15 December 2008
Scott and I decided to take the lower (or southern) route to Manage as we were a bit knackered.
The views were fantastic surrounded by massive mountains. We passed some and the walk wasn’t that bad, passing some great stupas and villages.
The walk was a long steady incline and by the time we reached morning tea Kathryn had spotted a plane and was ready to leave. We convinced her to come on to Manang and make a decision there, not based on emotion. We went past some stupas so high on the mountains but there were prayer flags and wheels everywhere. We walked through Bhraka which is a Tibetan village built into the mountainside.
There were loads of eagles soaring above us with the most incredible blue skies and white snowcapped mountains. The walk itself was not too bad although altitude is getting higher, but so far we are only as high as Cusco, Peru.
The hotel is far from basic. We have a room overlooking the Annapurna ranges and it also has an attached bathroom, so no need to run outside during the freezing night. There is also a great hot shower and they have a laundry service and when you consider where you are this is like 5 star luxury. The food is also great and so much choice. We had a lovely veggie burger with fresh salad before heading off to look around the village, also looking at the Gangapurna glacier and lake below it. It isn’t much of a glacier at least compared to South America, but still you can get quite close.
There are a lot of shops and small lodges, even a mini cinema, you can only imagine in peak season this place is packed and people had to camp outside.
We get to spend 2 nights here to acclimatisation so it is nice to relax and not have to worry about packing for a night.
The weather is quite cold, but the lodge has a dung fuelled fire which heats the room. This is an amazingly efficient way of heating and surprisingly doesn’t smell and much more environmentally friendly than logging the forest. It is nice to hand out and relax. It is also busy with other groups of travellers.