These days as I have started playing around with videos I am looking at my old folders as well. I remember this bumpy ride from Beshishehar to Sangey really well. It required a strong back, it was that bumpy. Sangey could be one of the starting points of Annapurna Circuit Trek in Nepal. Many people feel the charm of the trek has gone down with a kaccha road now running at least up to Chame. But you can see what is the condition of the road.
I am always torn between roads and no roads argument. I tried talking to the locals on the issue of the road. A lady at the lodge in Manang said because of the road the prices of transporting food dropped down. So, it was a win-win situation for everyone.
The Bumpy Road to Sangey, Nepal
While talking to the people I realized that they resented the fact that helicopters would fly to lift stranded tourists but not for the locals. I could not explain it to them that they flew only for those who had insurance. I wonder why chopper companies could not run an insurance scheme for local people.
The local people in the far flung villages, particularly without road connections, found it very difficult to reach a hospital when someone was ill. Transporting an ill person was a great challenge. I could hear then loud and clear on that one.
While going for the trek, I took the jeep and the road for granted. While coming back, it was another story. There was heavy rain which washed away the roads, so there was no jeep. Which meant I had to walk more and more. And in the end I realized that sometimes finding a jeep could be almost the best part in a rain soaked trek!
I tried to trek through the Annapurna Circuit in Nepal in June 2013. I reached as high as Letdar (4200 meters). It rained a lot from Manang onward. The continuous snow at Letdar finally convinced us to turn back and give up on the trek. It is always sad when I cannot complete a trek, but then if the weather is adverse I would like to come back to the place, rather than continuing foolishly.
I have written a day by day account of my trek. So here I collect it in one post. The posts after Letdar may not interest you as I was walking back whereas you would be going ahead. But I need to record it so that I may remember even 10 years from now. I cannot tell you how happy I was when we finally got to the road and found a jeep that would take us back to the civilization!
Snow at Letdar, Annapurna Circuit Trek, Nepal
So without further delay here are the posts in detail-
Annapurna Circuit Trek- Reaching Sangey, Day 1- Sangey to Dharapani, Nepal
Annapurna Circuit Trek, Day 2- Dharapani to Chame
Annapurna Circuit Trek, Nepal- Day 3 Chame to Pisang
Annapurna Circuit Trek, Nepal- Day 4 Pisang to Manang
Annapurna Circuit Trek, Nepal- Day 5 Rest and Acclimatization Day at Manang
Annapurna Circuit Trek, Nepal- Day 6 Manang to Letdar
Annapurna Circuit Trek, Nepal- Day 7 The Snowfall at Letdar
Annapurna Circuit Trek, Nepal- The Retreat, Day 8 Letdar to Humde
Annapurna Circuit Trek, Nepal- The Retreat, Day 9 Humde to Timang
Annapurna Circuit Trek, Nepal- The Retreat, Day 10 Timang to Chamche
If you have any questions about the trek, do leave a comment or write to me. My email is in my profile at the top right of this page. I wish you a better weather than I got at the Annapurna Circuit Trek!
Timang is a small village on the Annapurna Circuit Trek in Nepal. I reached there while walking back after a lot of bad weather at Letdar. The sky was almost always overcast throughout this trek.
Morning at Timang, Annapurna Circuit Trek, Nepal
The night I was at Timang was exceptionally clear and the entire range was bathed in moonlight. I was just too tired to try and click a picture. I do not carry a tripod on the trek as well. I was hoping that the range would be clear in the morning too. But no such luck. there were clouds in the morning and this was the view I got. Still, Himalayas always look majestic to me!
This post is part of Sky Watch Friday. Do check out this fabulous theme.