MANASLU
TREKKING THE HIMALAYAS
MUSTANG 1991
KANCHENJUNGA 1993
ISLAND PEAK & MERA PEAK 1994
NARPHU 1996
MAKALU & EVEREST 1998
MANASLU & NARPHU 1999
MILKE DANDA & NORTH 2000
NORTH EAST NEPAL TREK 2002
Trekking Nepal |
| MANASLU | TREKKING THE HIMALAYAS
MUSTANG 1991 |
MANASLU & NARPHU 1999 This was another area that was a problem to get into needing at least two people and a Liaison Officer so I teamed up with a couple of trekkers from Belgium; Mark and Gerald who kindly let me join their trek. I had to wait in Kathmandu for some five days until October 16th; before setting out so I had some time to see the sites. The trek went completely around Manaslu. As we exited a day's trek from the way into Narphu, I decided to pay another visit.
MAP OF ACTUAL TREKKING ROUTE |
 01 | During my wait in Kathmandu for the trek to start I did some sightseeing. One sees many strange sights in and around the temple complexes. |
 02 | Some wonderful old buildings with the square supporting many stalls selling trinkets to the tourists. |
 03 | Many of the older buildings have exquisitely carved facades. |
 04 |
Typical Kathmandu street scene but not as much traffic as normal. |
 05 |
The Nepalese treat wildlife very harshly with no thought of conservation except under western pressure. |
 06 | When we start trekking at last, we drove to the road head at Ghurka but there was a problem getting porters as it was the Desi festival; the equivalent of our Christmas. Here is Mark contemplating the trek ahead. He was not amused as his baggage had been lost by Austrian Airlines and it proved an ordeal for him to re-equip in time to start trekking. |
07 | Gerald, coming into camp, had a minor disability, the trek being something of an ordeal for him also, but never held us up, in fact he did better than me on the high pass. |
 08 | Making our way up the trail with the Gannish Himal in the distance. |
 09 | From the left: Gerald, Mark and Bovan our Liaison Officer. The only other time I had trekked with a Liaison Officer was on the Mustang trek and that proved an little difficult. Bovan though, was really good company and was well read, so we could discuss many topics over our evening meals. |
 10 | As usual there was some problems with the porters but the Sirdar was a really hard man who would not hesitate to sack the men if there was any question of wanting more money. I understood the porters were only on 150 rupees a day, about £1.50 to carry 30+ kilos. |
 11 | We had the opportunity to take the scenic route round but Mark and Gerald would not back me up and I did not want to rock the boat as it was their trek. |
 12 | There was a tremendous amount of damage alongside the rivers the monsoon had been very extreme washing away bridges and making life difficult for the villagers. |
 13 | I liked this area near the village of Lana as it opened out into a huge amphitheatre with a backdrop of large mountains around us. |
 14 | There were the usual Stupas along the trail. |
 15 | The Slate carving is a skill I have only seen in this area. |
 16 | The designs followed fairly set patterns. |
 17 | The children in the higher areas were always very dirty so the slightest cut or abrasion would become infected and a major concern. Soap and water, if the population could be persuaded to use it, would be of a major benefit to them. |
 18 | Looking back down the valley the way we came to the Gannish Himal. |
 19 | Catching our first glimpse of Manaslu. |
 20 | Timber is used in large quantities for building or is cut and stacked for burning. |
 21 | We were overtaken by most trekkers on the trail as we had far more time to relax and enjoy the walking. |
 22 | The Stupas on the way to the village of Hinan. |
 23 | Great anticipation as we get better views of Manaslu. |
 24 | Many of the Stupas are brightly painted inside with Buddhist icons and inscriptions. |
 25 | Wonderful views of Manaslu. The villagers of Hinan were working in the fields bringing the last of the crops in. |
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26 | This area was quite lush and green with much of the forest still intact. |
 27 | Early morning at Lo, a large village with much of the forest heavily cropped. |
 28 | The children are expected to look after their younger brothers and sisters from a young age, already carrying what is for them a considerable weight. |
 29 | A number of climbers passed us in a real temper after failing, we presumed, to climb Manaslu. These situations where people are forced together in difficult circumstances make for trying relationships which can ruin any climb or trek. |
 30 | There was a vast flat plain in front of us with many Yaks, which were brought down from the high pastures for the winter. |
 31 | Looking back down the valley as we were entering Sama Gaon. |
 32 | Sunset on Manaslu. There was some trouble in the camp; an old lady had been in and stole a stainless steel mug, the porters caught up with her and took it back. We represent vast wealth to the local villagers whose income is a pittance. |
 33 | Stunning view of Manaslu; 8156 meters, first climbed by the Japanese in 1956. I think the furthest of the two peaks is the high point. Mark and Gerald had brought with them old clothes which they distributed to the villagers, a nice touch I thought from seasoned travelers. |
 34 | We set off very slowly that morning on our way to Samdu but I was full of energy and walked on ahead of the group to arrive some time before the others. |
 35 | We had decided on a rest day here, looking out on the trail leading to the Larkya La. |
 36 | The houses were low set with stone slates for the roof. I just could not cope with the smoke inside even though it was nice and warm. There is a huge need to teach the people how to make chimneys to get the smoke out of the living areas. There is a very high incidence of lung disease caused by smoke inhalation in Nepal. |
 37 | On our day off Gerald and Mark did a walk up to a Stupa on the way to the border with Tibet but I decided to go up high behind the Village to see what the views were like. |
 38 | Looking out towards the Larkya La from our vantage point high above Samdu. |
 39 | View down the valley where we walked in. |
 40 | The village of Samdu looks very small, we had climbed about 750 metres. |
 41 | We are making our way up to camp at the so called Guest House below the pass. |
 42 | Gerald, Mark, Bovan and myself on a slow walk up to camp. |
 43 | The rest of the trekking crew. We shared the guest house camp site with a French contingent who were full of themselves. I took a walk up high late in the afternoon to see how I was acclimatizing and was going well. |
 44 | We started out at about three in the morning as the glaciers can be very difficult as the sun comes up and melts them. I was very slow and really struggled near the top, the French trekkers literally shoved their way past; very ignorant and arrogant. The top was full of people, it felt like a Saturday morning shopping Mall. The French were already making their way down. I decided I had had enough of them and pushed my way past them and set off down like a rocket, not even their marathon runner could catch me. I was really angry and arrived in camp an hour and a half before even the Sirdar who came in on a horse. |
 45 | Mark and Gerald decided on a rest day but I wanted to get back onto the main trail at Thonje so I set off the next day with some of the porters and my guide Sukram. I had a rest day at Thonje marred by a real ignorant guy from Israel who it seems was disliked by all. On a brighter note I met up again with Getha who had come up the trail to be my guide for the return to Narphu. Here we are at the entry to Narphu at the village of Koto. Getha took my permit to the police check point but they found a problem with it, Nina, our trekking agent had put his name down as the Sirdar not Getha's and the police would not let us through. Getha found the head policeman for the area was at Chame, about two hours up the trail. After a long and difficult wait he arrived back and to our great relief we were allowed to go into Narphu. |
 46 | The way in is alongside the river Nar Khola slowly climbing up to a single hut in the forest where we camped. The next day was quite a steep climb up to Meta, a village looking deserted but in fact still in use by the villagers of Koto who come all the way up to cut Juniper, sleeping the night then taking it back to the main trail. It gives off a pungent odor when burnt and is used as incense. Here we are looking back down the valley. |
 47 | The going from here on was quite easy with a gentle ascent contouring around the mountains. The village of Nargaun which I had visited in 1996 was high above us but we were on our way to Phugaun first. |
 48 | I remembered this trail well from my last trip. The memory of the horseman who gave me some brown bread at the bottom of the valley, before I rode his horse up to Nargaun, is still with me. |
 49 | As we were eating lunch here a long procession of villagers and their yaks, horses and goats passed us going to Manang for the winter over the Kang La Pass. The brilliant red leaved Berberis made a fantastic show in the winter sun. I collected seed and now have this for sale, see www.dungevalley.co.uk |
 50 | Much of this trek is covered by the NARPHU TREK. I knew the trail better than the others who have never been that way before, I should have asked for a guide's fee. |
 51 | Our way to Phugaun was up the valley ahead. |
 52 | We are in a narrow valley carved out by the river. |
 53 | The entry to Phugaun is up the steep incline ahead, some considerable erosion had taken place since my last visit in 1996. |
 54 | The valley opened out before us and we felt that we were in another world. |
 55 | It would be illuminating to find out about the history of these remote places. We were only three days up the trail from the main Annapurna Circuit trail but it was an extraordinary place. |
 56 | Phugaun was set up on a clough; again it comes to mind that in a time of conflict it could easily be defended. |
 57 | Most of the villagers had gone so we are invited to camp on the hill with the monastery on, by the Lama. It was not my first choice but we could not really refuse. |
 58 | Looking back down to Phugaun we could see the village, with pigeons swirling around, set high above the river. |
 59 | This was the view that brought me back. I was enthralled by the path leading off into the distance. |
 60 | I waited a day as I had contracted a cold. When I felt better Getha and I set off to explore up the valley that had been so appealing in 1996. |
 62 | A lone yak herder was making his way up the valley to collect the last of the stragglers from the higher valley. |
 63 | Looking back down the valley with the Annapurnas. |
 64 | Views off into the far distance, Tibet is only a short distance away. The feeling of endless space coupled with the majesty of the mountains around made it a rewarding days trek. |
 65 | Getha seems to enjoy these days out even though it is just a job for him. |
 66 | I had intended to go up to the village of Nargaun again but my cold had got the better of me so we made it down to Meta. I made it clear to Getha that I wanted to stay at Meta as I was feeling rough but he allowed the porters to carry on down the valley. I dug my heels in and sent him to bring them back. Very simply, any time they can save is money in the pocket as a fixed amount is paid for the trek and they keep anything over. We found some of the houses occupied to our surprise by the villagers of Koto who had come up the trail to collect Juniper. It can fetch it's own weight in rice and is burnt as incense giving off a pungent odor. |
 67 | We were to head down the valley the next day, the Annapurnas in the distance. |
 68 |
I had fond memories of my last visit to Nargaun but my mind was made up to head back to Kathmandu. I set off the next day revived by the
drop in altitude and we were back onto the main trail in only a few hours making it back to Kathmandu in three days. We got to Besi Sahar
the road head at about 4 pm. The rooms were grotty and I was not looking forward to a long and crowded ride back to Kathmandu. I started
to ask around to see if anyone was going our way; our luck was in and after some haggling we were all in a mini bus on our way to Dunre.
Just three years before, in 1996, I had made the same journey along a mud track, one of the most dangerous roads I have ever been on. In
fact the next day seventeen people were killed in 1996 when a bus rolled down a river crossing. Now it was transformed, tarmaced all the
way and the prosperity it was bringing to the area was very obvious with school children along the way. Late at night at the main road we
stopped at one of the roadside restaurants. They were closed but they allowed us into the back kitchen where I told Getha and the porters
to order anything they wanted. We tucked in a delicious meal watching the cook staff cutting the goats up for the next day's meals. The
place reminded me of a medieval scene with huge fires burning and pots and vessels being scrubbed and cleaned in the huge cooking area.
I arrived back in Kathmandu around midnight paying Getha and the trekking crew a good bonus and again I managed to get a flight out the next day and so ended another memorable trek. |
| For more information please contact me David Ketley Dunge Valley Hidden Gardens E-mail me at david@dungevalley.co.uk |
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