moment, I swept those thoughts away to cross the bridge once we reach the river. We had to wake up early enough to have access to the shared toilets as almost all of the travelers would be venturing out early. I set the alarm at 2.30 AM to allow me enough time and went for sleep. As usual for the other places on this trail, sleep kept eluding me before finally drooping my eyes in. We were sleeping at 3550 m.

Earlier

Mardi Himal – Rest camp

Earlier

31st March, 2024

Woken up by the alarm, as I ventured out of our room, the first thing I watched was the state of the sky. Darkness was gradually fading out with a soothing light spreading throughout the skyline. Dark silhouettes of the distant mountains appeared prominently. There wasn’t any trace of clouds near them. I could identify Annapurna South, Hiunchuli and Fishtail on the northern horizon, though all dark at the moment. The cold was intense, though not unbearable. Placing fingers on the camera shutters was proving a bit difficult. The dining place was active with the staffers getting on with preparing the kitchen to serve breakfasts. Sounds of cocks and hens in our lodge (saw a few of them the day before) and nearby localities formed the typical welcome for the upcoming sun, which was now spreading its golden tentacles though the rough edges of the distant hills. The bigwigs of the Annapurna Himalayas still stayed clear of the golden solar rays, but their tops started revealing the snow.

We were all at the lawn with our respective cameras and phones, eager to capture the display of colors on the Himalayan peaks. Our years of experience in such areas have told us to be vigilant as colors change in splits of seconds as the sun makes its journey upwards. On the other side of the theatre, the moon was about to leave, handing over the baton to the upcoming sun.

The peaks of the Annapurna Himalayas became increasingly prominent. From a faint white outline amidst a predominantly dark silhouette, they started to acquire silver crowns, whose dazzling beauty inspired awe from every onlooker in the sprawling lawn. People started asking the guides and porters about their identities. Some even tried to identify Mardi Himal summit amidst the range of snow peaks. While many of them claimed to have found it, I had my doubts.

We had a round of tea while marveling at the morning display of sunshine over the Himalayan peaks. After sometime, breakfast got served. Almost at the same time, we got a disturbing news from one of our members. The sole of Projnesh’s son’s shoes came off and was threatening to separate from the main body. Kunal had a similar experience, but thankfully at Pokhara. So he got a chance to replace it with a new pair there itself. But up here, on the trail, spare shoes weren’t available. I could feel for Projnesh as I’ve faced it before. He did a brave act by tying it with multiple ropes. It wasn’t perfect, but hopefully, should sustain today’s hike. The breakfast was filling and delicious with bread toasts, honey, omelets, tea/coffee and mashed potatoes (a common item in these areas). People stuffed in as much as they could, strapped their backpacks and hit the trail.

Today’s hike would take us to Rest camp, a destination which is half an hour beyond the Forest camp (which is a more common halt on the way up). We found the idea to be good as it’d advance us a bit more for the next day’s hike towards the High camp. The trail was similar as the day before, to start with. It wound up the slopes amidst dense rhododendron forests, the density of these trees increasing by the height.

However, as we moved up, phases of tracts with stairs increased. This was going to be the first day with full trekking and going by the estimates, it was supposed to be a normal day (not as easy as the day before) as far as hiking goes. It should take us to at least 2520 m (the Forest camp), but more than that. After exiting Australian camp, we continued gradually upwards till a village called Pothana. This place is a junction and one could change tracks to switch to the Annapurna base camp (ABC) route which ran in parallel to this trail. Rather most of the trekkers use this junction to hatch on to the Mardi Himal route from the ABC route. We passed through many local villages and lodges that dotted the trail amidst dense forests. The group, though started together initially, split into smaller sub groups, each walking with their own speed. I found myself alone after sometime (which I always do), inhaling the freshness of the forest dew and air. After passing through the premises of Pothana, we came across a point from where a trail moved steeply upwards. An arrow at that junction pointed to Pitam Deurali and Samjay Deurali – two villages that awaited us in the higher slopes. Nepal has many villages with same or similar names across different trails (at times, also on the same trail). Deurali is one of such names. There’s a Deurali on the ABC trail (just before Machhapuchare Base Camp) and here, there seem to be two more. Other such repeated names are Jagat and Tatopani. The latter indicating the presence of a hot spring nearby. The Annapurna Himalayas played hide and seek with the forest canopy, revealing or hiding themselves depending on the tree cover.

Other members of the group waited at the junction for the rear to come up, going by the instructions of Shishir, the guide who was with the group at front. Some of the members were carrying their own luggage (and were not using the services of porters). Dhananjoy was one of them. It’s obvious, they’d need to give their backs some much needed rest at regular intervals. As they waited for the rear group to catch up and gulped down water, I kept moving up the slopes towards the “elusive” Samjay Deurali. After plodding up for sometime, I came across a few tea houses with a board displaying the name “Pitam Deurali”. I seemed to have crossed the first part, the next awaited village should logically be “Samjay Deurali”. Rhododendrons kept company as I moved up towards that “elusive” village.

After leaving the tea houses of Pitam Deurali, I hiked for quite a long time to reach a second set of tea houses and another board displaying the name of the place. On reaching near it, to my dismay, I found it to be again as “Pitam Deurali”. How can it be? Places aren’t that far apart in these areas and I’ve walked for at least 20 minutes since my initial encounter with “Pitam Deurali”. Nevertheless, it is what it is. There was a shade and I entered under its shade for some rest. As I waited there, other members caught up and joined me. Some took the opportunities to freshen up themselves by visiting the washrooms of the nearby tea houses. On asking Shishir, I came to know that our destination for lunch was “Lovely viewpoint” – somewhat unique name, one has to say, though what’s unique about it, is something we can only decipher once we reach there.

After some rest, we resumed our hike. The trail once again moved inside the forest, but the hike was gradual and comfortable. The presence of canopy also helped with ample oxygen. The same hike through an exposed ridge would have been more tiring. The sequence continued with more patches of tea houses interspersed with canopy walks till I reached a village which finally displayed the label of “Samjay Deurali”. It was a milestone of sorts, given the numerous “Pitams” that I came through. The stairs started reappearing, giving an indication that we were gaining height quickly. The trail also started to have switchbacks. After traversing a few of them, I was able to see a few tin shades of some tea houses placed on the slopes high above. That must be the “lovely view” point. A slow hike, ultimately led me to that point and I made myself comfortable in its dining place. The small lawn bathed in sunshine, but the atmosphere was cool, thanks to the forests around the place. It was 11.30 AM. To save sometime and with the hope of leaving the place after an hour, I asked Shishir to order lunch for the entire group. I asked him to confer with Kumar for the preferences of the rear group over the walkie talkie. All of that initiative was to save time. However, it turned out that the tea house staff was busy preparing lunch for another group and only after that, they’d resume taking further orders. A quick view around the place, revealed Mt Dhaulagiri, while other members of the Himalayas were behind clouds. This was the first point (and may be the only one) which provided a view of Mt Dhaulagiri (which may be one of the factors for it’s name “Lovely”). Our guide Kumar showed us villages along the slopes of distant hills. He pointed out Chomrong as one of them. It’s an important junction on the ABC trail. We could also see the motorable roads leading down the slopes towards Pokhara. They are the ones which we’d ply on during our return. With the help of Wi-Fi, we called to our homes.

It took us almost two hours to resume the hike after lunch, most of the time going towards waiting for our lunch to arrive. Nevertheless, the lunch was fresh and filling and after it, I resumed the hike along the other slope of the ridge which we hiked to reach “Lovely view”. This time, I had the company of Niladri, Sagor and Mishti. The trail went deep inside the forest and walking was comfortable under the shade. Much to our pleasant surprise, we suddenly noticed that the shades of rhododendrons have changed. From dark red in the lower reaches, it now acquired a blend of light pink and white. May be altitudes have a factor to play in the shades of color.

The trail moved along taking us up the stairs, only to bring us down after sometime, but we enjoyed the canopy cover & the rhododendron blooms. The density of the forest increased (which was expected, as we were approaching the Forest camp). With that, the trail too diversified into multiple branches going through the gaps of the firmly rooted trunks. For a moment, it confused us, but Niladri was quick to spot a blue and white paint (which he termed “Messi” due to its resemblance to the Argentinian flag) on the trunks of the trees showing the way through the maze. After spotting that mark (which was consistent till up to Badaldanda), it was easy to spot the route. We kept talking with each other and kept plodding ahead.

On our way, we reached a junction, from where the straight route led to many tea houses at a distance, the Forest camp. The other route winded down the other side of the slope in a series of switchbacks, with each dropping down more steeply than the one above. That route led to Landruk. We’d have to take that trail on our way down from Mardi Himal. Forest camp is probably the first big halt on the way to Mardi Himal. It has many tea houses and we found it to be a bustling place. Actually, not many people halt at Australian camp as it’s not really a part of this hike.

The forests around the “Forest camp” were full of rhododendrons with many shades. This was unique. So far, we’ve been seeing a single variety in an area, but may be Forest camp was a blending point where one variety gives way to another.

From the premises of Forest camp, a set of stairs went up the slopes and we started climbing them. Our legs were tiring and it showed at the speed with which we moved up. Every set of ten steps (which was down to two/three for some other members) forced us to stop and breathe before taking on the next. But we knew, every ground gained today will be an advantage for the next day, which was supposed to be a steeper hike. The long winding and seemingly never-ending stair cases finally came to an end at the lawn of the Rest camp. By that time, the clouds held the sway over the mountains. After settling in our respective rooms, we relaxed at the lawn as remaining members of the group were yet to arrive. They finally showed up in groups of one or two as we sipped hot tea. Discussing the proceedings of the day with tiring legs, sipping smoking tea, took away most of the fatigue. We looked at the hike for the next day, but that was still an evening away. An evening, that we’d be spending in the dining hall, with snacks, tea & cards. We were to sleep at more than 2520 m.

Earlier

Mardi Himal – the Australian camp

Earlier

The history

Mardi Himal is a peak beneath the more famed Fishtail (Machhapuchare) peak. It is of 5587m in height. It was first climbed in 1961 by Basil Goodfellow. The trek to Mardi Himal was opened in 2012. There are tea houses through the entire trail offering flexible schedule for trekkers. The highest place with a tea house is the High camp situated at an altitude of 3550m. From thereon, one could hike up to Mardi View point (4250m) and beyond that, a trail running on the top of a ridge takes one to Mardi base camp (4500m). The trail for Mardi Himal runs almost parallel to the famed Annapurna base camp (ABC) trail & from the top of the Mardi ridge, one can also get bird’s eye views of Deurali & Machhapuchare base camp. The Mardi trail offers an off beaten track with lesser crowds than its more famous counterparts like ABC. It is also a less riskier option suitable for beginners.

*The trail, picture courtesy, Dhananjoy De*

The Australian camp

“Thulo Kharka” used to be a special pasture used by the locals of Dhampus village & other lower areas as a grazing ground for their buffaloes & cows. The pasture also provided panoramic mountain views of the surrounding Annapurna Himalayas. In the late 1980s, this prompted many Austrian travelers to camp there. The frequent visits of Austrian travelers gave the pasture it’s initial name “Austrian camp”. However, over a period, that evolved into “Australian camp” mainly because it was easier for locals to pronounce. A perfect blend of local culture, natural beauty & panoramic mountain views makes it a hidden gem in the Himalayas of North-Central Nepal. It’s also an impressive day hike destination from Pokhara.

When I started planning for Mardi Himal trek, I always had Australian camp in mind. The lure of walking for just an hour & a half to reach there & relax for an entire day was unavoidable. It could also provide a much needed short start for many first timers in our group.

30th March, 2024

I woke up to a cloudy morning in Pokhara with none of the Annapurna family members visible except for a faint outline of Fishtail. I already had the luggage segregated last night. After completing my morning rituals, I went out for a walk beside the Fewa lake with Niladri, Mishti & Dhananjoy. It was a quiet & cool morning with the boats lined up along the banks, forming a pattern. Though the mountains weren’t visible, the lake didn’t disappoint. The slight ripples on the water surface caused the shadows of the boats to oscillate. Distant sounds of tolls from the bells of the Tal Barahi temple added to the calm atmosphere. After strolling around for about half an hour, we returned to our hotel to have breakfast.

*Fewa lake, picture courtesy, Dhananjoy De*

By that time most of the group members had assembled at the breakfast table. Jokes, banters & leg pulling went on as we enjoyed our breakfast. Our guide Kumar arrived with his team of support staff (which comprised of another guide Shishir & six porters). The vehicle which was to carry us to the trek starting point also arrived on time. Our bags got stacked overhead and we made our way into the vehicle, which started it’s journey through the streets of Pokhara. We switched streets from one to another and finally boarded the highway to move out of the town. By this time, the sun made its appearance but the mountains didn’t oblige. As we exited Pokhara, lush green fields greeted us, which bathed in the bright sunshine. Plants were ripe with seeds of barley waiting to be harvested. The morning breeze created ripples through them. As the vehicle meandered through the serpentine mountain roads, we suddenly got a glimpse of Mt Fishtail. Though it was a faint outline against the morning sky, people were excited nevertheless. It is a familiar structure to many of us who’ve visited the Annapurna region earlier. The vehicle stopped briefly at a market to pickup fresh apples but we didn’t know who they were for. Finally, we reached Khande, the starting point. We disembarked there, strapped our backpacks & got ready for a group photo shoot before starting the trek. Kumar handed a walkie talkie set to us (one of three siblings), the other two were to be carried by the guides at the front & rear of the group. Shishir was to lead the group, while Kumar was to bring up the rear (a pattern that was followed throughout the trek).

The initial part of the trail moved through narrow alleys between village houses and then moved higher up to enter the forests of rhododendron trees, some of which bloomed with red flowers. It was an appropriate start to a trek from which we had high expectations of natural beauty on display. The path still bathed in bright sunshine as we gradually moved up the trail. Shutters kept rolling on as members got going.

As we moved up, the number of rhododendron flowers increased causing more photographic interruptions, but we had ample time at our disposal. The fact that the walk was to take just about an hour, added to the relaxed mood. Some parts of the trail had staircases (to accelerate the hike) interspersed with gradual hikes. People didn’t complain at first, but they had a very different opinion about sections of the trail that came up for later days where stairs increased drastically.

After plodding up for sometime, from a bend, we got a glimpse of a flag stuttering in wind that swept through a pasture lying high up on the slopes. We also saw a few tents scattered around the flag. Someone from the support staff pointed at the place saying “Australian camp”. That sounded like music to our ears. It was only an hour since we started the hike and we were almost at our destination. There won’t be any further walking for the day & we’d have the entire afternoon at our disposal to relax & enjoy the place. That doesn’t happen frequently & it certainly won’t happen on any other day of this trail. We settled in our respective rooms, which were scattered along the boundary of a huge lawn with one side of the lawn opening towards the mountains which were behind the clouds. The sun disappeared & clouds held the sway. A cold breeze swept through the lawn and we entered the dining place to have our much awaited tea. After tea, lunch was ordered and the sun came out again as a part of a hide & seek game that was to continue for rest of the afternoon. People made themselves comfortable on the chairs spread out in the lawn. Some others brought out cards & started playing. It was leisure written all around.

As the afternoon bore on, the clouds darkened. A few drops started falling. I hoped for a spell of rain or snow to have the clouds cleared for at least the next morning. Without such a spell, it was impossible to be treated with the famous mountain views of Australian camp. Ever darkening clouds forced us into the dining place once more where we assembled for snacks, tea, gossip & cards. Dining rooms are the hubs of these tea houses. Travelers spend most of their time there because of the warmth & coziness. Rooms are just used to sleep at night. It was no exception here too. As we chatted around sipping tea, we suddenly heard a tattering sound on the roofs of the dining place. It was a hail storm. Hail stones of considerable size kept pouring down throughout the place. People went crazy and some went outside to capture the stones. The storm’s intensity prompted them to retreat quickly. The storm raged for about half an hour and then subsided. It also depleted some intensity of the cloud and suddenly a colorful rainbow popped up in the sky. People went ecstatic as they scouted for their mobile phones & cameras to capture the moment, which they knew was momentary.

*Australian camp*, *picture courtesy – Dhananjoy De*

As soon as the storm subsided, clouds started clearing up and Annapurna South, Fishtail & Hiunchuli made their appearance on the northern horizon. As if it was a desperate attempt from the mountains to make their presence felt while the clouds still held their ground.

As the sun embarked on its journey below the horizon, clouds lit up with its fading rays & the mountains played a perfect backdrop. After the sun went down, the mountains opened up in their full glory of dazzling white. Finally darkness set in & we moved inside once again. After sometime dinner got served & as we ventured towards our respective rooms, a quick glance at the sky revealed numerous stars. Apart from the star studded display at night, it also raised our hopes of having a clear morning view for the next day. We subsided into our respective rooms. I was staying with Dhananjoy (a pattern that’d repeat for the entire trek). Sleep eluded me for a larger part of the night (probably due to excitement) & I kept switching sides. I also ventured out into the lawn at night to keep an eye on the sky, which still stayed clear. Finally sleep crept in. We were sleeping at 2065 m.

Earlier

Mardi Himal

6th April, 2024

When the alarm went off at 4.30 AM, it didn’t cause any excitement, rather it spelt the inevitable. It was the day of our departure from the beautiful city of Pokhara of this beautiful landlocked Himalayan country of Nepal. Today was going to be the last time (at least on this occasion) when we’d have a glimpse of Fishtail beyond the green outline of the hills of the town. I rubbed my eyes & made my way towards the washroom in tiring steps. Dhananjoy was still wrapped in his blanket, but was awake. After the morning duties I went about packing my 70l bag, but this time nothing was to be placed in a backpack. Every item had to find a place in the main bag, even the walking pole because we were about to board a vehicle that was to take us to the plains en-route Sonauli border & finally, out of Nepal to the hot & dusty city of Gorakhpur. From there on, a train would take us to our work places. While I was tackling the bag, Niladri knocked at the door. I went up to his room to bid goodbye to his daughter Mishti & his cousin Sagar (who were welcome new additions to this trip), who were also my walking companions for most of the trail. About an hour later, they, along with a few other members, would be heading for the bus stand to board a bus for Birganj, another border town, to enter India & board a train from Raxaul for Kolkata.

As we headed downstairs, the group assembled for one final time to have the complimentary breakfast of bread toast, boiled eggs, tea/coffee & fruits – the same menu was on the offering exactly a week ago, when we were about to embark for the Australian camp, the starting point of this trip. After breakfast, we filled our bottles and headed towards the Scorpio waiting at the gate. Seven of us bid goodbye to the rest of the group as the vehicle meandered out of the 8th street, following the lakeside for one last time to hit the serpentine roads heading out of Pokhara. As the vehicle made its way through the roads, I recalled our journey on our way up the same route. As if the scenes were being played out in reverse order. We stopped at the same tea house on the banks of the Kali Gandaki river to have some tea, where we had our dinner on our way up. Today we could see the river valley in clear daylight, while we could feel its presence only by the sound of flowing water in the darkness of night while having dinner, a week ago. It is the same Kali Gandaki that comes down from the distant town of Muktinath in the remote & rugged district of Mustang.

The weather was cool in these hills on our way up as it was dark, but now the heat of the mid day sun was telling on us or it could also be a lack of excitement of the upcoming trail & togetherness which was there when we were going up. Whatever may be the cause, we felt the heat & fatigue, causing some of us to dose off. I kept on thinking about the day before, which was our last night out at the lakeside area of Pokhara, its vibrant atmosphere, live music, nights at its pubs and the beers we gulped down reminiscing about our trip. The Fewa lake glittered with the reflection of the lights on its banks, the cool breeze coming off its surface and everything else that added to the romance. The evening appeared special to us probably because it was the last of this trip. It was my fourth time at the place and I hope it won’t be the last.

A significant part of Pokhara centers around its prime attraction, the Fewa lake. It is the second largest fresh water lake in Nepal (after Rara lake). Memories of it kept coming back to me. The boating ride in the lake in the morning before, was my third but it never fails to impress. There were many in our team who did it for the first time. Though the day was cloudy and the Annapurna family was firmly behind them, but the cool breeze kept the mood going. The serene atmosphere of the Tal Barahi temple in an island amidst the lake and the playful fishes that dotted its banks – all of these are familiar yet so fresh. The day went by in a flash with a significant time during the day being spent at the markets of Prithwi Chawk and Mahendrapul with a lot of our members spending their time purchasing warm wears and souvenirs for their beloveds. Finally, the mountain roads gave way to the highways in plains and the vehicle raced towards the Sonauli border. The ride ended at the border at the same place where it started a week ago.

29th March, 2024

The train Humsafar express entered Gorakhpur railway station right on time (much to my surprise, given it’s track record on earlier occasions). Four of us (myself, Geeta, Kunal and Dhananjoy) landed on the platform. The day was warm and our bags weighed heavy on our backs. Dhananjoy was already in touch with Projnesh (another member of our group), who was responsible to book a ride for all of us (that included Supriyo, Surovi and their son “Chotu”) for the Sonauli border, which should take around two and half hours to reach, but we’d also have to stop for lunch, which should add another hour to the travel.

When we met them outside the railway station, it was sort of a reunion. Most of us were from the Mathematics department of Jadavpur University. I was meeting Supriyo and Surovi after almost 23 years (i.e. for the first time after exiting college). After riding for about an hour, we stopped for breakfast and resumed our ride towards Sonauli border. We reached there at about 1 PM. Our ride for Pokhara was already booked earlier. However, it took us sometime to exchange Indian currency to get the Nepalese equivalent. Time was slipping away like sand and some of us were getting restless because the plan was to reach Pokhara as early as possible and spend sometime scouting for crampons and snow gaiters for some of the team members (the feedback was to expect snow at the higher reaches of Mardi viewpoint and Mardi basecamp). So yes, we were off for Mardi Himal trekking in the famed Annapurna region of the Himalayas of central Nepal. The idea was also to spend some quality time at the famous lakeside area of Pokhara.

*En-route Pokhara, Picture courtesy, Dhananjoy De*

However, it turned out that the vehicle was driven by electric battery and it needed charging. Hence, right after starting from Sonauli, it had to spend about 30 minutes to recharge before it could resume its journey. It was already 3 PM by then. But we had more troubles in store. Being driven by electric power, it imposed constraints on its acceleration and to top it off, one of its tires burst which brought it to an unexpected halt. While that gave us sometime to venture outside the vehicle to inhale some fresh mountain air, but the delay was piling on. By the time we resumed our journey, it was already dark and we weren’t even half way through. After covering about half of our journey, we halted to have our lunch, which had already turned into dinner. The place was by the side of Kali Gandaki river.

*Kali Gandaki river, picture courtesy, Supriyo*

The rest of our group containing five members were coming from Birganj, but we couldn’t get any information from them. While having dinner, Dhananjoy gave some feedback to the driver, which resulted in some acceleration. By the time we reached Pokhara, it was already 10.40 PM. We could see Niladri and others (who came from Birganj), had already reached the slated hotel. We checked into our allotted rooms and got busy with splitting our luggage into two sets – one to keep at Pokhara and the other, to take along with the trek. We took the opportunity to bathe (as we weren’t sure of getting that facility up above, on the trail). Our team of guides and porters also met with us, but we couldn’t have a briefing session with them, given the late hours. Our guide was Kumar Gurung (we met him in one of our earlier treks to Manaslu circuit, way back in 2019). Though he was managing a different trekking group, but he struck a chord with us and for this trip, I personally requested Mr Tej Bahadur Gurung (our trip operator from Nepal Alter n ative Treks) to have Kumar as our guide. The shopping for trekking gears also had to be postponed for the morrow. That would add to the delay in the start, but thankfully, the trail wasn’t long. Tiredness took the better of us and we gave in and headed to the beds with the hope of a clear morning for the next day.

Around Annapurna – the Thorong la, descent to Muktinath

Thorong high cam p

18th October

We were fortunate enough to get three lower births (yes, births) as we were the first to enter the room. Later in the night, the other births on the upper floor were occupied by three other travelers. Space was crammed but under the conditions, the accommodation couldn’t have been better. Sleeping under blankets within a room (and not a tent) is in itself a luxury at these altitudes. We paid up our bills after dinner on the previous night to allow us to start immediately after breakfast. Throughout the time when we had our breakfast, Thorong la played in my mind. The dining space was warm with many travelers roaming around, some still having their meals, others, about to embark on the hike.

After breakfast, just before we were about to hit the trail, our guide reran the dos & don’ts. We were strictly advised to stay together. While it didn’t mean walking side by side (it wasn’t at all feasible on this trail), it did mean staying within “calling” distance with each other. After we moved outside, a chilling wind greeted us which shook us to the bones. A serpentine line of torches moved up the slopes. Unlike the route to Tilicho base camp, the trail was entirely covered with snow right from the beginning. However, the slope wasn’t steep to start with, at least. Numerous stars studded the dark sky. We’ve crossed two mountain passes of similar height before. Both of them in Nepal. The first was Cho La, on our way to Gokyo from Lobuche in the Everest region. The other was Larkya La, the highest point on the Manaslu Circuit Trek. Crossing the latter was also a long day & we expected this to be a similar experience. The descent too, similar to that of Larkya La, was expected to be steep. In case of Larkya La, the entire descent was through a rock fall zone. I wasn’t sure about the terrain in this case. Another factor weighed on my mind was the expected amount of snow on the other side. For the moment, I swept those thoughts aside & focused on the hike. The dark silhouettes of the surrounding mountains appeared gigantic. Our boots sunk deep into the snow. With the help of our head torches, we looked for footmarks of other travelers and tried to follow them. Fortunately, the snow was dense and we could get grip on the surface. The idea was to cover as much ground as possible before the sun came out. While we walked, we felt perspiration within our body, but the moment we stopped for rest (which was necessary to fill our lungs), biting cold sent shivers through the body. Apart from our layers of warm clothing, sips of warm water were also crucial to keep our blood circulation going. Darkness started to dilute and edges of the surrounding mountains started becoming clearer. We could now see a light glimpse of the trail ahead. Metallic poles indicated milestones at regular intervals and there were a series of them. The trail had many lower summits, each one of them decorated with strings of prayer flags. Whenever any of them appeared on the horizon, some of us would ask the guide whether that was the pass and answer was an emphatic “No”. I was aware of this phenomenon. Thanks to many blogs & videos on the internet, I was aware that there were many “false” summits on the way up to the pass & people often get frustrated by these & it could add to their fatigue. By this time, the sun was fully out in the sky. There wasn’t any patch of black anywhere on the trail, which was only recognizable by a series of footmarks. Series of travelers trekked along the path. It was a moving line with ever diminishing size of humans. The last visible prayer flag at the distant top appeared as a miniscule pole, but even that wasn’t the top.

*En-route Thorong la, picture courtesy, Dhananjoy De*

We focused on the next pole nearby. Every step had to be dragged on, partly because of the fact that our shoes got submerged, partly also due to the altitude & cold. The air around was a tad caustic and we felt thirsty after a handful of steps. After sometime we reached a tea shop en-route the top. No one expects to find a tea shop at such altitudes, but that’s Nepal for you. A much needed cup of tea to get our blood circulations going, was more than welcome. We found a similar tea shop on our way to Larkya la during our Manaslu Circuit Trek. We made our way into the shop and ordered tea. The desire was to spend some time in the warmth of the shop amidst other trekkers, but an eye had to be kept on time. The top was yet to be reached (about forty percent of the track still remained).

*Reaching Thorong la, picture courtesy, Dhananjoy De*

We ventured out of the tea shop and resumed our hike. The hike wasn’t steep and started leveling out. It was an indication that we were approaching the pass. The sky was clear and bright sunshine bathed the slopes all around. Cold wasn’t biting anymore with the sun shining bright on our backs. Fortunately, there wasn’t any wind. Our guide declared that the pass was nearing and we could see the prayer strings hanging from a distant pole. Though initially, I wasn’t convinced, but I saw many moving figures around that place, which indicated that he was correct. With increased hopes, our walking speed increased and after a stroll on the snow, we reached there.

*Thorong la, picture courtesy, Niladri Sekhar Guha*

Many travelers were already there, taking snaps against the backdrop of the board that depicted the name and height of the pass. We were standing at 5416 m. All of us were ecstatic about reaching the highest point of the trek. The Thorong la was a junction that connected Manang with the Mustang district of Nepal. Both of these were arid and dry, lying in the rain shadow areas of the Annapurna massif. However, Mustang bore a drier look. The mountain ranges of Mustang spanned throughout the distant horizon. The track gradually moved downwards on the other side of the pass. We’d be treading that path on our way down to Muktinath. The trail down was also covered with snow, leaving any doubts, whatsoever. To our surprise, there was a tea shop at the top as well! We took turns to take snaps (both individual as well as with the group) at the Thorong la.

*Thorong la, picture courtesy, Dhananjoy De*

The time came up and we started our descent. The track moved down gradually in its initial stretch. As soon as we started our descent, we felt the gusts of strong wind which threw up puffs of fresh snow from the trail. I walked carefully, once again, tracing the tracks of earlier travelers. Other travelers crossed by, most of them having the support of crampons or micro spikes, while I treaded on carefully.

*Way down to Muktinath, picture courtesy, Niladri Sekhar Guha*

Slopes were still gentle but wind was picking up pace and at one bend it blew off my hat which went down the slopes within a blink of an eye. Dhananjoy and Niladri went ahead and pretty soon were out of my vision. The slope started to increase and I also felt the ice harden under my feet. The shoes started to give minor slips and my steps became more circumspect. One has to move at a minimum pace to avoid generating more than desired pressure at a single point, which could result in slipping down the slopes. Interestingly, some groups came up the slopes from the other side. That was interesting as normally, people do not cross the Thorong la from Mustang as the hike is much steeper and takes longer. Some of them cautioned the guide (who was walking besides me) that the trail ahead was somewhat risky. I saw an alley going steeply down amidst the snow. Reaching at the top of it, I realized why he said so. The ground was totally covered with ice which was showing cracks and water trickled from them. For once, I thought of lying down on my back and try to slid along but the guide advised against doing it. Despite taking careful steps while going down the slope, I slid a few times and regained my steps. It was a long ordeal before I finally negotiated the slope to reach a junction. The trail beyond that point moved on different grounds. It wasn’t hard ice, but fresh, loose and powdery snow which offered minimal grip. I could see Dhananjoy and Niladri treading ahead carefully. Observing their steps, it became apparent, they found it difficult to walk stably. The first step that I placed on the snow led to a slide and I slid down considerably. The guide was prompt enough to arrest my slide by hold me by my armpit. To complicate matters further, strong winds displaced snow under our feet trying hard to dislodge us. The guide sought the help of one of the porters, who, by that time, had already crossed over to higher grounds beyond the snow. He was considerate enough to heed the call and came down. Both of them gave me support and I somehow managed to tread the shaky grounds to reach beyond the snow. Travelers rested under a shed and I rejoined Dhananjoy and Niladri. I was still breathing hard. We spent sometime to exchange our experiences but to our relief, one of the guides from other teams declared that this was the last stretch of snow. Beyond this point, the ground was rocky and dry. It was still steep but devoid of snow. I quick sneak into the trail ahead, revealed he was correct. That was another huge sigh of relief for me on this trail (the other one was when I discovered a wooden bridge that joined a yawning crack on our way back to Shree Kharka).

*En-route Muktinath, picture courtesy, Dhananjoy De*

We still had a long way to go down, but now I could walk freely, at my own pace. The track was full of switchbacks. The trail was strewn with stones and boulders. One had to walk carefully to avoid a slide, but it was much better than the rockfall zone at Larkya la. I could see Dhananjoy and Niladri as small creatures, making their way down and beyond them, the tea houses of Phedi were now visible. I took sometime to look back at the trail which we covered till now and thanked nature that Thorong la was behind us. Easy grounds awaited us on our way down. I could feel the fatigue in my legs. The upper half of it pained as I made my way down, but I was happy. There are times when pain is sweet! I made my way through the maze of switchbacks to reach the tea house at Phedi and spread my arms on a chair. Niladri and Dhananjoy were already seated. It was 2 PM. We had enough time to relax while our lunches got prepared. I dried up my jacket in the sun. My knees trembled as I attempted to move. Lunch took long to get served, but there was nothing to complain as we had ample time. The downhill walk from the tea house to Muktinath was to take another two hours. From Phedi, the trail moved towards a valley and once we reached there, the ground was flat. It feels so comfortable to walk on flat grounds on such high altitudes. For the first time in this trek, we walked together as we meandered through the valley to join a road that led us down to the town of Muktinath.

*En-route Muktinath, picture courtesy, Niladri Sekhar Guha*

We could see the domes of the Muktinath temples, considered holy by both Hindus and Buddhists. We followed the steps down to the courtyard of the famous Muktinath shrine. A wide panorama of Mustang mountain peaks were visible from the courtyard which was full of devotees, many of whom bathed in the small pond in the middle of it.

*Muktinath shrine, picture courtesy, Dhananjoy De*

The most prominent among the mountains visible from Mustang was Mt Dhaulagiri, the seventh highest mountain the world. After spending sometime at the temple courtyard, we made our way down the steps that descended towards the Muktinath town.

*Muktinath shrine, picture courtesy, Niladri Sekhar Guha*

It was a long series of steps that led to the area of the tea houses. Some of them turned us down as they were full. We finally found one and reached our allotted rooms. Much to our delight, warm showers were available and we made full use of it. Calls were made to our respective homes informing them of our successful culmination of the trek. The food tasted delicious and we spent our last evening of the trek with peace and leisure. Vehicle was booked by our guide, which would drive us to Pokhra, the next day. We started the day at 4800m, reached 5416m and then descended to 3762m.

Thorong high camp

Around Annapurna – Yak Kharka and Thorong High camp

Tilicho lake

Thorong la

16th October

The previous day was tiring and I had my body aching, especially after reaching the tea house and after allowing time to relax, the entire upper section of my limbs ached as and when I had to climb up or down the stair cases to reach the dining room or move to our allotted rooms (something that’s normal in these tea houses). The dinner was refreshing and so was the chit chats in the dining area. We got chance to recharge our cameras, mobile phones once again. 16th October was once again, a bright morning. Since our start from upper Pissang, weather forecast has been spot on. With Tilicho lake behind us (though I didn’t reach there personally, my companions did), the only high point that remained in the trek was Thorong La. We were to cross it on the 18th. There was a tad nervousness in my mind about the way down from Thorong la, especially about the amount of snow to be expected on our way down to Muktinath from Thorong La. I asked different people en-route and got varied answers to that. Some said, the amount of snow on the other side was less as the Mustang district (the other side of Thorong La) is expected to be much drier than Manang. However, others had contrarian views. Nevertheless, we kept those thoughts at bay and went for the breakfast.

Once again we were treated with a lavish display of mountains through the glass windows of the dining room. We wished we could spend an extra day relaxing at this place, but we had to move ahead. Luggage was reshuffled once again as we merged with the left overs on our way up to Tilicho base camp. After that, we hit the trail. After going downhill for some distance, we tread on flat ground. Initially, we headed down the same trail we took on our way up, but after sometime, we left the trail towards Manang and diverted left towards Yak Kharka. It was still flat but was muddy as a stream of water flowed right through the middle of it. After sometime, we had to go through some bushes and walking was a bit difficult negotiating the bushes which were thorny and the ground was muddy too.

*En-route Yak Kharna, picture courtesy, Niladri Sekhar Guha*

Looking down the valley, we could see the flow of the river though the middle of it, heading towards Manang. In fact, we could see its houses on the left banks of it. When we started from Shree Kharka, we felt like putting on our jackets, but we resisted that temptation as we knew, after walking in the sun for sometime, we had to peel off. After walking for sometime, we reached a bend, beyond which, the trail started moving up. It was devoid of mud and we enjoyed the gradual hike. The top was visible and there were a few houses adoring the it. We stopped there for sometime to enjoy the surrounding views. Annapurna IV and Gangapurna bathed in bright sunshine.

*En-route Yak Kharka, picture courtesy, Dhananjoy De*

*En-route Yak Kharka, picture courtesy, Niladri Sekhar Guha*

From thereon, the trail moved down quite steeply and we could see it was covered with snow. It was evident, that the trail from Shree Kharka to the top was exposed to the sun and hence, was devoid of snow, but on the other side, the sun was yet to exercise its power and hence, snow ruled the roost. The initial section had a clear track amidst the snow on both sides, but after that, it was almost fully covered. The trail headed downwards to reach a stream, beyond which, lay a tea house. After that, it moved up again to merge with the main track to Thorong La coming from Manang (used by trekkers who skipped Tilicho lake). We could see it entirely. The trail after the tea house was devoid of snow.

I started moving down carefully through the stretches of snow, but fared much better than earlier stretches of Tilicho base camp or lake. The key again, was to tread upon footsteps of previous travelers, which was an indication of solid ground. There were slippery grounds, as expected while walking over melting snow, but things were much better, also probably because, may be, I was finally getting used to it. Niladri and Dhananjoy strode ahead. After traversing through multiple switch backs, we finally reached the stream that separated the two tracks (the one coming from Tilicho lake from the one coming from Manang). We stopped at the bridge to take some photographs of the gushing stream and then headed towards the tea house to rest there and have some tea.

We ordered lemon tea and relaxed around. We had time at our hand and were likely to reach Yak Kharka before lunch. That should leave the entire second half at our disposal to lurk around and hopefully, gain some acclimatization before our hike to Thorong La. We kept pushing our guide to advance our halt to Thorong high camp (for the next day), instead of Thorong Phedi (the option opted by most of the travelers). He kept deferring the decision to later. The obvious advantage of staying at high camp is to gain distance and having to traverse much less on the day of crossing the pass. However, it also increases the chances of high altitude sickness and understandably, the guide opted to take that decision later, after observing our fitness. As we sipped our tea, other groups came along. We knew many of them as most of them have been hiking with us right from Dharapani.

After tea, we resumed our hike. It was difficult at the start because of the pain and fatigue in the upper sections of my limbs. However, after walking a while, it became easier. The trail moved up, as expected, to merge with the main trail from Manang. The hike was gradual and wasn’t difficult. We took ample time to cross the stretch, enjoying the views and taking photographs on our way up. After sometime, we regained the main track from Manang, which was relatively flat and walking became much easier. Yak Kharka wasn’t far and we reached there before lunch. The place had a few tea houses and we entered into one of them. Our allotted room was on the first floor and we went up the stairs and settled in it. After changing to room wears (which wasn’t much different from our trekking wears, given the altitude), we came down again and reached the dining space. Lunch was ordered and we lurked around in the sun, sitting on the benches. Utilizing the bright sunshine, we dried up some of our wet clothes. After lunch, we sat around chatting with members of other groups. There were quite a few locals (many of them were also coming on their way down from Tilicho lake). It came through one of the discussions, there are two Phedis on both sides of Thorong La and snow was to be expected on the track between both the Phedis. After the sun went down, cold increased drastically and we headed to the dining room. Ludo gave us company till dinner got served. We stuck to the staple “Dal Bhaat” meal. After reaching our room, we spent some more time gossiping with each other and then slid under the blankets. We were sleeping at 4100 m.

17th October

After the alarm went off, we completed the morning duties, packed our bags and headed to the dining room for breakfast. We clearly communicated to our guide and he agreed, that our halt would be at Thorong high camp. We hit the trail at around 7.30 AM . Though the distance wasn’t long, but we wanted to reach as early as possible to give ourselves enough time to rest and acclimatize at the high camp. We also knew that walking would be slower, especially after Thorong Phedi, on our way to the high camp. Given that we already crossed the tree line, sources of oxygen would be scarce amidst boulders and snow. When we hit the trail, the sun was behind the mountains and we felt the biting cold. We had to put on our jackets and gloves to keep ourselves warm. The surrounding slopes of the mountains were dotted with bushes and brown grass. After walking a while, the sun came out from behind and walking was comfortable, though we had to peel off some of our warm wears. The trail still moved along flat tracks.

After sometime, some movements caught our attention along the slopes of the mountains. After giving a careful glimpse, we finally recognized that they were a flock of mountain sheep, the same species, notorious for their act of sending down streams of stones along the route to Tilicho base camp. Here though, in the bright sunshine, they appeared quite innocent and quiet, grazing around in the bright sun. While they were having their merry time, we took our chances to get as close as possible to get better snaps. They didn’t disappoint. A giant Himalayan Griffon was doing its rounds in the clear sky and I trained the lens of my camera to try for a moving shot.

Flocks of these birds also dotted the surrounding slopes. They keep reminding us of the fact that this is their habitat and we’re intruders. Is it that what caused them to do their rounds in the sky to keep an eye on us?

*Himalayan Griffons – en-route Thorong Phedi*

These are scavenger birds which are very common at higher altitude regions across the Himalayas. We kept treading ahead till we reached a junction where two trails headed in different directions. One of them, moved forward, while the other headed down towards the river that flowed through the valley. We waited for our guide who was following us and going by his advice, we took the trail going down. We learnt later, both the trails merged at Thorong Phedi, but went along different sides of the mountain. The one that was relatively flat, went through higher altitudes and as we found later, was entirely covered with snow in its later sections. It was also the route towards Nar Phu valley, which diverted from another junction, a little ahead.

*En-route Thorong Phedi, picture courtesy, Niladri Sekhar Guha*

We could see the route on the other side of the mountain, climbing up from the river bed. Members of other groups were visible as little creatures, appearing like actors of a silent film that was being played out on the slopes. Silent, because the roaring stream silenced everything else. That trail, though devoid of snow, was barren and exposed and went through patches of landslides. We moved downwards and reached the stream and started hiking up the slopes on the other side of it. There were patches of snow here and there. At the start of the landslide area, a guide from another group kept strict vigil by looking upwards. He kept insisting us to cross the area as quickly as possible. The meaning and reason behind his constant gaze at the top was clear. After crossing the zone, the trail was good once again and we could see the tea houses of Thorong Phedi.

*Thorong Phedi, picture courtesy, Niladri Sekhar Guha*

As usual, having a glimpse of the distant tea houses, added to our energy and we moved ahead steadily towards them and finally settled in one of them for lunch. The lodge was big and so was its dining space. With glass windows all around, it was a marvelous place to dine at this high altitude. After giving our orders, we sat leisurely, awaiting our lunch to arrive. The owner of the lodge was an interesting character. His appearance resembled that of a Texas cowboy with a typical hat and long hair. Western rhythmic music was playing in the background and he was swaying his body in sync. He kept doing so all along while taking orders from us, serving the lunch and after completion, even while taking the payments.

*Thorong Phedi, picture courtesy, Dhananjoy De*

After lunch and some much needed rest, we hit the trail again, which, from hereon, only went up steeply. We could see the flags that adorned the Thorong high camp.

The trail moved up steeply and we plied along it. We could see, it moved via a series of switchbacks, finally, disappearing behind a set of rocks, beyond which, lay the Thorong high camp. It seemed quite near, but it would take us at least a couple of hours (if not more), to reach there. That’s primarily because of the altitude and the steepness of the trail.

*En-route Thorong high camp*, *picture courtesy, Dhananjoy De*

I split the trail into smaller milestones, effectively, every switchback turned into one. I’d cross each of them, halt for sometime, at times gulp down a few sips of water, and then move ahead. My thirst was increasing and so were my halts. Obviously, altitude was playing its part, but it was manageable. After spending an arduous two hours, I finally reached that gully, which went straight up among the snow and at the end of it, we could see the tea houses of Thorong high camp.

*Thorong high camp, picture courtesy, Dhananjoy De*

It was a delightful sight, though we still had some height to gain, but it seemed within reach. After plodding along for some more time, we finally reached the place. Initially, we were assigned a room (exclusively to us), but for that we had to traverse down the slopes again. Hence, we rejected that option in favor of a room at a higher altitude, closer to the actual trail towards Thorong La. The room had double births and we occupied three of the lower ones. Space was crammed, but it was more than welcome at these high altitudes.

*Thorong high camp, picture courtesy, Niladri Sekhar Guha*

Every rooftop, toilet huts, kitchen, all of them wore a blanket of snow. The sun was shining bright and the afternoon was warm and enjoyable. As we lurked around the place in the afternoon sun, I kept thinking about the hike for the morrow. It was going to be long, but at the end of it, it would take us down to Muktinath, well beyond the reach of snow. It was a mixed feeling – a tad disappointment of ending the trek, along with relief of reaching the place where we could ply on a vehicle to take us down to Pokhra. While we had our evening tea, we saw a traveler limping towards the tea house, hinging on the support of two porters. He had a fracture and after sometime, was rescued by a helicopter which took him to Manang and from thereon, to Pokhra. Seeing that, a few elderly travelers contemplated skipping Thorong La to go down the same route they ascended, but we persuaded them against doing so. After dinner, we completed our payments as it was slated to leave the place at 3.45 AM to give us ample time to reach the Thorong La early enough. We were sleeping at 4800 m.

Tilicho lake

Thorong la

Around Annapurna – Tilicho Lake

Tilicho base camp

Yak Kharka and Thorong high camp

15th October

Alarm went off earlier than other days as we planned to head out earlier. As advised by other travelers, we planned to start in the dark hours to make as much progress as possible before the sun rose to take advantage of frozen snow which would provide more grip on the surface. We tried to convince our guide Brian to start at 4 AM, but he was reluctant and we settled for 5 AM, much to our dislike. But there’s no point forcing them against their wishes in these altitudes as they’re supposed to act as our custodians on such stretches. We put on additional warm wears to deal with the cold which was expected to be several notches higher than what we’ve faced so far. Deep in my mind, I was nervous about the snow and the fact that we weren’t wearing crampons or spikes. I shook my head heavily, as if to shove away such thoughts out of my mind. After completing our morning duties, we headed for the dining room to have breakfast. My appetite was almost absent. It could either have been because of altitude (which is known to have such an impact) or the thoughts about the trail up the slopes. Actually, going up was relatively easier. But the more we go up, greater would be the distance to cover while coming down with melting snow under our feet. After filling ourselves with breakfast, we headed out of the lodge. The plan for the day was to hike up to Tilicho lake, come down to the base camp, have lunch and head back to Shree Kharka for night stay. It was supposed to be a long day.

While having our breakfast, we saw moving streams of head torches already heading up the slopes. Other groups have already hit the trail. After breakfast, we strapped on our head torches and headed out. As we stepped out of the warmth of the dining space, we were greeted by waves of cold wind which pierced the uncovered sections of our bodies (which anyways, were minimal, given the clothing we put on). But that was enough to indicate what was awaiting us in the upper reaches. The trail meandered through the by lanes between other tea houses before crossing a small wooden pool above a flowing stream. After which, it started moving up gradually. It was a considerably long stretch up before the first switchback. The trail was still over rock and soil with snow lying by the side. After reaching that point, we sipped a few gulps of warm water and resumed our hike. The trail was rendered muddy with narrow streams of water flowing through it, but we were still walking over soil, nevertheless. It was still dark and we could see trails of head torches moving up the slopes in front of us. It was a long trail with distant lights that could be seen as far as we could see. The trail of rock and soil started to get thin as we moved up as snow started closing in from both sides. We had to cross multiple places where patches of snow lay on the trail itself. Such patches interspersed the trail and had to be negotiated carefully. There were places where we would sink knee deep into the snow. Such patches increased in frequency as we moved up till the entire trail got covered by snow and no trace of rock or soil was visible from thereon. We paused at places to turn around and darkness was gradually subsiding. A glimpse of light started to spread across the sky. The dark silhouettes of the high mountains became visible. After sometime, the sky became clear and wore a shade of azure but the Sun was yet to make its appearance.

*En-route Tilicho lake, picture courtesy, Niladri Sekhar Guha*

As light became available, we could see the trail in clarity and switched off our head torches. Giving a good look at the trail revealed holes dug into the snow by previous travelers. Some were deep and wore a light blue appearance. They had to be avoided. The idea was to place our feet on boot marks left by earlier travelers. Those were solid grounds with some purchase available for our feet. I became more conscious and gradually my entire attention got drawn into the trail. It was only when I stopped, I could enjoy the beauty around. On one such occasion, I saw the first rays of sun gracing some of the peaks, lining them with gold.

*En-route Tilicho lake, picture courtesy, Dhananjoy De*

The trail was just wide enough for one person to tread up or down. If one met another coming the opposite way, it needed to be negotiated carefully by leaning against the slope. Giving passages like this on a narrow trail covered with snow, was very tricky. Groups which moved faster, caught up with us and we had to make way for them. The snow under our feet was still hard.

Gradually, the sun came out and bathed the entire trail with its rays. It was all monochrome around with snow playing the dominant part. It was a beautiful sight to watch, but my mind was caught in the thoughts of getting down the same trail with the sun in its full power over the snow. We reached a place where suddenly, it struck our guide Brian, to climb up the slope on our right to some extent and pose for a photograph leaning against the snow. While it might have been a maverick idea, but climbing proved difficult, especially, with his weight. While making attempts, he slid multiple times which prompted us to refrain him from doing such antics at these slopes. Looking down the other side, just beyond the edge, gave us horrors.

*Route to Tilicho lake, picture courtesy, Niladri Sekhar Guha*

We kept moving up the slopes and I slipped a few times during that, but these were minor as compared to the ones faced during our way down. As the sun increased its power, the effect became increasingly visible under our feet. We were reminded of a familiar statement from Physics from our school days – “Friction is a necessary evil”. The necessity part of it was quite evident. Thoughts increased in my mind as I kept looking at my mobile phone for time. It was already 9 AM, when we reached a place which had a small wooden shelter by the trail. People took rest and had sips of warm water at that place before resuming their hike. I looked at the trail above and ascertained from our guide, it would take at least two hours to reach the lake from there with the speed that I was moving with. A quick calculation of time made me rethink my priorities. I didn’t want to increase the length of the trail to cover on the way down and after going through some tough trade offs between safety and the missed opportunity of visiting the lake, the very purpose of this trek, I chose to side with safety and decided to wait for the group to come down and rejoin them on their way back. Others tried to cajole me otherwise, but I decided against it. While they moved ahead, I stayed on, taking turns to stand or sit.

Note: The remaining part of the hike to Tilicho lake is not sourced from my own experience, but from those of my fellow travelers.

Remaining journey to Tilicho lake

Dhananjoy and Niladri resumed their journey bidding goodbye to me, along with our guide Brian. The trail increased its gradient after the wooden shelter and they negotiated their way through the snow. After another hour or so, the gradient decreased, giving an indication, that destination was nearing. There were still a series of switchbacks ahead.

Mt Tilicho looked as if it was at a stone’s throw distance. It’s slopes were entirely covered with snow, unlike other mountain peaks which had stripes and patches of black rocky surfaces amidst the snow. The trail, however, was nearly level now. With reduced gradient, walking was easier. Dhananjoy was ecstatic in his expressions with expectations increasing with every bend. After trolling along for some more time, they crossed a bend and came across some frozen water bodies.

*Nearing Tilicho lake, picture courtesy, Dhananjoy De*

The entire landscape was covered with snow with Mt Tilicho standing guard at the background. These water bodies were a prelude to the main lake and after a few turns, they came across the vast expanse of pristine azure water surface bordered on all of its sides by mountain peaks. They had finally reached the coveted Tilicho Lake. Some christen the lake as the highest lake in the world, though its not confirmed. It lies at 4919m (placing it higher than Gokyo system of lakes lying in eastern Nepal’s Solu Khumbu district).

*Tilicho lake, picture courtesy, Dhananjoy De*

Snow bordered on all sides of the lake, but the lake itself was devoid of it, makig it look even more beautiful. The lake is considered holy and pristine by both the Hindus as well as Buddhists. There are metallic statues of both Shiva and Lord Budhha on the shores of the lake. Dhananjoy and Niladri took their turns to have pictures with both the deities.

*Tilicho lake, picture courtesy, Niladri Sekhar Guha*

They spent time to take pictures of the surroundings. Shutters rolled on endlessly as pictures always seem not enough to capture the beauty placed at their disposal by nature. They’ve visited Gokyo lake earlier, way back in 2016, but it seemed, the backdrop and surroundings of this high altitude lake had no match. One could see the glaciers coming down the slopes of Mt Tilicho which lay on the left banks of the lake.

One wants to spend more time with this glorious display of nature, but time was ticking and at sometime, they had to turn back. The entire route that they hiked up, now lay ahead on their way down with the full power of sun playing its tricks on the snow beneath their feet. They tread along the path till the point above the wooden shed where they left Indranil on their way up. Was he still around, awaiting their return? Dhananjoy tried a different trick to negotiate the slope. He glissaded over the slope and almost in no time, landed near the wooden shelter. But towards the end of his slide, he had to anchor using his walking pole. Without that trick, chances were ripe, he could have slid over the trail, down the slopes on the other side into the abys!

The way down for Indranil

The wait for Dhananjoy and Niladri seemed eternal. I kept thinking, had they started on their way down? They started early and were now heading down. While I awaited the return of them, many groups started coming down. One of the guides stopped by me and informed that he was instructed by Brian to guide me down the slopes. I followed him with nervous steps. He advised me to walk side ways. According to him, it provided better grip on the snow, but I somehow never felt comfortable with it. He asked me to move faster as the more I delayed, chances were ripe for me to skid on the snow. He helped me tread the slopes but at times, he was literally dragging me down and I had a couple of falls on my way. After sometime, he said he needed move down faster as his clients were waiting for him and I let him go. Fortunately enough, by that time, I had covered significant stretches and reached a point, beyond which, the trail of rocks and mud was visible. On his way down, Dhananjoy caught up with me and we moved down to base camp and on reaching the tea house, spread our legs in the warm sun. We also spread our clothes over the bushes to allow them to dry up in the sun. After having our staple “Dal bhat” menu, we resumed our journey back towards Shree Kharka. As we headed out of base camp, the land slide area greeted us again with its barren slopes. What starts, ends too and so did the stretch of the landslide area.

*Landslide area, picture courtesy, Niladri Sekhar Guha*

While crossing it, Dhananjoy and Niladri had another close shave. A cricket ball sized rock came streaming down the slopes and missed them by a whisker before tumbling down the other side! After crossing the landslide area, we started climbing up the slopes to reach the hanging bridge and I was delighted to watch from above, the broken end of it was fixed temporarily by the locals and we didn’t have to circumvent down the slopes! I heaped a lot of blessings to whoever did that act. After crossing over to the other side, the walk towards Shree Kharka was pleasant amidst the afternoon sun as snow reduced to a great extent. We walked, relaxed in our minds and reached the tea house at Shree Kharka, but our legs were very tired and it pained to climb the stairs up or down. The evening was pleasant and after dinner, we headed to our room. We were sleeping at 4045m.

Tilicho base camp

Yak Kharka and Thorong high camp

Around Annapurna – Tilicho Base Camp

Manang

Tilicho lake

14th October

Bright sunshine greeted us the next morning. The day was critical as it would take us to Tilicho base camp. It is a critical section of the route and a large part of it goes through a land slide area. The mountains are dry and rugged in the area that bears more resemblance to Tibet than Nepal, since it lies entirely in the rain shadow area of the Annapurna range. The trail moves up and down steeply in certain sections where gravels and pebbles are abundant. The slopes have big heaps of rocks. Endless erosion caused by strong winds and snow over years have cut their edges morphing them into strange shapes and architectures. At times, they appear as huge termite heaps. One has to keep a constant eye on the upper slopes and cross the area as fast as possible under the circumstances (speed is a scarce commodity in such altitudes). The vigil is required to watch out for streams of rocks and pebbles that keep coming down and can dislodge the travelers any time. In their least pervasive form, they can cause damage like fractures. Even a small pebble coming down the slopes from high above, can wreak havoc because of its momentum. Such streams of rocks can be generated simply by winds sweeping the surfaces or herds of Himalayan Blue Sheep, which roam around in the high slopes. They move around swiftly while navigating the slopes. Fights too, are common among competing males for drawing attention of females. All such activities can cause problems for trekkers navigating the trail. After all, we’re intruders in this area and they’re the original claimants.

After leaving the hotel, the track reached a junction where it diverged in two directions. One went down towards the valley. That went towards Khangsar, SreeKharka and beyond towards the Tilicho Base Camp. The other route went up towards Yak Kharka, Thorong Phedi and beyond towards the Thorong La. We’d be joining that route after returning from Tilicho lake. In a way, Manang marks an end of the relatively easier section of the trail. From here on, trails would only go up, so will the quantity of snow. As if we were getting closer to the bosom of the Himalayas. The sunshine was warm and the trail meandered through the wide valley. The river cut through it. High mountain peaks rose above its banks.

*En-route Khangsar, picture courtesy, Niladri Sekhar Guha*

After the valley, the trail started moving up the slopes. We could still see some vegetation, but they were fast depleting with the advance of the snow line. After reaching the top of the nearest hill, we reached a meadow. Dhananjoy gave some of his acrobatics while we clicked on the pictures. From there, we could see the route on the other side that went towards Thorong La. We could see electric posts on that route, raising our hopes of finding connectivity there. On our side of the route, we could see homes and lodges nestled in the higher slopes. That must be Khangsar (not to be confused with another village on the Leh-Manali highway). A vehicle road also plied along the lower sections of the valley. We moved along and after sometime, found ourselves in the village of Khangsar. Although smaller than Manang, Khangsar was big enough. Routes emanated from it towards Yak Kharka and beyond that, to Thorong La. We walked through the lanes amidst tea houses and crossed a couple of ornate gates with prayer wheels. These are typical of the villages in this area. We left Khangsar behind and plodded ahead. The trail moved up gradually, but walking was still comfortable as it was wide enough. Bushes still lined along the trail. Patches of snow started appearing on the path. These are remnants of the past rough weather that plagued the area for a few days before we arrived. We tried to imagine the plight of the tourists who were trapped in these areas for days with no way to go up (routes to both Thorong La and Tilicho Lake were blocked due to heavy snow fall) or down (trail below Manang was broken at many places due to landslides and heavy downpours, some of which we witnessed while coming up). We were fortunate enough. As the trail went up, the mountains of the Annapurna range came closer and grew in stature. Mt Tilicho, in particular, increased in size in leaps and bounds with every bend of the track.

After sometime, we crossed a monastery and when we looked up, we could see the homes and lodges of Sree Kharka at the top of the hill. We were nearing our destination for lunch. Looking at Sree Kharka, I had a strange feeling. We’d be heading towards it, in the afternoon, the next day, on our way back from Tilicho Base Camp. The lodges looked cosy, especially their dining places.

*En-route Sree Kharka, picture courtesy, Niladri Sekhar Guha*

After crossing a few, we entered the one destined for us and ordered our “Dal bhat” meals. The dining place was marvelous. It had glass windows on all three sides through which we were presented with grandiose views from outside. We could see the glaciers along the slopes of the mountains or their ice falls. They were at that close quarters! While our lunches were getting prepared, we relaxed and enjoyed the majestic views at our disposal. Our guide Brian came up to inform that we’d have to rearrange some of our luggage to leave some of it at this lodge. Since we were supposed to stay at the same place on our way back, there was no point carrying all the luggage over to base camp. That meant some re juggling across our bags and leaving behind stuff that was deemed unnecessary. By the time we finished these adjustments, lunch got served and we jumped over it.

*Sree Kharka, picture courtesy, Niladri Sekhar Guha*

After lunch, we hit the trail once more and started walking leisurely. The track moved out of Sree Kharka. After we moved beyond the tea houses, patches of snow started to appear along the sidelines of the trail. Even at the tea houses, small heaps of snow remained within the alleys between the adjacent rooms. They were remains of the rough weather that plagued the area a few days back. These small heaps still managed to survive the heat of the sun.

The track moved along level grounds for a few yards before taking a turn downwards after a bend. Here, the trail moved in towards the mountains, forming a ‘U’. There was a steel wire bridge that connected two ends of the trail bridging the gap created by a waterfall that came down the slopes. It was a long, hanging bridge, nothing surprising in Nepal. We’ve seen them in all its parts we’ve visited so far. But the other end of the bridge was supposed to meet at a stair case, which was non-existent. It somehow touched the other end, with the steel ropes clinging on to the bare rocks that were ripped out of the surface by a recent landslide. Footsteps of travelers created a roundabout way of circumventing the staircase below the ropes to join it back on the left side of the bridge with the remaining part of the trail. The “workaround” trail created by local travelers formed the shape of a “heart”. We could see people treading that part very carefully along the slopes of the hill barely able to keep both of their feet side by side. The sight sent some chills down my spine but I went ahead. My boots were skidding while tried to negotiate the “round about” and with the help of the guide, I somehow managed to pull myself up on the other side to rejoin the original trail, which moved up with a series of switchbacks. After reaching safe ground, we all took some time to take stock of the area. Immediately, thoughts poured in me, that we’d have to traverse it once again on our way back (but we were up for a surprise).

*Hanging bridge, picture courtesy, Niladri Sekhar Guha*

After the area, the trail assumed a very different look on the other side. While we had vegetation in the form of bushes lining the trail earlier, now the hills on its sides bore a fully desolate look. Rocks were bare and dry, devoid of any vegetation. Acts of wind blowing through the areas, carved out mesmerizing architectures out of barren landscape. Huge rocks appeared like termite heaps. We came across our first stretch of snow over the trail. I became very skeptical (as I always do) on such trails. I constantly looked for support from my guide, holding his hand, while I treaded the path. At one point, my boot went straight in but fortunately, the snow wasn’t deep and I was able to pull it out. After reaching the other side, I breathed a sigh of relief.

*Landslide area, en-route Tilicho Base Camp*, *picture courtesy, Niladri Sekhar Guha*

A placard lay by the side with a label stating that the area ahead was a landside zone and we were asked to cross it with caution. We entered a place where rocks on the route almost created a tunnel and the track went through a facade. Railings were present on the left side, apparently to keep travelers from skidding, but the track moved down steeply and the surface was sprinkled with pebbles and gravels. It was very difficult to get purchase on such a surface and I took my steps carefully. Nevertheless, I moved on and after sometime, was greeted with almost a level (though narrow) track along the slopes. When asked about the length of the landslide area, our guide Brian responded “~3 kms”. The good part was that the weather was bright and sunny and we walked comfortably amidst the afternoon sun. But a constant vigil was required as people looked up towards the hills frequently to watch out for falling rocks. I paused at some places to take photos of the amazing landscape that was at the disposal, but time was precious as we had to get out of this area as soon as possible to avoid danger.

*En-route Tilicho Base Camp, picture courtesy, Niladri Sekhar Guha*

After treading along for some more time, we reached another placard that marked the end of the landslide area though the trail beyond it wasn’t much different. Dhananjoy and Niladri walked ahead of me and they stopped suddenly to look up. After a pause, they ran as quickly as possible to move ahead and just as they moved out, a mid sized rock fell on the trail, toppled over and went down to the abys on the other side. It was a stern reminder, what was at stake! Heaps of snow re-appeared and we had to tread through them. Some were knee deep and after sometime, we could see the lodges at Tilicho Base Camp. Normally, this raises energy levels, but a look around the place, somewhat gave me an idea, that this wasn’t a natural place for habitation and we, the humans were forcing our way through it. So sooner or later, nature would have her way of sending us out. It was a strange feeling. We went towards our slated tea house which had heaps of snow lying all over. The cold was biting as the sun moved behind the surrounding mountains but we could see the afternoon glow on the peaks. Mt Tilicho was imposing in its stature and we could see the trail towards the lake along the slopes. It was all white with patches of black. We were certainly looking for hike amidst snow for the morrow.

After dumping our back packs, we headed for the dining space which was packed with travelers from different groups. We met some locals from Nepal who were traveling from Kathmandu valley. They visited the lake that day and were on their way down. They advised us to start very early in the morning (preferably by 4 AM) to avoid the risks of walking on melting snow as much as possible.

*Tilicho Base Camp, picture courtesy, Niladri Sekhar Guha*

Manang

Tilicho lake

Then there was a group from Bangladesh and their advice was the same. Going up was one thing, but coming down the slopes was a very different story with melting snow under your feet. They were made worse by groups that slid their way down along the snowy slopes, making them more skiddy for the walkers. For the first time on the trail, I rued not having brought crampons or microspikes. It was very foolish to heed to the guide, sitting in Delhi, who advised not to carry them. Anyways, I tried to keep my focus out of the discussions to keep my morale up. After dinner, we slid under the blankets, adjusting the alarm clocks an hour earlier for the next morning. We were sleeping at 4919 m.

Around Annapurna – Manang

Reaching Manang

Tilicho Base Camp

Manang

Manang is a part of the Gandaki province of Nepal. The Thorong La situated at 5416m above the sea level, connects Manang to the Mustang district. The pass connects Manang to the town of Muktinath in the Mustang district. The Manang district lies to the north of the Annapurna range of the Himalayas in its rain shadow area and hence, receives very less precipitation. That reflects in its landscapes which bears a dry, desolate and rugged look. It lies close to the Tibetan border. The route out of Manang via Thorong La has been used by the locals of Manang for years and continues to be an important route till date. “In the Shadow of Annapurna, Nyeshyang” was filmed in the year 1988. The film explores the lives and cultures of the Nyeshyang valley, better known as Manang today. People of the region have been adapting to changing times. The famous English mountaineer H W Tilman visited Manang in 1950. The Manangis are a business community and they’ve been travelling to different parts of Nepal as well as abroad for a long time. They were granted a special license by the government of Nepal to travel into Tibet and over time, became cornerstones of cross border trade between the two countries. Manang was a protected area until 1977. After that, it was opened for outsiders and with the rising popularity of the Annapurna circuit (of which, Manang forms an important part). Travelers started pouring in since 1980s. Before that, the locals were able to use the limited forest resources of the area sustainably for firewood and timber. However, with the increase of travelers, so did their demand for hot showers and soon it started to put stress on the limited natural resources of the area. It was realized soon and steps were taken to address the issue. Today, hot showers are powered by solar energy almost throughout the Annapurna circuit.

The film “In the Shadow of Annapurna, Nyeshyang” captures the changing times of Manang and provides a glimpse into its early days. It depicts local shepherds discussing strategies to counter the threat posed to their herds of yak and sheep by the snow leopards roaming the valleys. They’ve reduced in numbers and are rarely seen today. But some still lurk in the higher slopes feeding on wild blue sheep (called “bharals” by locals). With the advent of tourism, a large part of Manangis have shifted from agriculture to hotels. Today, Manang boasts some of the finest hotels and lodges of the area that offer best of staying experience for travelers. It also has some of the finest bakeries and we too got to taste their produce.

13th October

We woke up to a bright but cold morning. Clouds stayed clear off the mountains. We went for the roof top with the hope of watching the sun rise and we weren’t disappointed. While the sun was still not out in the sky, day light was breaking and the surrounding peaks stood out against the backdrop of the clear sky. We turned our heads around and were treated with gorgeous display of high mountain peaks all around us, a full 360 degree view. The cold was biting but it was worth waiting. Solar rays started spraying colors on Mt Gangapurna while others remained in the shadow.

Gradually, the dark shadow line started gliding down the slopes paving way for the golden solar rays to take over. The act that started with Mt Gangapurna, repeated along the slopes of other mountain peaks which joined the bandwagon and pretty soon, all of them were crowned with golden glory.

It seemed out of the world. The Tilicho peak, in particular, was bathed in gold. Others had touches of black because of exposed rock surfaces, but Mt Tilicho was covered with snow and the solar rays had a free run along its slopes to paint it in the way they wanted.

As the morning advanced, the solar rays changed colors frequently. Nature was playing out its act and the colors of the scenes changed fast. The golden hue faded away and dazzling silver took its place. The peaks seemed so near, we could see fumes of cloud flowing off their edges. These were snow storms/blizzards often triggered by gales of wind which keep dashing against the snow walls. Such snow storms send out snow particles thick and fast into the surrounding air giving an impression that the mountains wore a silver scarf.

Camera shutters kept rolling on as pictures piled up in the digital stores of camera disks and mobile phones. After that, we headed towards our rooms to get ready. Unlike other days, this was supposed to be an acclimatization day. We weren’t supposed to leave Manang, but roam in and around it to give chance to our bodies to get acquainted with the high altitudes we were in. Going by the suggestions of the lodge owner, we dropped the idea of visiting the ice lake, but opted for Gangapurna lake instead. The lake was very near to the rest house and a trail went along its sides towards the upper reaches, giving a great opportunity of hiking. After getting ready, we headed for the dining space for our breakfast. Our backpacks were lighter as we could leave most of our luggage at the tea house. The tea house had a wonderful bakery and many of its products were on display. I went for a sandwich meal, others opted for burgers. The sandwich was thick, filled with vegetables and sauces. It was delicious and filling. The quality and quantity of the food was amazing. They’ve made it so comfortable in these remote areas, that you often forget the physical challenges.

After breakfast, we headed out and turned left from the tea house, the trail went down towards the valley where we crossed the river. Mountains moved closer to us and so did the Gangapurna lake. It was a tad disappointing as it was devoid of water with its bed filled with mud and debris that came down the slopes of Gangapurna. However, we were more than compensated by the view of the Gangapurna glacier along the slopes of the mountain.

The trail moved up gradually. I put on my jacket to stave off the cold, but as the sun wielded its power, walking added to the heat generated and we soon had to peel off the extra warm wears. Our guide pointed upwards to the point till which we were supposed to go. The route was lined with pine trees and the final destination of the hike was beyond the tree line where we could see patches of snow. There were a few low summits dotted by mani stones. As we moved up the slopes, the glacier and the mountains gained in their stature. Years of snow and ice get covered with boulders, gravels and dust that come down the slopes and at times, it becomes difficult to distinguish between rocks and ice, thanks to the cover of debris.

A local dog kept company with us and went ahead of us along the slopes. Patches of snow were still lying around as remainders of past spells of rough weather. The dog was amused after reaching one of these spots and started sliding, toppling and rolling over the snow. It was also pinching and thumping in the snow with its paws. Though we initially thought it to be an ecstatic display of the dog’s pleasure, but later I suspected that it could be looking for insects or other living creatures lurking under the snow in search of a meal. Cold reappeared suddenly as the sun momentarily hid under a patch of cloud. It was such a change, that we had to put on our warm wears again only to peel them off once the cloud disappeared.

Mani stones adorned the hill tops with strings of prayer flags emanating from them along the slopes. Mountain peaks glittered in the morning sun and it was a dazzling display of snow at great heights. Annapurna II, III, IV, Gangapurna, Tilicho and many others were at the party.

After spending considerable time at the top, we embarked on our return journey down the slopes. The entire hike was comfortable and warm under the bright sun. On our way down, we reached a tea stall and spent sometime there having tea and biscuits. After returning to the tea house, we had our lunch. After lunch, we visited a local museum that displayed old pictures, artifacts and utensils of village life. It provided a glimpse into the village life of Manang as it existed before becoming a bustling tourist center. The warm afternoon sun was comfortable and we kept roaming around leisurely in the village.

Wi-Fi was available and we used it to the full extent to talk to our homes, share pictures with them and at times even making video calls. Annapurna circuit route is a lot different from other routes in terms of facilities available and we never felt far from our homes, thanks to the connectivity.

Dhananjoy opted for “Dal bhat” at dinner and we stuck to burger meals. At our request, they served us melting hot “ghee” and it was a delicious addition to the “Dal bhat” meal. After dinner, we had a chat with the tea house owner about the route ahead in both directions (Thorang la as well as Tilicho base camp). While Thorang la had opened up and a few teams have already crossed it, the route to Tilicho base camp was open, but there was still no news about the route ahead towards the lake. Nevertheless, it was a positive development that at least we could now get to the base camp and Thorang la. The delay of an additional day at Dharapani proved beneficial in giving time for the weather to clear up. Chances were getting higher for us to visit both the places (or so I thought). After dinner, we came back to our rooms and played ludo on mobile to kill sometime. The room was spacious. We had the beds to ourselves with ample space between them. The blankets too were warm enough. Despite all that, sleep eluded me for a long time even after I slid under the blanket. I kept thinking about Tilicho lake. How much snow could we expect? Will the route to the lake open in time for us to visit? How safe would the route be, especially during descent when warm sunlight would melt the morning snow and chances of slipping would increase? I kept tossing around the bed with these thoughts. Manang was probably going to be the last place on the route where we could connect to our homes as no one could tell us how the connectivity was likely to be in the upper reaches. Having said that, we shouldn’t expect it anyways, given the altitudes. It’s more than enough that we were able to maintain connectivity with our homes till Manang. That in itself is a boon. Then came the thoughts about the long landslide area that lies on the route towards Tilicho base camp. We’d have to cross it the next day. YouTube videos made the slopes look scary. Would there be snow along that route too? How frequent do streams of rocks come down the slopes? Herds of blue sheep roam around in the upper reaches and they’re another reason behind the streams of rocks that are sent down the slopes. How long would the stretch be? We’d have to cross it twice on our way to and from the Tilicho base camp. Once we reach Sree Kharka on our way back from Tilicho base camp, that stretch would be behind us. After that, the Thorong la would be the last hurdle. Such thoughts kept coming, keeping sleep at bay but as everything comes to an end, so did they and I finally got some sleep.

Reaching Manang

Tilicho Base Camp