Annapurna circuit trek, Day 4: Dharapani to Chame

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When we woke up in the morning, it was disappointing to see
rains. We finished our breakfast on time (7AM) but there was no let up in rain.
We decided to delay our start to wait for the rain to subside.
A waterfall near Timang
At 8AM, weather turned slightly better and we started our
journey. We should have got the first glimpse of one of the Annapurna peaks on
the way. But skies did not open up to let us see the views. We hadn’t even got
a sight of Manaslu which should have been seen from day 2.
Cloudy day in Timang
After about 1.5 hours of walk, we reached the village of
Danaque. From here it is a steep climb of about 1500 feet to the village of
Timang. Also the so called motorable road ends here due to a landslide.
After landslide, we had to cross a stream and take a foot
path that climbs steeply. Subbu was of the opinion to take the wide road that
skirts the hill while I preferred to climb straight up. While crossing the
stream, Subbu slips to wet his shoes. I back off immediately to take an
alternative route via a small bridge which requires me to go down and then
climb up.
A restaurant under construction at Thanchowk
The road Subbu was planning to take was blocked and we had
to climb up through the steep path. After an hour of climbing, we reach the
village of Timang. My porter wants to have lunch which we reject. It was still
11AM and too early for lunch. He does not want to eat alone as it costs more.
(Porters get discount only if the team members eat food!). We give him some dry
fruit and energy bar to sustain for another hour.
Valley after Thanchowk
Landscape changes as we reach Timang. Thick forests are replaced
by pine trees. It is also colder. We will not be seeing many waterfalls.
We reach a traditional village of Thanchowk and finish our
lunch of “Dal bhaat” there. The restaurant had some nice flower plants. While the lunch was prepared, I took some time to photograph them.
The walk from Thanchowk is gentle with some nice views. We
had to register ourselves at the village of Koto. This is the turn off point
for the restricted area of Nar-Phu.
At Chame we settle at Moonlight hotel. For the first (and
only) time in the trek, my NCELL connection works enabling me to make phone calls
to my Home. (Tip: NCELL is popular mobile operator in Nepal, but in Annapurna
circuit Nepal Telecom works better). There was no electricity in the village as
a landslide had hit the hydro power station.
Entrance to Chame

For the first time in the trek, weather showed signs of
improving. Annapurna II (26,040 feet) made a brief appearance which lifted our
spirits a lot!!

4 Responses

  1. tavakari

    Hello Aravind,

    Hope you are doing well. I would like to invite to a popular travel destination in north karnataka.

    Kindly email me your contact details for invitation.

    Regards,
    Rajesh.
    rajesh @ dandeli com

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