sexta-feira, 7 de junho de 2013

Annapurna Circuit - Nepal, Mar-Apr 2013

Coming to Nepal doesn’t only mean going to the Himalaya, nevertheless trek in Nepal is a must! 
With friends I did the Annapurna Circuit and it definitely is one of the highlights of my trip so far. It took us 13 days from Besishahar (830m) to Pokhara.

Starting point - Besishahar, at 830m
On the fifth day we reached Manang (3500m), where we spent two nights to acclimatize, then on the 9th day we crossed the pass, Thorong-La, at 5416m, and started to descend. It’s amazing to see how much the landscape, culture, people changes along the way. As the temperature constantly drops during the ascent, the volume of the river also gradually reduces and parts of it are frozen as well as many waterfalls.

After leaving Manang, at 3500m
As that area has a very strong Tibetan influence, people are mostly Buddhists; but depending on the altitude villages develop different activities. And the ones on very high altitudes have not many options of agriculture since, apart from few species, nothing else grows up there. Then the porters and donkeys play an even more important role as they have to bring all the supplies to those villages.

One of the many bridges on the way and the tibetan flags 
The path is well signalized and it's not difficult; there are many checkpoints along the way to keep track of people and keep it safe. Thus no need of guide at all, unless you want to hire a porter to bring your backpack – this is cool since it is a important activity for the local economy. But bear in mind that porters are not machines, what means one of them should be enough to carry stuff for one person, not for the whole group in order to save money.

The water and the food are not a problem; we took water purifier drops and used tap water, no problems! For food, pretty much every guest house has its own restaurant and serve the classic Dal Baht and some other dishes, including few western option. They sort of overprice food a little bit and usually offer accommodation for free if you eat there, depends on the deal you agree with them – what doesn’t happen for all trekking routes in Nepal apparently. The rooms are very basic and it means very cold at night, so thermo clothes and a good sleeping bag can make your nights a bit more comfortable.

Village at around 2000m and its few guest houses
After the 3500m, the trekking demands more and more since the air has less oxygen at that altitude; the three days before crossing the highest point (Thorong-La Pass) the body feels a lot the difference on the air and the altitude itself, what slows the pace. But taking it easy is not a problem since you can enjoy it to take some nice shots.

The landscape keeps changing and the agriculture is the main activity

Near Manang
Many other trekkers doing this it daily

At Thorong-La Pass - Ina, myself and Thiago