16 Nov 2013

Annapurna circuit trek, Day 5: Chame to Lower Pisang

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Previous posts:
Day 1: Kathmandu to Bhulbule
Day 2: Bhulbule to Syange
Day 3: Syange to Dharapani
Day 4: Dharapani to Chame
Two pleasant surprises awaited us in the morning. One was in
the form of Vinod, an Indian. He was from Bengaluru and was the first Indian we
saw in the trek. We saw only two Indians in the treks; strange considering we
nearly met people from more than 25 countries.
Annapurna II in the morning
The other surprise was the improvement in weather. We could
see Annapurna II from one window and Manaslu from another window of our room.
For the first time, we felt that we were doing a Himalayan trek!! But weather
would again turn gloomy by afternoon.
Manaslu seem from Chame
As we started with high spirits, a helicopter landed nearby
and took off within few minutes. It might be an evacuation for a person
suffering from AMS (Acute Mountain Sickness). A reminder for us though we were
still at 9000 feet. We will be climbing another 9K feet in the coming days!!
Rescue helicopter near Chame
As we walked, another snow mountain made an appearance. It
was Lamjhung at 22,910 feet. Annapurna IV was barely visible but provided an overview of things to expect in the coming days.
With little gain in elevation we reached the village of
Bharatang. Here we purchased Apples that was grown locally. It would have been
wise if we asked Suman to purchase and then give money as locals were getting
at lower rate!!
Bharatang
Waterfalls were fewer as we climb up. Here was one of the
rare waterfalls near Bharatang.
The trail we follow now has been blasted out of the side of
the hill. Here we have the first view of Swarga Dwar, a monstrous curved slab
of rock rising more than 5000 feet. It looked awesome even though cloudy
weather spoiled the great views of it.
The climb becomes steep after we cross the river and after
what looks like a long journey we reach Dhukur Pokhari village filled with
restaurant. We go to the one that is not yet taken by trekkers and order our
regular “Dal bhaat”!!
Swarga Dwar covered in clouds
Our porter seemed to enjoying his time in the restaurant and
was not ready to move. He promises us to catch up before we reach Pisang.
Walk till Pisang was refreshing. The trail was wide enough for
a bus to go. But at present, only few two wheeler ply as the bridges are still
not constructed. Things will change in the coming year.
Road to Pisang!!
Pisang is divided into two parts, lower and upper Pisang. We
crossed the main entrance and then for the first time in the trek, we lost out
way. There was a small path we missed and took the “bypass” to the next
village!! After walking for 20 minutes, we wondered why we are not seeing the
village though we crossed its entrance long back!! We met a local here who
asked us to go back and take that small diversion.
Marsyandi river near Pisang
Our porter had suggested us to stay at “Uste” hotel in
Pisang. We had reached there and seeing that we are not yet “in”, he had
already started searching us in other lodges!!
Pisang entrance

By then our eating habits had become consistent. Breakfast
consisted of Tea and Tibetan bread. It was compensated by ‘heavy’ lunch of Dal
bhaat. We had an evening tea and had our dinner of shared fried rice!! But at ‘Utse’
we deviated from normal menu and had Pizza which was the speciality of the
lodge!!
A small pond at Pisang

7 Responses

  6. Ross S
    | Reply

    great pics and story. i did the trek in 2005 and going again in March 2014. I see the road is getting further into the mountains. Views still look great. When did you do the trek? cheers Ross

  7. Aravind GJ
    | Reply

    Ross,
    Thanks for your comments. I did my trek this October.

    You will see lot of changes since 2005. Road now runs all along the Kali Gandaki valley.

    It is highly likely that road will be completed till Manang in a year or two.

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