Friday, October 31, 2008
Annapurna Circuit Part 2 (Braga/Manang - Tilicho Lake - Thorung Phedi)
~~~~~ Day 7 ~~~~~
Trekking Day 05
Travel Expenses
*** Total: 1,200 NPR ***
Food and Others: 1100 NPR
Accomodation @ Tilicho Peak Hotel: 100 NPR
Braga/Manang - Tilicho Peak Hotel
Trekking Information
Trekking Time Today: 3 3/4 Hours
~ Braga (3450m) - Manang (3540m): 30 Minutes
~ Manang (3540m) - Khangsar (3730m): 120 Minutes
~ Khangsar (3730m) - Tilicho Peak Hotel (4000m): 70 Minutes
Annapurna III and Gangapurna rising behind Braga village
~ View Picture on Flickr ~
500 years old Braga Gompa
~ View Picture on Flickr ~
Three-storeyed high Chorten temple
Flat rooftops of typical Tibetan houses
Main temple itself made from red bricks
~ View Picture on Flickr ~
A small stupa stands
Tibetan Prayer Wheels
Farmers back from their farms
~ View Picture on Flickr ~
~ View Picture on Flickr ~
Neat stone carvings
Information about side trek to Tilicho Lake
~ View Picture Enlarged ~
Heading out towards Manang
Walking along the wide Manang valley
Stone gateway at entrance of Manang
Various side treks that can be taken from Manang
~ View Picture Enlarged ~
Sign that points to Tilicho Lake trek via Khangsar Village
Gangapurna Glacier and Lake
~ View Picture on Flickr ~
First sighting of Grande Barriere and Tilicho Peak (7134m) on the right
Khangsar Khola Valley that will lead up to Tilicho Lake
~ View Picture on Flickr ~
Great view of Annapurna III and Gangapurna enroute to Khangsar
~ View Picture on Flickr ~
Small teashop after a steep ascent, waiting to earn tourist's money
Looking back towards Manang
Approaching Khangsar Village
My first coke break! Haha...sinful...
Looking towards Grande Barriere great ice barrier
Chatting with a Nepali local of Tibetan origin
Information about high and low route to Tilicho Lake
~ View Picture Enlarged ~
Nice wood-carved signboard pointing towards Tilicho Lake
Awesome Grande Barriere
~ View Picture on Flickr ~
Spliting paths towards Tilicho Lake and Yak Kharka
Cabbage farm at Tilicho Peak Hotel where I stayed for the night
Great view of various small mountain peaks
Sunset over Khangsar Kang (7485m) aka Roc Noir
Ngadi Chuli (7871m) and Himal Chuli (7893m) on the left
Spinning in the mountains
Tare Kang (7069m)
Clouds moving in fast in the strong wind
Sunset glow over Ngadi Chuli and Himal Chuli
~~~~~ Day 8 ~~~~~
Trekking Day 06
Tilicho Peak Hotel - Tilicho Lake - Tilicho Base Camp
Trekking Information
Trekking Time Today: 6 Hours
~ Tilicho Peak Hotel (4000m) - Tilicho BC (4298m): 130 Minutes
~ Tilicho Base Camp (4298m) - Tilicho Lake (4949m): 150 Minutes
~ Tilicho Lake (4949m) - Tilicho Base Camp (4298m): 75 Minutes
Tilicho Lake Information
Tilicho Lake on Wikipedia
Tilicho Lake Trek Description A
Tilicho Lake Trek Description B
Clear view of Grande Barriere and Tilicho Peak in the morning
Tare Kang and Khangsar Kang
Frozen stream in the morning
Great view towards Manang
Path spilts here between high route and low route
Close up view of Khangsar Kang
Beautiful bright red flowers
Landslide area that will need to be traversed before reaching Tilicho Base Camp
Start of landslide area and scree slopes
It can be quite dangerous in a very windy day if these huge rocks come tumbling down...
Or you go tumbling down into one of them...
Peek at Khangsar Kang through a cave
Porters skillfully navigating scree slopes
Concentration is definitely a must for untrained!
Taking pictures with some porters (not mine thou lol...)
Thanks for risking your life to cross the landslide? haha...
View of Grande Barriere nearer to Tilicho Base Camp
Finally arriving at Tilicho Base Camp after some exciting landslide navigation
A huge glacier dome between Tare Kang and Khangsar Kang
Great view of Khangsar Kang and Grande Barriere as well as glacier below it
Annapurna I (8091m) can be seen rising just slightly above Grande Barriere on the right
Rise and shine!
Great Himalayas mountain panorama in the distance towards Manang! On the left, Chulu West (6419m), Chulu Central (6584m) and Chulu East (6429m) look magnificient, while sharp Pisang (6091m) peak protudes out in the centre and awesome eight-thousander Manaslu (8150m) stands all the way on the right
~ View Picture Enlarged ~
~ View Picture on Flickr ~
Finally reaching snow line and taking in full glory of awesome Grande Barriere
It's snow everywhere! =)
Even better view of glacier dome
Looking back towards Manang again for magnificient panorama
A small pond below Grande Barriere, definitely not Tilicho Lake!
Following cairns and trails to Tilicho Lake
And finally reaching Tilicho Lake!!!
It is situated at a altitude of 4919m, and was once alleged to be highest lake in the world
~ View Picture Enlarged ~
~ View Picture Enlarged ~
Panorama view of Tilicho Lake
~ View Picture Enlarged ~
~ View Picture on Flickr ~
Definitely worth all effort getting here
Trying out some leviation haha =p
Trekking back down to Tilicho Base Camp
Relaxing and enjoying the panorama again on way back down
~ View Picture Enlarged ~
~ View Picture on Flickr ~
You can get sunburnt easily walking in a clear day as you are very exposed with no shelter at all from strong sunlight
Trail that leads all the way back down to Tilicho Base Camp on exposed scree slope
~~~~~ Day 9 ~~~~~
Trekking Day 07
Tilicho Base Camp - Yak Kharka
Trekking Information
Trekking Time Today: 5 1/4 Hours
~ Tilicho BC (4298m) - Tilicho Peak Hotel (4000m): 105 Minutes
~ Tilicho Peak Hotel (4000m) - Yak Kharka (4018m): 210 Minutes
Tibetan Tsampa Porridge, one of my favourite breakfast
Try the Monkey-Donkey? Haha...
~ View Picture Enlarged ~
Great friends I met on the way! =)
From left: Me, Katrina (Malaysia), Shiri (Israel), Ahilesh (Malaysia) and Yuvial (Israel)
Last view of Grande Barriere and Khangsar Kang before leaving
And of Tare Kang
Traversing landslide area again...
Some scary looking path!
Looking back towards Grande Barriere and landslide areas
Of river and mountain
Beautiful red flowers
Great view towards Manang
Back to Tilicho Peak Hotel again
Great mountain view while having lunch
Someone actually cycled here!
Huge cabbage, bigger than his head! Haha...
Me and Richie (England)
Taking seasonal trail to Yak Kharka, from where you can continue the Annapurna Circuit
Looking back at deep valley towards Tilicho Lake
Looking towards Manang
Arriving at medieval buildings at old Khangsar
Gangapurna rising high above Old Khangsar
They have long been abandoned by locals who have shifted to Khangsar
A huge pasture near Old Khangsar where livestocks still roam
Few majestic hawks flying above me =)
Stunning view of Manang valley
And also of valley leading towards Thorung La
At viewpoint where 3 valleys meet
Trekking among naked trees
Among other shrubs and bushes
Spotted some Sea-Buckthorn plants too
Good view of Chulu Peaks enroute to Yak Kharka
You will be linked up with the Annapurna Circuit again after crossing this bridge
Good view of Annapurna range
And guess wat! I manage to catch a glimpse of the rare blue sheeps!
Awesome looking!
~~~~~ Day 10 ~~~~~
Trekking Day 08
Yak Kharka - Thorung Phedi
Trekking Information
Trekking Time Today: 2 Hours
~ Yak Kharka (4018m) - Letdar (4200m): 35 Minutes
~ Letdar (4200m) - Thorung Phedi (4450m): 90 Minutes
A big fat yak in town! =)
View of Annapurna III from Yak Khaka
Looking back at Annapurna Range again
Crossing another long suspension bridge to Letdar
Gorgeous white horse
Safe Drinking Water Station @ Letdar
Looking back at Letdar with Annapurna range loaming behind
Look at the huge horns of this huge bull yak!
That's Me! =)
A rest area with a good view of Putrun Himal (6465m) before crossing a landslide area to Thorung Phedi
Landslide area leading to Thorung Phedi
Looking back at landslide area and Gangapurna from Thorung Phedi
Arriving at Thorung Phedi Base Camp
There are lots of lodges for trekkers to stay to prepare themselves for final assault tomorrow morning, Thorung La!!!
Dorms with simple mattresses
Lazing around in dinning area and chatting with new friends
They serve great food, including this creamy lasagne that I ordered!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Wow, what a beautiful place. You're so fortunate to get to explore it!
Post a Comment