NEPAL
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Trek in the Annapurna range
Our trek starts at 1000m, in a valley filled with small villages and terraced fields .
On the trail we meet both men and women carrying heavy loads in baskets tied around their heads.
Even chickens are transported the same way.
People can carry anything...
Maoists control large areas of the mountains. On house facades they advertise that tourists are their welcomed guests.
Apparently, as long as they are not from America...
Sunrise at Poon Hill offers great views of the Himalaya peaks.
8000m high peak of Annapurna
Jitka watches the Himalayan scenery from Poon Hill (3100 m).
In the morning, valleys are filled with clouds.
More of incredible loads that porters can carry. (In the west, the term "sherpa" got stuck as a name of any porter in Nepal. Sherpas are one of the minority groups in Nepal. They are well known for their skills as porters, though.)
In 2000m, we suddenly entered a rain forest. Not only trees, but also rocks in streams were covered with mosses and lichens.
The only way to transport goods to settlements high up in the remote mountains is to use horses or donkeys. We met many such caravans during our trek.
Traditional Nepalese food is "dal bhaat" - rice, lentil soup and curried vegetables. Nepalese people eat Dal Bhaat twice a day. This boy was eating rice with lentils as well, but got distracted as we were walking by.
Beautiful mountain scenery
Another caravan high in the mountains
Incredible combination of fertile land, terraced fields and 8000m high peaks.
Nepalese women
Hanging bridges can be found at many places in Nepal. Usually they are decorated with flowers - for good luck.
This little village of Marpha is known for its apple orchards. People also make good apple brandy here.
After Marpha we got to the rain shade and the landscape turned into desert. The valley widened and it became very windy.
The village of Kagbeni is located on one side of a wide valley, via which we arrived. Here we are in rain shadow on the north side of the Himalaya range (you can see the 7061m high Nilgiri peak in the background). Kagbeni marks the border with the former kingdom of Mustang, which can only be entered with an expensive permit. We managed to sneak in just across the border in the evening. From Kagbeni we continued up through another steep and fortunately less windy valley to the left.
Marek on the way from Kagbeni up to the village of Muktinath
This is a view of a wide valley that used to be one small kingdom. Old monastery and remains of the king's palace can still be found here. The village of Muktinath (3800m) is at the end of the valley and the pass Thorung La (5400m) is between the two snow-covered peaks - that is where Marek went.
A view back down the same valley from a hill above Muktinath.
A horse caravan heading towards the Thorung La pass
A view from Muktinath towards Thorung La pass. This is where Marek started his 1600m ascent.
Just 4 hours later Marek reached the pass! He surpassed our record from Tibet (5250m) by climbing to 5400m without any acclimatization - and without any problems.
A glacier view from the pass - one of the rewards for the difficult ascent
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