Adventures in 2012

This was trek of great variety, starting with the Manaslu circuit. I venture from the fertile valley at Arughat Bazar, working up to the 5300m pass at Larke La before joining the Annapurna trek at Dharapani. Only for a short time though, as I then duck out to the special zone of Nar and Phu, a spectacular very dry and time forgotten world. That special world lasted only a few days and I then rejoin the Annapurna circuit trail. Not for long thoush when I again take a side trip. This time it's to the high elevated  Lake Tilicho with high mountains as a backdrop. Finally I clamber over Thorung la pass to fly out of Jomsom

My flight was cancelled, I waited 6 hours in the vain hope that the plane would leave, but it wasn't to be. The wind was too strong and in the wrong direction. Kshitiz and Anish had already left so I'm on my own. Luckily I was warned about the frequent cancellations due to weather, so I had a day built in. It was possible to get a vehicle back but I elected to chance it on a flight tomorrow.

We had a massive day of walking, starting early to hike over the Thorong La Pass peaking at 5416 metres. Then a long descent to Muktinath where I bought a souvenir or two and had a nice lunch. As we could not secure a jeep, and being early in the day, we chose to walk to Jomsom.

It was a relatively short day hike to Thorong Phedi (4450m).  The scenery is spectacular, and there was quite a few people staying here, and at the preceding village acclimatizing and getting ready for the big ascent over Thorung La tomorrow.

Lake Tilicho is perched high above sea level at 4919m. It is a glorious complement to the Annapurna circuit.

The views just get better. We saw the rare blue sheep, walked across huge land slips and gaped in awe at the massive snow clad mountain backdrop.

Phase 3 of the trek - on the way to Lake Tilicho. We visit the Braga Gompa, a monastery over 500 years old, which is perched high over Bhraka village and has many fascinating artifacts. We met up with another traveller, Christoff who accompanies us for the rest of the trip.

A grand entrance: a chasm is the beginning of our walk into the restricted area of the Nar-Phu valley.  I am looking forward to these next few days of visiting an area where few venture.

We joined the Annapurna circuit trek briefly to get to the next leg of the trip - Phu and Nar, which in the forbidden restricted area. It was a jolt to my peace as there were a lot more people, and also motorised vehicles. Nothing however, will take away the beauty of the highest mountains of the Himalaya.