Day 10
Route: Yak Kharka (4,020m) to Thorung High View Camp (4,850m)
Teahouse: High View Camp
Route: Thorung High View Camp (4,850m) to Muktinath (3,800m)
Teahouse: Hotel Sunshine
WHAT A DAY! It began at 3.45 am with an alarm that actually came as something of a relief given how little sleep Sarah and I had been able to get. True, few people do above 4,000m but add extreme cold and adrenalin to the equation and you are in for a fairly uncomfortable night. I hit the snooze button and reflected on the challenge ahead – we were about to climb about 550m in pretty much pitch-black and obscenely cold conditions. There was no need to spend any time dressing in the morning before breakfast – we had both slept with our walking gear on! Even the bottles of water had to be kept in my sleeping bag overnight to stop them from freezing (which worked, but only just!).
Breakfast was a quick affair and very little was said – we knew what we were expecting and everyone seemed to be pretty focused and “in the zone”. We were about to climb nearly 600m and then descend 1,600m to the nearest village on the other side of the pass – a tough long day!
I have never seen such a beautiful night sky – so clear (a good sign!) with the half-moon burning just above the horizon and a scattering of bright stars. It was truly amazing but there wasn't much time to pause and take it all in – with our head torches on it was time to get moving and hopefully warm up!
Physically fairly spent but emotionally uplifted, we eventually reached our teahouse in Muktinath, Hotel Sunshine. For a small extra cost we enjoyed our first hot showers for a good few days – absolute bliss. We also took advantage of the “facilities” (an outside tap and bucket) on offer to wash our clothes and hang them to try on the makeshift washing lines. The teahouse had a terrace area on the first floor and we spent a good hour there with our feet up enjoying the views and warming up in the sun after the painfully cold start to the day. Other trekkers began to arrive, each one jubilant at having survived what was meant to be the toughest day. We caught up with Aurelie, Anthony and Eric and shared stories of the day. They had left slightly later than us that morning and had experienced firsthand the strong winds that we had luckily managed to avoid. We also got chatting to an Aussie chap who had succumbed to his meat cravings and ordered yak steak and chips for lunch. “Delicious but tough” was his assessment of his protein injection. He looked very satisfied with himself and all I could think of that afternoon was Yak Steak, whilst remembering Rob and Lauren’s advice to “avoid yak steak at all costs!”. “If he survives the afternoon, I’m having one!”, I defiantly said to Sarah.
Route: Muktinath (3,800m) to Kagbeni (2,840m)
Teahouse: Hotel Shangri La
It was strange to set off in the morning knowing that it would be a day of descending. Thankfully, where possible, Bhuwan kept us off the main road and we noticed that very few people seemed to be taking our route to Kagbeni. We passed a few Nepali and Indian Hindu pilgrims on their way to Muktinath (even a group with Brummie accents!). It is common to do the pilgrimage from Jomsom, usually by foot or horseback or increasingly in jeeps or even chartered helicopters.
Soon after leaving Muktinath, we stopped to appreciate the fine views down onto Jharkot (3,500m), an impressive fortress-like village. After a few hours of gentle walking among meadows, streams and poplar and fruit trees (and, unfortunately, the occasional rattling car or motorbike) we reached Kagbeni.
The village itself felt like a medieval village, with tight alleys separating the closely packed mud houses. It also features the wonderfully named "Yac Donalds" restaurant. Cattle roamed freely all around the village, which also featured a very impressive Buddhist gompa named Kag Chode Samphelling Gompa (in case you were wondering!), which is believed to date from 1440. The view from the roof was spectacular, to say the least.
Route: Yak Kharka (4,020m) to Thorung High View Camp (4,850m)
Teahouse: High View Camp
An extremely long and tough day, but worth it for the spectacular scenery which was becoming increasingly dry and barren.
In the morning we walked for around three hours, passing through Letdar (4,230m), the penultimate shelter before the pass. The track followed the east bank of the Jarsang Khola stream before a steep descent to a wooden bridge at 4,310m which passed over the stream and what felt like an even steeper ascent to Thorung Pedi (4,540m).
We stopped for a good couple of hours for lunch at Thorung Base Camp Lodge where we were joined by Aurelie, Anthony and Eric. Even at this ridiculously high altitude, I was amazed by how much choice there was on the menu – definitely something for everyone! Knockin' on Heaven's Door was playing on the radio in the restaurant – strangely fitting given the altitude we were at.
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| Food for thought... |
One of the benefits of having Bhuwan with us was that he knew the owners of the High View Camp and before we left Yak Kharka he put in a call to reserve some rooms for not only Sarah and I, but also Aurelie, Anthony and Eric. Once Bhuwan had made the call, Padam set off before us in order to make sure we got our rooms at High View Camp.
High View Camp is an hours' climb from Thorung Pedi and the path was probably the steepest we experienced on the trek. Exhausting stuff. It was with some relief when we finally reached the camp and looked back down at Thorung Pedi. It was definitely worth the extra effort though as it meant we would have less of a climb to the summit the next day.
When we reached High View Camp we were greeted by a cheery and dancing Padam (he really does like to get his moves out!). Our bedroom was, as expected, the smallest and most basic of the trek - the double bed was nearly the size of the room itself! However, we were just grateful that Bhuwan and Padam had been able to secure Sarah and I, as well as Aurelie, Anthony and Eric, rooms for the night. Walking back down to Thorung Pedi that afternoon and then walking back up to High View Camp the next morning would not exactly have been my idea of fun!
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We all enjoyed the last hour before sunset sat outside our rooms and taking a few photos whilst trying (pretty unsuccessfully!) to dry our undergarments. Sarah tried to warm up by putting 10 layers on and cocooning herself in her sleeping bag with a book.
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| The climb up to Thorung High View Camp |
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| Alpine chough - not a crow, as Bhuwan insisted! |
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| The smallest double room. Ever. |
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| Red-fronted rosefinch |
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| Alpine accentor |
We all enjoyed the last hour before sunset sat outside our rooms and taking a few photos whilst trying (pretty unsuccessfully!) to dry our undergarments. Sarah tried to warm up by putting 10 layers on and cocooning herself in her sleeping bag with a book.
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There wasn't much to do at High View Camp but the breathtaking views more than made up for it. I wondered if the people who work up there ever get bored of them?! Probably not, I daresay. As soon as the sun disappeared it was staggering how rapidly the temperature began to plummet. Bhuwan and I spent the last 45 minutes of the day walking up to one of the side peaks to get some great sunset views of the surrounding peaks. The peak itself was very small and the sheer drop from one side of it was not for the faint hearted and made me think for a minute that this could be the trigger for me suffering my first experience of vertigo. For the first time on the trek I felt a little dizzy and the legs bagan to wilt under me. All I could think of was the scene from Hitchcock's classic, Vertigo, when James Stewart is paralysed by vertigo as he chases Kim Novak up a steep church staircase. The mind was definitely starting to do funny things. “Time to head back down, quickly”, I said to Bhuwan.
We had supper at around 6pm with a view to getting a very early night. We would start the ascent to the Thorung-La pass at around 4am the next day to avoid the strong winds that pick up mid-morning. The dining area was not much warmer than outside which was, by 7pm, easily around minus 15 to 20 degrees celcius. We ate with Aurelie, Anthony and Eric and some middle-aged French people and there was, as you can imagine, only one topic of conversation – how the next day would go.
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| Snug as a bug in a rug! |
There wasn't much to do at High View Camp but the breathtaking views more than made up for it. I wondered if the people who work up there ever get bored of them?! Probably not, I daresay. As soon as the sun disappeared it was staggering how rapidly the temperature began to plummet. Bhuwan and I spent the last 45 minutes of the day walking up to one of the side peaks to get some great sunset views of the surrounding peaks. The peak itself was very small and the sheer drop from one side of it was not for the faint hearted and made me think for a minute that this could be the trigger for me suffering my first experience of vertigo. For the first time on the trek I felt a little dizzy and the legs bagan to wilt under me. All I could think of was the scene from Hitchcock's classic, Vertigo, when James Stewart is paralysed by vertigo as he chases Kim Novak up a steep church staircase. The mind was definitely starting to do funny things. “Time to head back down, quickly”, I said to Bhuwan.
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| At a place called vertigo! |
We had supper at around 6pm with a view to getting a very early night. We would start the ascent to the Thorung-La pass at around 4am the next day to avoid the strong winds that pick up mid-morning. The dining area was not much warmer than outside which was, by 7pm, easily around minus 15 to 20 degrees celcius. We ate with Aurelie, Anthony and Eric and some middle-aged French people and there was, as you can imagine, only one topic of conversation – how the next day would go.
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| The only way to warm your hands up - sit on them! |
Day 11
Route: Thorung High View Camp (4,850m) to Muktinath (3,800m)
Teahouse: Hotel Sunshine
WHAT A DAY! It began at 3.45 am with an alarm that actually came as something of a relief given how little sleep Sarah and I had been able to get. True, few people do above 4,000m but add extreme cold and adrenalin to the equation and you are in for a fairly uncomfortable night. I hit the snooze button and reflected on the challenge ahead – we were about to climb about 550m in pretty much pitch-black and obscenely cold conditions. There was no need to spend any time dressing in the morning before breakfast – we had both slept with our walking gear on! Even the bottles of water had to be kept in my sleeping bag overnight to stop them from freezing (which worked, but only just!).
Breakfast was a quick affair and very little was said – we knew what we were expecting and everyone seemed to be pretty focused and “in the zone”. We were about to climb nearly 600m and then descend 1,600m to the nearest village on the other side of the pass – a tough long day!
I have never seen such a beautiful night sky – so clear (a good sign!) with the half-moon burning just above the horizon and a scattering of bright stars. It was truly amazing but there wasn't much time to pause and take it all in – with our head torches on it was time to get moving and hopefully warm up!
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| An early start from High View Camp! |
The path was extremely narrow with occasional steep drops to the side. Fortunately the snow of a few days earlier had melted. That said, parts of the trail remained icy. This was the highest altitude Sarah and I had ever been in our lives and my goodness, you can really feel it in your breathing. Each step seemed like twice the effort of when we had started the trek 10 days previously.
Eventually, after walking for a good couple of hours (which felt like an eternity) the day began to break revealing the surrounding peaks in all their glory. With no sign of the morning winds and with only another 30 minutes of walking until we reached the pass, we stopped to take some photos and take in the surroundings.
We reached the pass with a sense of relief and euphoria. We had made it – the world's largest pass. A mere 5,416m above sea-level. We were up at the same level as many of the surrounding peaks and the views stretched for miles and miles and every direction. Seeing the Tibetan landscape in the distance was a particular highlight. You really did feel as though you were on top of the world!
Luckily, we managed to avoid the strong winds but it was still bitterly cold. We stopped for a warm cuppa in the wooden hut at the top of the pass. Amazingly, the guy who runs the 'teahouse' apparently sleeps there at night. I got a rather puzzled expression from the owner when I asked whether he served mulled wine!
Strangely, the descent from 5,416m to c. 3,800m proved to be much tougher than the ascent. Maybe it was the mixture of jubilation at having reached the summit relatively trouble-free and with particularly great weather combined with a drop in our adrenalin levels but going descending so quickly was a strange feeling. We had climbed for so long to reach the summit and seen so many changes in scenery that heading down felt like a strange anti-climax. Physically, we made the error of “switching off” and I lost count of the number of near falls we had on the way down, due, in no small part, to the mistake we made of thinking we were over the worst. My knees, in particular, seemed to be feeling it the most and the noise they made sounded a bit like the noise a bowl of rice krispies makes when you add the milk. With each step, I could almost hear the “snap, crackle, pop”! I wondered how long it would be before I was suffering arthritis in the knees!
As a keen mountain biker, I felt genuine sympathy for the French cyclists. Having cycled/carried their bikes up to 5,416m, they quickly found that most of the way down to Muktinath was too steep and narrow to cycle. Parts of the path also remained covered in snow. A couple of times we saw them try to get on the bikes but quickly get off for fear of going straight over the handlebars with the downward momentum. Carrying the bikes on their shoulders must have been particularly torturous.
The final descent towards Muktinath was truly spectacular. The snow-capped peaks of Tibet made me wish we had more time to explore this barren and rugged land.
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| Hotel Sunshine |
Muktinath is a sacred place both for Hindus and Buddhists located in Muktinath Valley. Hindus call the sacred place Mukti Kshetra, which literally means the "place of salvation". Buddhists call it Chumig Gyatsa, which in Tibetan means 'Hundred Waters'.
Just before dusk we set off for Muktinath’s central shrine of Sri Muktinath. The shrine is considered to be one of the eight most sacred shrines for Hindus. It features 108 bull faces through which freezing water, considered to be holy, is poured. We followed Bhuwan’s lead and dipped our heads under the water – my goodness, it was freezing! Nearby is a Buddhist gompa (monastery) and a pagoda-type temple dedicated to Jwala Mayi (goddess of fire). In this temple, shielded by curtains, are the outlets for the natural gas that oozes from the rock and feeds the temple flame.
We got back to our teahouse just as it was getting dark. The Aussie chap was reading a book, seemingly unaffected by his Yak Steak so I knew what I would be having for supper that evening! I reassured Sarah that there was actually a fridge in the kitchen, though I must confess I didn’t actually check to see that it was working and that there was yak meat inside the fridge.
With our clothes still drying on comical temporary washing lines above the fire in the dining room, we had a great evening with Aurelie, Anthony and Eric and discussed the remainder of the circuit. As they were going at a faster pace than we were, it would be the last time we would see them until Pokhara.
Day 12
Route: Muktinath (3,800m) to Kagbeni (2,840m)
Teahouse: Hotel Shangri La
It was strange to set off in the morning knowing that it would be a day of descending. Thankfully, where possible, Bhuwan kept us off the main road and we noticed that very few people seemed to be taking our route to Kagbeni. We passed a few Nepali and Indian Hindu pilgrims on their way to Muktinath (even a group with Brummie accents!). It is common to do the pilgrimage from Jomsom, usually by foot or horseback or increasingly in jeeps or even chartered helicopters.
Soon after leaving Muktinath, we stopped to appreciate the fine views down onto Jharkot (3,500m), an impressive fortress-like village. After a few hours of gentle walking among meadows, streams and poplar and fruit trees (and, unfortunately, the occasional rattling car or motorbike) we reached Kagbeni.
The village of Kagbeni ended up being one of the highlights of the circuit. From afar it appears like a slightly dreamy green oasis surrounded on all sides by such dry and unforgiving land and a wide fast flowing river. Fortunately, because we had quite a relaxed itinerary, we were able to spend the afternoon and evening there as opposed to skipping the village altogether and heading on to Jomsom or Marpha (which can be done in a day from Muktinath).
Kagbeni is situated in the valley of the Kali Gandaki, one of three rivers that cross the Himalayas. The Kali Gandaki valley was, until the Chinese invasion, one of the major trading routes between Nepal and India. The Nepalese traded salt for barley, spices and clothes from India. Kagbeni, which means literally, “bolt at the two rivers”, controlled the trade which has, to a large extent been brought to an end. Nowadays, the village survives mainly on tourism.
The village itself felt like a medieval village, with tight alleys separating the closely packed mud houses. It also features the wonderfully named "Yac Donalds" restaurant. Cattle roamed freely all around the village, which also featured a very impressive Buddhist gompa named Kag Chode Samphelling Gompa (in case you were wondering!), which is believed to date from 1440. The view from the roof was spectacular, to say the least.
When we reached the perimeter of the village, we were afforded excellent views of the route into the former Himalayan kingdom of Mustang – an arid and starkly beautiful land which is now protected from mass tourism (trekking permits for Mustang cost a minimum of US$500 per person for 10 days). There was something mystical and enticing about Mustang, starting from the entrance to the kingdom after crossing the wide and fast-flowing Kali Gandaki river. We vowed one day to return!
