Nepal Revisited 6
The Journey Continues
Ghorepanni to Tattapanni
The following morning, Ian did what most visitors to Ghorepanni do - got up at 6am and hiked another 500m up to Poon Hill to watch the sunrise over the Annapurnas. And I did the same as I did last time I as in Ghorepanni - I turned over in the bed and went back to sleep til 8 - there's only so much enthusiasm I can muster up for looking at mountains. The view of Machapuchra from the bedroom was spectacular - I couldn't imagine it would be THAT much better from Poon Hill.
Machapuchra, close up
When Ian got back from his early morning hike, we had a leisurely breakfast and then spent a while planning where we'd stop next. For both of us, this was going to be new territory as last time we'd looped back to Pokhara instead of continuing on up through the Sanctuary.
Ian and Dawa study the map while Ramesh looks on
Our next stop was to be Tattapanni, a village at the bottom of the deepest gorge in the world (or so I'm told). We had no serious climbs that day - walking along a meandering path through various small village for most of the day until we got to our final ascent that gave me vertigo just looking at it. The easy walk was lovely for a change and we had a chance to have a good look around while we walked. the countryside really is beautiful. Lots of tiny villages dotted all over the mountains; the locals farming the terraces and living, I assume, very simple lives.
Mountain village
Washing-line with a view to die for
I found the newly erected electricity pylons to be a complete eyesore and while I don't begrudge the people the comforts that electricity brings, I can't help but hate how this modernisation is destroying something that until recently was completely unspoilt.
Electricity Pylon
The Nepalese learn young, how to carry things in an efficient manner. While stopping for a short rest we saw a mother teach her VERY young daughter how to carry baskets of leaves, using the traditional method of a band placed across her forehead. I have to say, all I could think was 'that poor kid is going to have neck-pain before she's 10!'
Little girl carrying a basket of leaves
Little girl carrying a basket of leaves
I'm not sure why, but in this part of Nepal, all the houses are painted orange and cream - there are whole villages of similarily painted houses.
Traditional house
The climb down into the gorge was horrendous. Standing at the top of the steps, the path looked to be almost vertical and we had to make our way down VERY slowly. I breathed a large sigh of relief when we reached the bottom. Until, of course, I saw the extremely dodgy suspension bridge we had to cross to get over to Tattapanni.
Suspension Bridge
It was getting dark by the time we walked into Tattapanni and both myself and Ian were tired and cranky. The plan was to stay in Tattapanni for 24 hourse to rest up and enjoy the local hotsprings, but we were both so unimpressed by the town and our tea-house that we were seriously considering moving on again the next day, in the hope that we'd like the next town better. A couple of showers and several beers later we were loving Tattapanni and considering settling down there for ever.:-)
Ghorepanni to Tattapanni
The following morning, Ian did what most visitors to Ghorepanni do - got up at 6am and hiked another 500m up to Poon Hill to watch the sunrise over the Annapurnas. And I did the same as I did last time I as in Ghorepanni - I turned over in the bed and went back to sleep til 8 - there's only so much enthusiasm I can muster up for looking at mountains. The view of Machapuchra from the bedroom was spectacular - I couldn't imagine it would be THAT much better from Poon Hill.
Machapuchra, close up
When Ian got back from his early morning hike, we had a leisurely breakfast and then spent a while planning where we'd stop next. For both of us, this was going to be new territory as last time we'd looped back to Pokhara instead of continuing on up through the Sanctuary.
Ian and Dawa study the map while Ramesh looks on
Our next stop was to be Tattapanni, a village at the bottom of the deepest gorge in the world (or so I'm told). We had no serious climbs that day - walking along a meandering path through various small village for most of the day until we got to our final ascent that gave me vertigo just looking at it. The easy walk was lovely for a change and we had a chance to have a good look around while we walked. the countryside really is beautiful. Lots of tiny villages dotted all over the mountains; the locals farming the terraces and living, I assume, very simple lives.
Mountain village
Washing-line with a view to die for
I found the newly erected electricity pylons to be a complete eyesore and while I don't begrudge the people the comforts that electricity brings, I can't help but hate how this modernisation is destroying something that until recently was completely unspoilt.
Electricity Pylon
The Nepalese learn young, how to carry things in an efficient manner. While stopping for a short rest we saw a mother teach her VERY young daughter how to carry baskets of leaves, using the traditional method of a band placed across her forehead. I have to say, all I could think was 'that poor kid is going to have neck-pain before she's 10!'
Little girl carrying a basket of leaves
Little girl carrying a basket of leaves
I'm not sure why, but in this part of Nepal, all the houses are painted orange and cream - there are whole villages of similarily painted houses.
Traditional house
The climb down into the gorge was horrendous. Standing at the top of the steps, the path looked to be almost vertical and we had to make our way down VERY slowly. I breathed a large sigh of relief when we reached the bottom. Until, of course, I saw the extremely dodgy suspension bridge we had to cross to get over to Tattapanni.
Suspension Bridge
It was getting dark by the time we walked into Tattapanni and both myself and Ian were tired and cranky. The plan was to stay in Tattapanni for 24 hourse to rest up and enjoy the local hotsprings, but we were both so unimpressed by the town and our tea-house that we were seriously considering moving on again the next day, in the hope that we'd like the next town better. A couple of showers and several beers later we were loving Tattapanni and considering settling down there for ever.:-)