Annapurna Circuit, Nepal
53 images Created 30 Mar 2017
The Annapurna Circuit trek in the Annapurna mountains of Nepal started off at 700m and peaks at 5416m before heading back down. Armed with a guide, a porter, and my camera this trek lasted 16 days for me. We navigated through the many different environments this trek consists of. Starting off in the lush hot climate with lots of greenery, sweatiness and beautiful green covered mountains. Over the many suspension bridges we continue on to the forest and steep climbs towards the monster 8000m snow peaked mountains. The beauty of the mountains gave me the motivation I needed to continue trekking and it helped that the views got better around every corner. Some of the villages were made out of stone and it felt like I was in an episode of The Game of Thrones. Some sounds of the trail for me were: yak bells jingling, the noise of our feet on the trail, music playing through my earphones to get me up that tough hill and kids playing in the villages.
Having a good guide was invaluable. Someone with the knowhow who made the decisions of where the best food was, the best tea houses, knowing the route and how long to trek for each day, who took me to places I wouldn’t go on my own, and who gave me a rundown of what kind of trekking day it was going to be so I could mentally prepare. I got to pet baby yaks, went to a village’s religious festival, heard about conversations others were having, ate my food with the host and my guide in the kitchen while watching them prepare it, and asked what the heck were the people on the sides of the mountains doing (searching for yarsagumba fungus which is more valuable than gold).
After the Thorung La pass, the downhill begins. I personally think downhill is the worst as not only is it hard on your knees and feet but walking on loose gravel the chances of falling goes way up for me. Taking me a lot longer than most, I finally made it down the worst part and I was happy to see the backside of this day. We moved into the “desert of Nepal” where there were no snow capped mountains, or beautiful scenery to motivate me on each day. This part was sheer will as there was only dust, dirt and brown views. Wind was a big factor on this side. I love a good windstorm but I learned to hate it here. It started like clockwork each day at around 9am and it did not stop until we got to the coverage of our next village. It was not a light gentle breeze either, it was full on wind and we walked right into it. Good music helped a lot during this leg of the journey and the villages we came across here were beautiful little oasis’s that made me forget what I needed to do the next day. I was rewarded with going to the local hot spring pool on our last day. I knew this was exactly what my body needed before we hopped the bus back to Pokarah. This was the longest and hardest trek I have ever done. I was not sure if I was going to be able to complete it before I left, but I am proud to say I conquered the Annapurna Circuit.
Having a good guide was invaluable. Someone with the knowhow who made the decisions of where the best food was, the best tea houses, knowing the route and how long to trek for each day, who took me to places I wouldn’t go on my own, and who gave me a rundown of what kind of trekking day it was going to be so I could mentally prepare. I got to pet baby yaks, went to a village’s religious festival, heard about conversations others were having, ate my food with the host and my guide in the kitchen while watching them prepare it, and asked what the heck were the people on the sides of the mountains doing (searching for yarsagumba fungus which is more valuable than gold).
After the Thorung La pass, the downhill begins. I personally think downhill is the worst as not only is it hard on your knees and feet but walking on loose gravel the chances of falling goes way up for me. Taking me a lot longer than most, I finally made it down the worst part and I was happy to see the backside of this day. We moved into the “desert of Nepal” where there were no snow capped mountains, or beautiful scenery to motivate me on each day. This part was sheer will as there was only dust, dirt and brown views. Wind was a big factor on this side. I love a good windstorm but I learned to hate it here. It started like clockwork each day at around 9am and it did not stop until we got to the coverage of our next village. It was not a light gentle breeze either, it was full on wind and we walked right into it. Good music helped a lot during this leg of the journey and the villages we came across here were beautiful little oasis’s that made me forget what I needed to do the next day. I was rewarded with going to the local hot spring pool on our last day. I knew this was exactly what my body needed before we hopped the bus back to Pokarah. This was the longest and hardest trek I have ever done. I was not sure if I was going to be able to complete it before I left, but I am proud to say I conquered the Annapurna Circuit.
