26 April 2014
It rained last night and the peaks around us are sugarcoated with a fresh layer of snow. Also today traces of old avalanches and we see donkey caravans. The road has ended here and the only modes of transport are people, donkeys and motorcycles.
The landscape here is very different. We are in the rain shadow of the mighty Annapurna Mountains, so we are actually in an arctic desert. Where a few days ago we still walked in a tropical jungle where the bananas grow in the wild!
We climb to Upper Pisang and have a drink here in a lodge. Upper Pisang is a beautiful, historic village where time has stood still for hundreds of years.
The village is beautiful but apart from the flags a bit colorless. The stones are of course made of local materials and the village therefore blends into the environment. Unlike earlier (and later) villages, there are no brightly painted houses here. But the view is beautiful.
You normally also have beautiful views of Annapurna II (7937m) and various other sub-peaks. Unfortunately it wasn’t that sunny: it gets more and more cloudy and even starts to snow a little. We walk further to Ngawal, a village at about 3700m altitude.
On the way we see “blue sheep” (a kind of deer), which are the main food for the snow leopard that lives here. We don’t hear him the night we are there, but a village further (we hear later) one was heard during his hunt.
We take up residence in a guesthouse centrally in the most beautiful village. Our guesthouse has no heating and it is freezing. So we go to bed early, tomorrow we have to go to Manang!
Read more about my Annapurna Circuit trek:
Annapurna Circuit day 1: Kathmandu – Besisahar – Bhulbule
Annapurna-Circuit day 2: Bhulbule – Ghermu
Annapurna Circuit day 3: Ghermu – Tal
Annapurna Circuit day 4: Tal – Timang
Annapurna Circuit day 5: Timang – Dhikur Pokhari
Annapurna Circuit day 6: Dhikur Pokhari – Ngawal
Annapurna Circuit day 7: Ngawal-Manang
Annapurna-Circuit day 8: Milarepa’s Cave
Annapurna Circuit day 9: Manang – Yak Kharka
Annapurna Circuit day 10: Yak Kharka -Thorung Phedi
Annapurna Circuit day 11: Thorung Phedi – High Camp
Annapurna Circuit day 12: High Camp – Muktinath
Annapurna Circuit dag 13: Muktinath – Marpha
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