Couple at Tea House Deaurli, already within walking distance of Thorong Phedi.
tea lady
Owner of a tea house between Yak Kharka and Thorong Phedi, along with family photos.
Old Fashioned Posts
Notes and Information posted at the entrance of the New Phedi Hotel.
Danger of Downfall
Sign warns of risk in one of the most dangerous areas of the trail between Yak Kharka and Thorong Phedi.
old woman in the sun
She lives in a village outside Yak Kharka.
Yak destination
A yak's head serves as an amulet over a newly built house.
In just over 6km, we climbed from 4018m to 4450m, at the base of Thorong La canyon. Along the way, we questioned if what we felt were the first problems of Altitude Evil. It was never more than a false alarm.
Text: Marco C. Pereira
Images: Marco C. Pereira-Sara Wong
We had gone to bed at eight at night. We woke up around seven in the morning.
There were eleven hours of invigorating sleep more than deserved and that came with another blessing. Despite his drunken rant from the night before, Don was already on foot. Everything indicated that he was in a position to follow.
During breakfast, we realized that we were going to continue alone. Tatiana, one of the two German girls, and Cris, one of the two Brazilian boys, were not feeling well.
The rest of the group decided to stay one more day in yak karkha, to see if the symptoms of mountain sickness they attenuated.
We still contemplated staying, out of solidarity and love for the group, but we had already dragged ourselves an exaggerated amount of time in Pokhara, preparing the walk.
In addition to that we felt in perfect condition, eager to conquer the Thorong La gorge, to continue, in tranquility, on the other side.
In agreement, after breakfast, when we noticed the group's deliberation in the sun, we said goodbye.
Without major dramas or ceremonies, concerned with transmitting confidence that everyone would resume walking the next morning and that, as had happened before, we would meet again later on.
Then, we inaugurated the route of almost 7km, with an elevation of 400m.
On the way to Thorong Phedi
We pass a small herd of yaks that contribute to the meaning of Yak Karkha, a term translatable to yak corral.
We see their sharply defined silhouettes against the snowy mountains of the annapurnas.
On our right, the large Chulu West (6419m), one of the high mountains, but conquerable without any technical requirements.
We reach Churi Ledar (4200m) and its teahouses.
When we entered the first one, we found Don in a pleasant chat with the owner, familiar with whom he had not contacted for a long time.
We stopped. we drink one milk tea. We talked a little with the two, took some pictures of both and with both.
We go on, just us. Don tells us he would be chatting with the lady, that he would pick us up. By that time, we had no reason to doubt.
Another Safe Water Station
Shortly thereafter, we came to one of the “Safe Drinking Water Station” of the circuit.
A young Nepalese woman welcomes us.
From what we saw through the window that framed it, the interior of the establishment had an unexpected Nepalese charm.
It was made of yellowed wood, filled with shelves lined with acrylics or colored paper where a panoply of terms and kitchen utensils were kept.
We spent a little time with the ladies, who were already used to the passage and curiosity of foreigners, even the more meddlesome, like us.
We said goodbye, replenished with fresh water, prepared for the steep ups and downs and meanders, deepened by the Jharsong Kola River, which were to come.
Two Bridges over the Jharsong Kola. an indecision
At a certain point, from a height, we see the rail fork. Continue towards a suspension bridge above the stream. And by another branch, more sinuous and deeper, that crossed the river by a wooden bridge.
With no signs to advise us, we opted for the last one that would allow us, photographing hikers crossing the suspension bridge, with the mountains in the background.
We almost regret it. The lower rail reveals a loose, slippery pebbled surface.
The care it demands of us quickly irritates us, apart from the fact that, for some as-yet-unknown reason or perhaps just because the newcomers imitated the option of previous hikers, no one wanted to cross the suspension bridge.
Luckily, for good physical condition, these were almost our problems.
The First and Unexpected Symptoms of Feeling Unwell
After crossing the river, we started to feel a slight dizziness, which we had never felt before. We also still had fuller bellies than usual and supposed, with porridge and fruit, a mistake that in the morning we forgot to avoid.
As the altitude increased, the oxygen that the blood carried to the brain diminished. The unfinished digestions aggravated the dizziness.
We believe in the least harmful reason, attentive to the hardships of other hikers we passed.
Mountain evil had already toppled them, held their companions back from them, frustrated, submissive to the duty of taking them back to lower lands.
It wasn't the first case. Nor would it be the last.
As we feared, we have a different anxiety. We arrived at the top on the other side of the river, at the entrance of another teahouse.
In addition to tea and a range of snacks and products, “Deaurli” offered hikers a structure of stone benches with a panoramic view over the zigzags of Jharsong Kola, the trail we had taken to get there and the vastness around it.
What we didn't see was Don's sign nowhere on the trail. The “I'll catch you” that he had answered when we left him was far from being fulfilled.
Don's Exaggerated Disappearance
while serving us new milk tea, the owners of Deaurli realize we're upset, but they think it's because of some friend who felt bad.
When we show them the reason, they open up a strange explanation that reveals the ethnic rivalry in which Nepal and that highland of the Annapurnas, in particular, live.
We are told that Don must have been of a certain ethnicity that was not native to the area but that he moved more and more there, in search of money from the tractors.
They add that this ethnic group lacked a sense of responsibility and that, almost whenever there were problems with the Nepalese, it was their fault.
We had no idea what ethnicity Don belonged to. The drunkenness of the night before had left us with the idea that it could get us into trouble at any moment.
We waited almost an hour at the panoramic point, much longer than we needed to recover from the climb and drink the tea.
At the end of that time, finally, we see a red dot, in the distance, approaching. Minutes later, we identified Don's coat.
We noticed that the charger was almost running.
When he climbs up the hill and arrives at us, the owners of Deaurli, charismatic figures from those parts, give him a slight that doesn't need any complement on our part.
Don apologizes to us. He promises he wouldn't be late again like that.
Just drink water. Get ahead of us.
The Ultimate Treacherous Slope
A Nepalese knight we've already spoken to in Yak Karkha, in a fur cap and dark glasses, appears, greets us and gives us some advice. “the trail, from here to Pedi, is the most dangerous.
There is a risk of landslides and, if cattle are grazing on the top, they can take it with smaller stones”.
We appreciate the warnings. With no alternative, we face the risk. On Don's heels.
Tens of meters ahead, a sign with the inscription "Landslide Area, Step Gently”, confirms the warning.
The trail furrows the slope above the river, in a narrow V valley, with loose earth on both sides, littered with boulders that had already slipped and, over time, caused victims.
We proceed in a silent speed mode, never stopping. It took us almost twenty minutes to get out of the risk zone, to the left of Jharsong Kola.
When we did, we ran into Thorong Pedi's reward.
The Solar Entrance to Thorong Pedi
The village appears to us walled, with an entrance portico that identified Thorong Base Camp.
As opposed to High camp, complemented with other promotional signs, from “fresh bakery","real coffee” and, of course, “Apple Pie".
Hasty walkers opted to stretch the rope.
They progressed straight to High Camp. The climb was only 1km. At that distance, it ascended 400 meters.
It was one of the steepest on the Circuit.
Still waiting to make sure that the dizziness and headache were due to the heavy breakfast, we were in doubt.
In order to avoid the overcrowded hotels, we went up to 4540m, the top of the village.
We entered a certain New Phedi. We took a look at the facilities and sat down in the heated room, looking forward to a rest and a real meal.
We were choosing the table when we met Sara and Manel, a couple from Porto that, without knowing who they were or where they came from, we had already seen out of Manang.
We sit with them, we chatter. We talked about everything all afternoon.
In that time, the room was filled with newly arrived walkers.
The End of Day Blizzard that Whitens the Mountains
The weather had changed.
A windy blizzard covered the Jharsong Kola valley in white. Those who arrived came in, tired and cold. He was looking for a spot next to the salamanders that heated the room, from a certain point onwards, in vain.
If, at first, we, as well as Sara and Manel, were hesitating as to whether we should go up to High Camp soon, the sudden bad weather decided for us.
At 20 pm, with the Nepalese employees from New Phedi turning off the salamanders, we go to bed.
The plan was to wake up at three in the morning and see what the weather was like. If the snow had stopped, if the sky was clear, we would go up.
After several days of preparation in Pokhara, we left towards the Himalayas. The walking route only starts in Chame, at 2670 meters of altitude, with the snowy peaks of the Annapurna mountain range already in sight. Until then, we complete a painful but necessary road preamble to its subtropical base.
We woke up in Chame, still below 3000m. There we saw, for the first time, the snowy and highest peaks of the Himalayas. From there, we set off for another walk along the Annapurna Circuit through the foothills and slopes of the great mountain range. towards Upper Banana.
At the first glimmers of light, the sight of the white mantle that had covered the village during the night dazzles us. With one of the toughest walks on the Annapurna Circuit ahead of us, we postponed the match as much as possible. Annoyed, we left Upper Pisang towards Escort when the last snow faded.
Unbeknownst to us, we are faced with an ascent that leads us to despair. We pulled our strength as far as possible and reached Ghyaru where we felt closer than ever to the Annapurnas. The rest of the way to Ngawal felt like a kind of extension of the reward.
We spent another morning of glorious weather discovering Ngawal. There is a short journey towards Manang, the main town on the way to the zenith of the Annapurna circuit. We stayed for Braga (Braka). The hamlet would soon prove to be one of its most unforgettable places.
Four days of walking later, we slept at 3.519 meters from Braga (Braka). Upon arrival, only the name is familiar to us. Faced with the mystical charm of the town, arranged around one of the oldest and most revered Buddhist monasteries on the Annapurna circuit, we continued our journey there. acclimatization with ascent to Ice Lake (4620m).
On the way up to the Ghyaru village, we had a first and unexpected show of how ecstatic the Annapurna Circuit can be tasted. Nine kilometers later, in Braga, due to the need to acclimatize, we climbed from 3.470m from Braga to 4.600m from Lake Kicho Tal. We only felt some expected tiredness and the increase in the wonder of the Annapurna Mountains.
In full Annapurna Circuit, we finally arrived in Manang (3519m). we still need acclimatize to the higher stretches that followed, we inaugurated an equally spiritual journey to a Nepalese cave of Milarepa (4000m), the refuge of a siddha (sage) and Buddhist saint.
Six days after leaving Besisahar we finally arrived in Manang (3519m). Located at the foot of the Annapurna III and Gangapurna Mountains, Manang is the civilization that pampers and prepares hikers for the ever-dreaded crossing of Thorong La Gorge (5416 m).
Annapurna 10th Circuit: Manang to Yak Kharka, Nepal
After an acclimatization break in the near-urban civilization of Manang (3519 m), we made progress again in the ascent to the zenith of Thorong La (5416 m). On that day, we reached the hamlet of Yak Kharka, at 4018 m, a good starting point for the camps at the base of the great canyon.
The Newar Indigenous People of the Kathmandu Valley attach great importance to the Hindu and Buddhist religiosity that unites them with each other and with the Earth. Accordingly, he blesses their rites of passage with newar dances of men masked as deities. Even if repeated long ago from birth to reincarnation, these ancestral dances do not elude modernity and begin to see an end.
This section of the Annapurna Circuit is only 1km away, but in less than two hours it takes you from 4450m to 4850m and to the entrance to the great canyon. Sleeping in High Camp is a test of resistance to Mountain Evil that not everyone passes.
At 5416m of altitude, the Thorong La Gorge is the great challenge and the main cause of anxiety on the itinerary. After having killed 2014 climbers in October 29, crossing it safely generates a relief worthy of double celebration.
After the demanding crossing of Thorong La, we recover in the cozy village of Muktinath. The next morning we proceed back to lower altitudes. On the way to the ancient kingdom of Upper Mustang and the village of Kagbeni that serves as its gateway.
Before the 1992th century, Kagbeni was already a crossroads of trade routes at the confluence of two rivers and two mountain ranges, where medieval kings collected taxes. Today, it is part of the famous Annapurna Circuit. When hikers arrive, they know that, higher up, there is a domain that, until XNUMX, prohibited entry to outsiders.
After thirteen days of walking from the distant Chame, we arrive at Marpha. Sheltered at the foot of a hill, on the edge of the Gandaki River, Marpha is the last preserved and charming village on the route. The excessive construction work along the F042 route that would take us back to Pokhara has forced us to shorten the second part of the Annapurna Circuit.
Situated on the ancient Silk Road, Bukhara has developed for at least two thousand years as an essential commercial, cultural and religious hub in Central Asia. It was Buddhist and then Muslim. It was part of the great Arab empire and that of Genghis Khan, the Turko-Mongol kingdoms and the Soviet Union, until it settled in the still young and peculiar Uzbekistan.
During a tour from the bottom to the top of Lake Malawi, we find ourselves on the island of Likoma, an hour by boat from Nkwichi Lodge, the solitary base of this inland coast of Mozambique. On the Mozambican side, the lake is known as Niassa. Whatever its name, there we discover some of the most stunning and unspoilt scenery in south-east Africa.
Chobe marks the divide between Botswana and three of its neighboring countries, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Namibia. But its capricious bed has a far more crucial function than this political delimitation.
After thirteen days of walking from the distant Chame, we arrive at Marpha. Sheltered at the foot of a hill, on the edge of the Gandaki River, Marpha is the last preserved and charming village on the route. The excessive construction work along the F042 route that would take us back to Pokhara has forced us to shorten the second part of the Annapurna Circuit.
At the end of the 11th century, Mariano Lacson, a Filipino farmer, and Maria Braga, a Portuguese woman from Macau, fell in love and got married. During the pregnancy of what would be her 2th child, Maria succumbed to a fall. Destroyed, Mariano built a mansion in his honor. In the midst of World War II, the mansion was set on fire, but the elegant ruins that endured perpetuate their tragic relationship.
During winter, the island of Hailuoto is connected to the rest of Finland by the country's longest ice road. Most of its 986 inhabitants esteem, above all, the distance that the island grants them.
The story goes that, once, a plague devastated the population of Cape Coast of today Ghana. Only the prayers of the survivors and the cleansing of evil carried out by the gods will have put an end to the scourge. Since then, the natives have returned the blessing of the 77 deities of the traditional Oguaa region with the frenzied Fetu Afahye festival.
Thais call every Buddhist temple wat and their northern capital has them in obvious abundance. Delivered to successive events held between shrines, Chiang Mai is never quite disconnected.
In one of the many bakeries in Margilan, worn out by the intense heat of the tandyr oven, the baker Maruf'Jon works half-baked like the distinctive traditional breads sold throughout Uzbekistan
In 1619, the authorities of Mérida dictated the settlement of the surrounding territory. The order resulted in 19 remote villages that we found dedicated to commemorations with caretos and local pauliteiros.
Banned in much of the First World, cockfighting thrives in the Philippines where they move millions of people and pesos. Despite its eternal problems, it is the sabong that most stimulates the nation.
At a time when conquering the solar system's neighbor has become an obsession, an eastern section of the Sahara Desert is home to a vast related landscape. Instead of the estimated 150 to 300 days to reach Mars, we took off from Cairo and, in just over three hours, we took our first steps into the Oasis of Bahariya. All around, almost everything makes us feel about the longed-for Red Planet.
In 1995, the people of Pentecostes threatened to sue extreme sports companies for stealing the Naghol ritual. In terms of audacity, the elastic imitation falls far short of the original.
In 1565, the Hindu empire of Vijayanagar succumbed to enemy attacks. 45 years before, he had already been the victim of the Portugueseization of his name by two Portuguese adventurers who revealed him to the West.
We were surprised, on the biggest island of the Azores, with a caldera cut by small farms, massive and deep to the point of sheltering two volcanoes, a huge lagoon and almost two thousand people from São Miguel. Few places in the archipelago are, at the same time, as grand and welcoming as the green and steaming Vale das Furnas.
Built to maintain waterways through the most extreme arctic winter, the icebreaker Sampo” fulfilled its mission between Finland and Sweden for 30 years. In 1988, he reformed and dedicated himself to shorter trips that allow passengers to float in a newly opened channel in the Gulf of Bothnia, in clothes that, more than special, seem spacey.
Over 150km, the Californian coast is subjected to a vastness of mountains, ocean and fog. In this epic setting, hundreds of tormented souls follow in the footsteps of Jack Kerouac and Henri Miller.
Nantou is Taiwan's only province isolated from the Pacific Ocean. Those who discover the mountainous heart of this region today tend to agree with the Portuguese navigators who named Taiwan Formosa.
Aside from the political and military events precipitated by Russia, from mid-September onwards, autumn takes over the country. In previous years, when visiting Saint Petersburg, we witnessed how the cultural and northern capital was covered in a resplendent yellow-orange. A dazzling light that hardly matches the political and military gloom that had spread in the meantime.
Two stone mountains have created a border dispute between Argentina and Chile. But these countries are not the only suitors. The Fitz Roy and Torre hills have long attracted die-hard climbers
In the rainforest of Xilitla, the restless mind of poet Edward James has twinned an eccentric home garden. Today, Xilitla is lauded as an Eden of the Surreal.
Japanese nightlife is a multi-faceted, multi-billion business. In Osaka, an enigmatic couchsurfing hostess welcomes us, somewhere between the geisha and the luxury escort.
Madonna sang it as La Isla Bonita and reinforced the motto. Today, neither hurricanes nor political strife discourage VIP and wealthy vacationers from enjoying this tropical getaway.
From the top of its 134 meters high, Cabo Espichel reveals an Atlantic coast as dramatic as it is stunning. Departing from Lagoa de Albufeira to the north, golden coast below, we venture through more than 600 years of mystery, mysticism and veneration of its aparecida Nossa Senhora do Cabo.
No way to travel is as repetitive and enriching as going on rails. Climb aboard these disparate carriages and trains and enjoy the best scenery in the world on Rails.
Heirs of Polynesian ancestral culture, the Mahu they preserve an unusual role in society. Lost somewhere between the two genders, these men-women continue to fight for the meaning of their lives.
Fianarantsoa was founded in 1831 by Ranavalona Iª, a queen of the then predominant Merina ethnic group. Ranavalona Iª was seen by European contemporaries as isolationist, tyrant and cruel. The monarch's reputation aside, when we enter it, its old southern capital remains as the academic, intellectual and religious center of Madagascar.
Eurides Fátima de Barros was born in the interior of the Miranda region. 38 years ago, he settled in a small business on the side of BR262 that crosses the Pantanal and gained an affinity with the alligators that lived on his doorstep. Disgusted that once upon a time the creatures were being slaughtered there, she began to take care of them. Now known as Maria dos Jacarés, she named each of the animals after a soccer player or coach. It also makes sure they recognize your calls.
A geological quirk made the Fiordland region the rawest and most imposing in New Zealand. Year after year, many thousands of visitors worship the sub-domain slashed between Te Anau and Milford Sound.
