Round Annapurna (Bhul Bhule to Manang – 7 days)
Despite having lived in Nepal earlier for a total of almost four years, I had never done the famous Annapurna Circuit. So here goes!
Tilicho Lake
The river is a diminished current now, meandering across a stony flood plain that the monsoon rains pulsing down relentlessly from above submerge in their annual flood.
Thorung La
All preliminaries cast aside, we must attempt the main challenge in the next three days, the high pass, the ancient trading route between Manang and Tibet, the Thorung La, standing at 5416m. The approach today is to the lodges at Yak Kharka.
Khopra Ridge
We reached Tatopani by bus from Jomsom. This might have been the riskiest road I have travelled on, being beset by landslides and also being so narrow that the buses have to blast out warnings to oncoming traffic to permit a mutual passing place through consensual pauses.