Nepal 2017

Tuesday7November

Acclimatization day doesn't mean a day at home!   There are some nice walks to do, including a short hike to Gangapurna Lake.

Here is Mount Gangapurna and its glacier. The lake is located at the base of the glacier.

They are truly impressive. The porters, or rather female porters, as it's always women we encounter, surely carry several tens of kilos of fodder or bundles of wood on their backs. It commands respect!  

We just need to descend into the valley to cross to the other side and reach the lake a little higher up.

This small stream comes directly from the lake.

Optical illusion guaranteed. Even on site, it takes a little time for the brain to put the images facing it back in the right direction... Indeed, look closely, Narayan is at the foot of the lake which fades with the almost perfect reflection of the mountain...    

A slight shift in perspective so that the lake regains its place!

The place is surely inspiring for the Buddhists of the region given all these prayer flags.

Come on, courage, a small ascent to gain some height over the valley.

To the left, Manang is perched at the top of the "small" cliff that runs along the Marsyangdi River.

Our hotel, in the background on the right.

The glacier cascading down the slopes of Gangapurna.

After the reflections of the lake, the reflections of the glasses...  

We arrive at the viewpoint, looking between the prayer flags.

The Eurocopter AS350 Écureuil 9N-AKB. It's there for rescue operations but also for a simple tour.

Return by the same path that runs along the lake.

This lake plays with the debris dumped by the Gangapurna glacier and can rival our smartphone wallpapers...  

And in the middle, a river flows...

To the left, the mill guardian. To the right, the Annapurna High Vision Hall! The town's cinema! Featuring, among others, at 2 PM, 7 Years in Tibet, and at 5 PM, Into the Wild!  

Back to the room and surprise, at the foot of the hotel, a yak is being cut into pieces...

"A few" flies enjoy the feast graciously offered to them. That's when I think back to my Yak burger from the day before...  

When in doubt, we skip the yak and opt for a good old chicken and fries. 

Quiet afternoon discovering the village and its many small shops on the main street.

If you don't have a prayer wheel handy, don't panic, a tin can will do the trick!  

Much more effective than a kitten for guarding a house, engraved stones or other prayer books hung above the doors.

Manang, or how to peacefully cohabit Nepalis, trekkers, cats, dogs, goats, cows in the small streets of the town...

The large stupa in the middle of the town is not idle. It has its regular prayer wheel spinners, turning to the rhythm of their "Mala", the Buddhist rosary.

Back in the room to check that everything doesn't catch fire with all our chargers plugged into the single outlet...  

End of the evening around a coffee accompanied by its Oreos, little sweet surprises from Narayan... 

Wednesday8November

6:30 AM. With its rising rays, the Sun already illuminates a few meters of Gangapurna, while not forgetting to light up 80% of the Moon...

That actually makes 2 Moons if we count the one erected as a crescent on top of the stupa...

As you can see, it's not very warm. Some locals are even well-equipped! The thermometer approaches zero at night. But the Sun and our walks warm us up nicely!

The street slowly comes back to life.

And meanwhile, they turn, they turn, they turn... 

Ah, there he goes, our chilly gentleman has joined the round dance!

And it's Man Bahadur and Subash's turn to invoke Buddha for everything to go well today. And hallelujah (if I may say so)! Subash has finally swapped his sandals for his hiking boots! Phew, that reassures us, we were starting to doubt he actually had any.

First sign indicating the Thorong La pass, our main objective at 5416 meters... But that won't happen for another 4 days because first we're going to make a detour to see Tilicho Lake at 5000 meters altitude.

A red-billed chough (Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax).

Here are the two sources of the Marsyangdi! These two rivers, Khangsar Khola on the left and Jharsang Khola on the right, meet here to form the Marsyangdi River, which will end its course in the Trishuli 150 km further in the town of Mugling.

It's probably not fast enough for Subash and Man Bahadur, who are calmly waiting for us at the entrance to Khangsar where Narayan pays the toll...

Tilicho Lake. Tomorrow we'll be there if all goes well!

Meanwhile, we enjoy the increasingly beautiful and impressive landscape!

We've been walking for 3 hours this morning, and we're crossing the 4000-meter mark without realizing it! At least, I'll realize it 61 meters late with my phone...  

At precisely 4177 meters, according to the inscription on the stone, we put down our bags for a lunch break in this small restaurant hotel.

A little further down, large bharals or blue sheep (Pseudois nayaur) graze peacefully.

Pasta and potatoes so as not to lose a single calorie!

And we're off again for the final stretch towards Tilicho Lake Base Camp.

The path will now radically change. On the steeper slopes, gravel covers the walls and sometimes the narrow paths. We'll have to be careful.

But this part of the Annapurnas is really worth it! It's my favorite part of the trek, raw, beautiful, and impressive all at once!

When I say impressive, that's an understatement... Look for the hikers in the photo...  

The path is narrow. It's not the time to daydream... Although... Nature lovers, this place might just make you dream!  

All this path to access Tilicho Base Camp, we'll have to do it again in the other direction in 2 days!

We are over 4420 meters above sea level... Is that high? Not really. Everest is still 4428 meters higher... But we can still say I'm right in the middle!   But Everest is not on the agenda. We are in the Annapurnas and today the mountain that interests us is Tilicho!

Some steep paths need to be crossed. No question of missing the turn, the Khangsar Khola river is 400 meters below...

These rocky peaks, delicately shaped by millions of years of erosion, may be superb, but we cannot pass through them. The only solution is to go around them.

The Marsyangdi and now its tributary, the Khangsar Khola, have been accompanying us for a week, and for good reason, the latter originates at the foot of Tilicho! So tomorrow we'll be able to see its cradle!  

That's it! We're arriving! The blue roofs in the very background are those of the base camp! We don't know it yet, but the thin path winding from east to west along the side of the mountain facing us is the one we'll take tomorrow to reach Tilicho Lake...

The same path for those who arrive and those who leave...

3 PM, we're almost there! Here's our base camp. "Base camp" refers to the last available structures for trekkers before accessing summits or passes.

A classic, quiet evening: soup and pasta, goes without saying... 
We won't linger tonight because tomorrow's wake-up call will be early, around 4 AM! Indeed, the day will be busy: Ascend to 5000 meters altitude to see one of the highest lakes in the world, Tilicho Lake. Descend. Then leave the base camp to return to the main trek itinerary.