After six incredible months in Europe and Turkey, we had two more months before we planned to be back in the US for the holidays and then back to the reality of work and normal life. We spent some time contemplating what we wanted to do, and we kept coming back to a place both of us have always wanted to visit: Nepal! When our good friend Tammy (who joined us earlier in the trip in Switzerland) mentioned that she was planning a trek in Nepal for the exact same time frame, it made our decision very easy.
With our bikes safely tucked away in storage at the motocamp in Bulgaria, we headed for the airport. The long flight to Kathmandu was broken up by a six-hour layover in Istanbul. Thanks to our very heavy and oversized luggage along with an insane deal with our credit card points, it ended up being a better value to book a business class ticket for the second and longest leg of our journey. This was my first time in business class and boy did I take advantage of it! As we lounged in the comfy chairs and ate from the massive buffet and food stations full of our favorite Turkish dishes in the Turkish Airlines lounge, the six hours flew by.
Our flight left at 1:00 AM so after geeking out over all of the crazy perks of business class, we took advantage of the lay-flat seats and got some much-needed sleep. We later woke up to our first views of the Himalayas!
We got 360° views as the pilot began making a large circle over the Kathmandu airport. Our initial excitement about the extra air time quickly changed when the flight attendant announced over the intercom that we would be landing in India rather than Nepal. The comically bad communication from the staff was made apparent when everyone around us began grabbing their overhead luggage after touchdown, not realizing we had landed in the wrong country. It turned out that there was an emergency on the runway during our arrival slot in Kathmandu and after circling for a half hour we were diverted to Lucknow, India, to refuel. Lucky for us, this just meant three more hours in business class and we eventually made it to our intended destination.
We were immediately overwhelmed by sights and sounds as we groggily made our way through the tiny but busy Kathmandu airport. Fortunately for us (not so much for him), the taxi driver we had organized to take us to the hotel had waited the extra three hours for our flight to arrive. If the chaos of the airport hadn’t already woken us up, the crazy drive to our hotel sure did. Navigating the traffic in Kathmandu is a delicate choreographed dance between cars, buses, bicyclists, and pedestrians. It somehow works, but there is definitely no room for error.
We arrived safely at the hotel and were later joined by Tammy, the first of our other friends to arrive. That evening the three of us went out for dinner and walked around the bustling Thamel district of Kathmandu.
The next morning our friend Maura arrived. Funnily enough, Brian and I had never met Maura before this day (other than the two video chats we had all done to plan for the trip). She had agreed to embark on an 11-day trek with two complete strangers - so naturally we already liked her. Maura is a good friend of Tammy’s from college and they have done many adventurous trips and treks together over the years. We were honored to be included on this particular one.
That afternoon, the four of us set out for a whirlwind day of shopping and prepping for the trek. We visited countless outdoor and snack shops to stock up on some essentials. Per usual when we are about to embark on a high-altitude adventure, Brian went ham at the pharmacy, buying a full course per person of antibiotics, altitude-sickness meds, and stomach parasite meds, all for the whopping price of $10 USD - no prescriptions needed.
After a full day of perusing the shops and buying more than we could possibly fit into our backpacks, we met up with Krishna (one of the owners of the trekking company we had booked with) and Bibek (our guide and soon-to-be new best friend). Typically, all of us would prefer to do something like the Manaslu Circuit Trek unassisted, but in recent years it has become mandatory to hire a guide. Tammy had managed to find a small company called Nepalorama that allowed us to have a lot of autonomy in our day-to-day and didn’t balk when we told them we did not want to use porters to carry our heavy bags. We spent an hour chatting and drinking tea with our new friends before retiring back to the hotel to welcome Lauren, the final member of our crew.
We stayed up late into the evening packing and triple-checking that we had everything we needed. Unfortunately, our late-night packing session and some stomach issues led to me only getting two hours of sleep and I woke up feeling terrible. Luckily, we did not have any hiking planned for this day but rather a seven-hour jeep ride to the starting point of our trek in Soti Khola. After exiting the chaos of Kathmandu, the Mahindra jeep weaved and bounced its way along the precariously narrow two-way roads and through the challenging off-road terrain that makes up many of the main roads across Nepal. Our driver cranked up the volume and treated us to a playlist of 90s and 2000s pop hits. Among the musical gems was an unexpected dose of Celine Dion, and to my surprise, our driver couldn't resist rocking out to her tunes. After seven hours on the road, I think Brian summed up the day quite well with his comment that “it is hard to sleep when you’re pulling Gs.”
^clearly this guy is the exception to Brian's statement
That evening, we had our first dal bhat - a staple in the Nepalese diet typically consisting of a platter of rice, lentil soup, vegetable curry, and some form of cooked greens - all with unlimited refills.
After a good night’s rest, we awoke to the sounds of the Buri Gandaki River.
We ate breakfast, packed our bags, and embarked on the first official day of trekking. Before leaving for the trek, we had attempted to find stats on the distance and elevation gain of each day. Unfortunately, this information is difficult to find so every night we relied on our guide Bibek for the upcoming day’s outline. He told us that this day’s hike would be an easy four-hour walk along the road with about 100 meters in elevation gain, but the undulating terrain told a different story and we soon learned to take his estimations with a grain of salt. Even still, it was an easy eight-mile day with about 1,400 ft of elevation gain up to the tiny village of Machha Khola. We hiked along the last stretch of driveable road we would see for a while, stepping aside for the occasional truck. We arrived at our tea house in time for a late dal bhat lunch and spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing and walking through the small village.
We woke up bright and early the following morning to begin the 11 miles and 3,100 ft of elevation gain up to the village of Jagat. Our previous day’s fast pace helped our guide to realize he was leading a group of intrepid hikers who like to push themselves, so it was comical the number of times he reminded us we should “take our time” and “go our own pace.” The one point during the day where he retracted his statements was through a section of steep and loose boulders. One boulder about the size of a bowling ball came close to taking out Brian, so we were quick to hasten our pace and made it through unscathed. Throughout the day we crossed four suspension bridges and saw some beautiful cascading waterfalls. The overcast sky loomed overhead with the promise of rain, but it held off until the last five minutes into town when it unleashed a torrential downpour.
We warmed up inside the teahouse with some masala tea and Maura taught us all how to play a card game called “oh hell” that would fill many of our evenings to come. Upon returning to our rooms to go to bed, we were greeted by a rave-like light show through our windows from some Diwali decorations outside. After some laughs and a short lively dance party, we unplugged the lights and went to sleep.
The next morning the rain was gone and we hiked the 12 miles and 3,400 ft of elevation gain to Dyang in beautiful sunshine. We continued beside the Buri Gandaki River, crossing many more suspension bridges and encountering numerous donkey caravans taking supplies up to the villages. We made our way along a beautiful balcony trail overlooking the river, passed through a couple of quaint villages, and got our first views of some snow-capped mountains (“hills” according to Bibek). Bibek was our trusty hype man continually reminding us of how awesome we were doing and how great we looked every time he took our photo. We enjoyed a beautiful sunset from the teahouse and spent the evening relaxing, laughing, and playing cards. As always, Bibek made sure to remind us to “only go to sleep when you are sleepy” - one of the many endearing phrases he would often repeat.
The following morning brought gorgeous views of the sunrise on the nearby mountains. After performing our usual morning routine of eating breakfast, filtering water, and packing our bags, we set out to tackle the 11.5 miles and 4,400 ft of elevation gain to the village of Namrung. The terrain presented us with strenuous steep ascents followed by equally long descents, pushing our limits more than any previous day. Our customary dal bhat lunch provided a much-needed energy boost or as the guides like to say - gave us the “dal bhat power, 24 hours.” It felt good to push our bodies, but at one point there was a grueling and seemingly never-ending stone stair section. Just as exhaustion threatened to overwhelm us, we stumbled upon an unexpected oasis - a local organic apple orchard with freshly baked goods! Our moods were quickly elevated as we devoured the apple pastries and sweets and laughed about the perfect timing of our good fortune. Twenty more minutes of steep stone steps later we reached Namrung.
As we were relaxing at the teahouse and enjoying our usual veg/egg noodle dinner (one of the safest and most reliable choices on the teahouse menus), Bibek mentioned that there was a traditional ceremony happening in the village that evening. Although we didn’t quite comprehend the meaning behind the ceremony, we understood it was a rare and special occurrence to be able to witness it. As night fell, we joined the entire town (about 50 people) and a local Tibetan lama (spiritual leader) around a glowing fire as men in elaborate costumes and masks danced around the fire to the beat of cymbals. It was a truly unique experience as we were the only foreigners there and it didn’t feel like they were putting on a show. We were quiet observers of a beautiful cultural event.
Our ever-increasing elevation brought colder nights and mornings. After begrudgingly getting out of our sleeping bags into the brisk morning air, it was time to begin the just over 9 miles and 3,790 ft of elevation gain to Shyala. As we made our way higher in elevation and closer to the Tibetan border, our usual “namaste” greeting on the trail transitioned to “tashi delek,” the Tibetan phrase for hello, as the people in these villages are culturally Tibetan. We were anxious to begin hiking because after four days of trekking, this was the day we were finally going to see Mount Manaslu! Multiple times we rounded a corner to see a new snow-capped peak only to find out it was a different mountain, until at last the peak of Manaslu was revealed. Standing at 26,781 ft (or 8,163 m), it is a majestic sight to see. We marveled at its towering glaciated faces while eating lunch and the rest of the way to Shyala.
After dropping our bags off at our teahouse in Shyala, we made the short walk up to a nearby monastery nestled beneath the mountains. We spent some time admiring the view and taking some silly jumping photos (perhaps not the smartest decision at 11,500 ft), before retiring for the evening and warming ourselves by the heat of the teahouse’s wood stove.
^If you know, you know
The next day was one of my favorite days on the entire trek. After waking up to watch the sunrise, we began our ascent up to 13,300 ft to reach the Pungyen Monastery. This spiritual refuge has been in use for the past 500 years and sits at the foothills of Mount Manaslu in one of the most jaw-dropping natural amphitheaters I have ever seen. To get to the monastery, we had a slow and steady climb past frozen streams and through the early-morning shadows of the surrounding Himalayas. The sky was a brilliant blue, creating a stunning backdrop for our journey. Upon reaching the highest point, we spent an hour relaxing in the sun next to an enormous glacier and taking in the stunning 360° views.
It was a short 20 minutes farther to reach the monastery. We rested and had a snack as we imagined what life is like for the monks who reside away from worldly chaos in this beautiful place.
Although we could have happily spent more time taking in the views, we had two more hours of hiking to reach Samagaon, our final destination for the night. We reached our teahouse where a hearty dal bhat awaited us and we spent the evening chatting and playing cards.
The next day we continued our upward climb to the village of Samdo at 12,676 ft. It was an eight-mile day with 2,500 ft of elevation gain. On our way out of Samagaon we visited a colorful 900-year-old monastery and its nearby newer counterpart. We also spun some of the prayer wheels which can be found at many monasteries and temples in Nepal. When turned clockwise, the prayer wheels are thought to release prayers and mantras into the heavens.
We continued hiking until we reached the beautiful turquoise Birendra Lake. There, we paused, captivated by the view of Manaslu’s unobstructed summit against the backdrop of clear blue skies.
Shortly after leaving the lake, we reached a trail that leads to the Manaslu Base Camp. We had originally planned on trekking to base camp, but the guides and other trekkers who had done it recently told us the camp was empty this time of year and not worth visiting. It was a tough decision, but since we were already doing the trek in fewer days than most, we determined it was wise to press on. We continued for about two hours on a steady but gradual uphill trail until we reached a few short steep sections that led us up to Samdo.
After having our usual dal bhat lunch, we walked around the quaint village, stopping at the local “bakery.” This bakery had cakes, pies, and cinnamon rolls of questionable age that were served between receipt paper and stored in a rusty metal bin, but after a long day of trekking they were just what we needed!
Later that afternoon, Bibek took us on an acclimatization hike up a nearby mountain. We climbed about 1,000 ft past wildflowers still hanging on to the last bit of fall and between prickly bushes as the shadows from the setting sun crawled up the mountainside. We watched the last rays of light dip below the peaks before making our way back down to our teahouse.
The following day we had planned to spend acclimatizing in Samdo, but given that the weather in the mountains can change at any time, we decided to push on to give ourselves a better chance of having good weather for our upcoming summit. It was a short four miles and 2,000 ft of elevation gain to reach the small camp of Dharmasala. Located at 14,735 ft, Dharmasala is the jumping-off point to summit Larke Pass and only came into existence around 30 years ago. Accommodations are very basic and it is little more than a place for trekkers to spend a restless night of high-altitude sleep before tackling the pass. Bibek, who is a very easygoing person, had lamented multiple times about the accommodations and food, so our expectations were low, but we still had a good laugh when we saw our metal box filled wall to wall with three twin mattresses and four pillows for five people.
We were very lucky to get a room at all as supply was low. Given the tight quarters, Brian graciously volunteered to sleep in one of the tents outside. After resting and eating lunch, we did a short acclimatization hike up a nearby hill. We sat and took in the view of the surrounding mountains and the camp below before heading back down.
Unfortunately, Tammy and Maura started feeling sick, so after watching a beautiful sunset we went to bed at 6 pm to get some rest before our early morning alarm.
We awoke at 3:15 am to eat a quick breakfast and put on every layer of clothing we brought. We set out in the frigid morning air to begin our ascent up the Larke Pass. The reason for our early departure was to arrive at the top of the pass before the afternoon sun and wind made conditions difficult. The past eight days of trekking had been slowly building up to this point as we would reach our highest elevation of the trip - around 17,000 ft!
It was a steady and gradual climb as we used our headlamps to guide the way until the morning sun provided some welcome warmth and light.
After a few hours of climbing, we took our last arduous steps through the snow to reach the 16,750 ft pass! We celebrated our success, before deciding that we were too close to 17,000 ft to stop there. We left our packs with Bibek and climbed the extra 250 ft up a nearby ridge with a new trail friend.
Soon it was time to begin the very long descent down the mountain. We had about 5,000 ft of descent to reach Bhimthang, our destination for the evening. We used our microspikes to navigate the initial section of snow before continuing the long slog down a steep and rocky path.
When we finally reached Bhimthang, we collapsed from exhaustion after 11.5 miles and over 9 hours of hiking.
Since we were a day ahead of schedule and Tammy, Maura, and now myself were not feeling well, we decided to split up what was supposed to be an extremely long next day of descending into two days. The following day we said goodbye to the snowy mountains as we made our way through the jungle and mossy forest down to the village of Goa.
After a good night’s rest, we hiked the remaining few miles to Tilche, crossing our last two suspension bridges, before a jeep picked us up and drove us a very bumpy five hours on some precariously narrow two-way roads and over some questionably built bridges to Besisahar.
It felt strange to be back in the hustle and bustle of a town. After taking some much-needed showers, we took a walk through the streets. Having realized we made it the entire trek without anyone getting injured, Tammy decided to try and bite off her tongue while eating a doughnut. Luckily, after almost 20 minutes of non-stop bleeding, she ended up being fine and we made sure to leave a review commenting on just how good the doughnuts were.
The next morning another jeep picked us up bright and early to drive the remaining six hours back to Kathmandu. Our driver was an interesting character who drove the entire way with a neck pillow and managed to talk his way out of paying a police bribe (while wearing said neck pillow) when we got randomly pulled over.
We eventually arrived at our hotel and said goodbye to our awesome guide Bibek. That evening, we all went out for a delicious pizza dinner and reflected on the past 11 days before it was sadly time for Maura and Lauren to leave for the airport.
The next day, Tammy, Brian, and I walked around the city, visited the Kathmandu Durbar Square, and did some souvenir shopping before Tammy had to catch her flight home.
Brian and I stayed in Kathmandu for another four days relaxing, having tea with Bibek, celebrating Thanksgiving at a delicious Indian restaurant, buying way too many souvenirs, visiting the Monkey Temple, and processing our time in this fascinating country. We fell in love with the beauty in the chaos, the kindness of the people, the enchantment of the nature, and the richness of the culture in a country we hope to return to someday. We also spent some time preparing for the next and final destination on our journey: New Zealand!
Cheers,
Brian and Erin
Comments