Samar to Ghiling

We exited Samar through a gate with a dead goat head and went down the canyon. That day we understood the full meaning of "Nepali flat" - little bit up, little bit down. 

Exit from Samar

After 1,5-2 hours we reached the Bhena tea house  and gratefully made a break before we crossed our first 4000 m pass. 

Yamda La

From there we saw our lunch place - Syangboche - but it took much longer to reach it then we thought as the path made some detours. 

We were rewarded by veg fried rice that gave us power for the meters to come. They also sold several other food, so I bought canned meat and a Mars bar. 

Bhena La

Ghiling - a green oasis in the desert

Crossing another pass we headed to our destination of the day: Ghiling. We got our rooms and soon met again to see the very old monastery. We were very lucky to be present at a special puja ceremony - there were a lot of monks who played different loud instruments. One of the monks invited us for tea and we could ask several questions about the life in a monastery. In winter, most of the monks leave for the warmer regions and only one or two stay behind to take care of the building and people in the village. 

Monks around the monastery

washing place with running water

Back at the guest house I took my first shower since Pokhara and even washed my hair. Hot water was a rare good and had to be ordered in the kitchen. Half an hour later I got a bucket half full with hot water that I could mix with cold water from the tab. Only downside was that the bathroom was not heated and even had a little window with mountain view but no glass. The wind blew me freezing dry in no time. 

Mountain view from the bathroom

As we spent our afternoons and evenings in the dinning halls we tried to dress warm (much more than during the day trekking) and ordered pot after pot of tea. We could choose between three or four sizes of pots and several tastes. Most popular with us were dudh chai, lemon ginger tea or hot lemon. 

big tea pots 

Chhucksang to Samar

After a night of waking up several times and a grumbling stomach we left for Samar. 

Packing before leaving - every morning the same procedure

The first half an hour we walked in the riverbed of the Kali Gandaki, then crossed a bridge and climbed up the short but steep slope to Chele. As it was still early we decided to had on without a tea break and half an hour later we reached a canyon. 

Ghyakar

A suspension bridge led over it to village (Ghyakar) and further to Dolpe but we stayed on the right side and followed the way high up on one side of the canyon - sometimes walking on hard rock, then again on loose sand. As it was very narrow we had to walk in single file often and it got interesting when little caravans with and without mules were oncoming. 

Canyon

caravan

We arrived in Samar (3620 m) for a late lunch and my roommate and me were lucky to get a big room - 2 beds for us and 2 for our luggage:-).

Room No. 5 in the Himali Hotel

In the afternoon, most of us went sightseeing - we found a big prayer wheel, mani walls, chörten and a new monastery (built in 2010). 

Big Mani Wheel

Chörten

Monastery Orgyen Drub Gyue Ling (2010)

Ceiling of the monastery

There were poplar trees growing that were cut back every year for their wood that was used to built houses. 

 Poplar tree

From the view point at the end of the village we had a fantastic panorama over Mustang and did a lot of photos. By this, we attracted the children of the village. 

 Kids of Samar

Kagbeni to Chhucksang

The next morning, we started at 8 as we would do it every trekking day. 

Mani Wall in Kagbeni

Leaving Kagbeni took some time as we had to search for the official of the checkpoint who then meticulously copied our information from the trekking and Mustang permits to his books. 

Checkpoint

Behind the village the way meandered and slowly climbed to the high plateau of Tangbe. There was an apple orchard and we bought some apples that tasted very fruity. 

Tangbe Apple Farm

A little bit further was the village and we had our lunch upstairs in one of the little guest houses.  From the ceiling there was hanging dried meat, nonetheless our noodle soup was vegetarian. While sitting there the last of our group arrived with the assistant guide Bir. 

Kitchen in the guest house

In another two hours, we arrived in Chhucksang and it got colder with every meter. The wind that started blowing everyday around 11 in the morning only helped and let us dress like bank robbers. 

In the late afternoon, I explored the villages around, walked over a suspension bridge and took pictures of the buckwheat fields. All the fields have well thought-out but simple irrigation system. 

Buckwheat fields

 log bridge

 sunset on the mountains

On the way to the Himalayas

I started my trip on a Friday afternoon and first travelled to Düsseldorf as the travel agency decided this was directly on the way to Kathmandu.

After another stopover in Abu Dhabi, Ethiad brought me and two other Trekkers of my group to Nepal. So far, I have not got the Ethiad experience so l hope the best for the return flight from Delhi.

Ring Road, Kathmandu

In Kathmandu, we were picked up by the agency and met some others of the group in hotel Marshyangdi in Thamel, the tourist district. In the evening, we had a briefing of our trek and met our guide Krishna.

Early the next morning, we caught a tourist bus to Pokhara where we arrived in the afternoon and checked in to Hotel Tulsi. A Swiss woman joined our group here, so only two missing.

Traffic jam in the mountains around Kathmandu

Our Tourist Bus to Pokhara

Rice fields on the way

After a leisure evening and some little shopping, we had to start even early to get the first flight to Jomoson. As there are heavy winds in Mustang and often clouds in between a lot of flights are cancelled. In that case, we would have taken the jeep.

But we were lucky and could fly with a two hour delay in a small TwinOtter for 15 passengers.

Macchapuchare

Jomoson Airport

Arrived in Jomoson, we enjoyed a late breakfast at Hotel Tilicho - apple pancake for me. In lower mustang there are a lot of apple farms that serve the whole country.

When we adjusted to the height (2700 m), we started our three our hike to Kagbeni (2820m) - the gateway to Upper Mustang.

We stayed in the Annapurna Lodge where we had a private bathroom for the last time in the trek. There the second last joined the group.

Annapurna Lodge

In the afternoon, Krishna went sightseeing with us - explaining the gate and visiting with us the monastery that is one of the oldest. The head monk explained in bad English but a lot of passion about the history of the monastery and Buddhism.

Kagbeni monk

Back at the lodge we had dinner and got ready for our first night in the sleeping bag.