Nepal day 11: Mountains and Eagles
I woke up at 5:30am to see if I could catch a glimpse of Annapurna II (7937m). However there was still some cloud around.
I ate an omelette for breakfast at 6am and decided to leave early and try to trek to Manang (a large village) which would take a very long time! Shortly after I left the clouds broke up a little and I could see Annapurna II. And itโs so huge! I was already above 3000m but I just kept looking upwards because the height is something else.
The trek starts off smoothly before reaching a series of switchbacks climbing over 300m in height. It was really tough and I walked very slowly. I was overtaken by several people and after an hour and a half of climbing I finally reached the village of Ghyaru. There was a lookout at the top which wouldโve provided an amazing panoramic view if it wasnโt for the clouds. Slightly sad with the weather but I wasnโt too downbeat.
After passing through Ghyaru the trail descended and ascended. I decided to take a break and eat a kit kat… Anyway jokes aside, with new energy I kept progressing with beautiful views of the valley below, at one point there were as few eagles flying just above which was an amazing sight! But very difficult to capture, makes you appreciate planet earth and blue planet a little bit more!
Eventually I reached the next village Ngawal around 11:30am where I stopped for lunch. The wind was picking up and I was trekking in a jumper now. After lunch the trail descended and became a lot drier. It doesnโt rain much this far down the valley because we are now in the rain shadow of the Annapurna range. Not sure how it works exactly but it means very little rain even in monsoon season. Which means we are in yet another climate zone.
After another couple of hours trekking I reached the village of Braka where they checked my permits. An hour later I reached Manang (3540m), just before 4pm. So nearly 10 hours of trekking!
I was very tired, but Iโve planned to stay 3 nights here. Usually people spend just the two nights here for an acclimatization day, where your body gets used to the altitude. I’m planning to take a rest day tomorrow with a short one hour trek to a viewpoint above Manang. The day after I plan to do the ice lake trek which is a lake at 4600m. A good way to acclimatize is to trek at high altitude and then sleep at a lower altitude, so the ice lake trek will be good to do to avoid altitude sickness.
I’m supposed to be on a strict budget but I ordered chicken curry and rice again. Non veg is quite pricey but I couldnโt resist. I asked for it to be spicy and it was really spicy!
