Trek The Unknown

Source: WikipediaAnnapurna Circuit – day 9 – trying to reach Tilicho Lake.

I read about Tilicho Lake a lot before deciding I want to go there. Most guide books claim it to be a little dangerous. Also it’s off the beaten track of most travelers which is the reason I go trekking - feeling adventurous! But even going to those places one should be smart enough and not do stupid things. I’m a very responsible traveler.

The Tilicho Lake is a side trip at the Annapurna Circuit trek. It leaves from Manang, and takes 3-4 days to complete and coming back to Manang. This was my plan….

Leaving Manang in the morning walking through kangsar to Tilicho Base camp. On the next day climbing up to the lake at dawn and sleeping again at the Tilicho base camp an additional night. The last day would be walking back the same way we walked the 1st day.

We left Manang at 7:45 towards kangsar. Our , Sonam, said it would take 3 to 3.5 hours reaching the village. We were very glad to discover after one hour and 20 minutes that we have reached our 1st destination – kangsar village.

We wanted to continue walking to the Base camp. On the way Sonam fell twice and twisted his leg. We saw he started to limp and it hurts for him. We kept walking anyway….

My friend Eli, which joined this side trip, and I were for fear of the trail going there. There are 2 ways reaching the base camp. One is long and hard & takes 4 hours. It goes up a mountain and then all the way down. The 2nd trail is the lower trail it’s an easier relatively straight trail which takes around 2-2.5 hours to complete. The problem is that the latter one is a very narrow trail, with a land slide to the side of it at some part, defiantly not a great experience…

In addition at the afternoon the wind start to blow there and Blue Sheep start to walk on the mountains which causes rocks to fall down on the trail. It was pretty early but we had to make a decision on which trail to walk.

We asked each person passing us on the opposite way if the lower trail is appropriate for waking. Everyone said its fine and we shouldn’t worry. My main fear was the landslide. It’s a narrow trail for one foot while the other foot must be put on the landslide, this causes the sand to go down a bit….fortunately it stops and you don’t find yourself falling down the mountain…but still very scary in my opinion.

After Sonam asked a few people we met a bunch of tourists which came down from the lake. They said the road down is fine and no need to be afraid of that landslide. The Problem is, they told us, was falling rocks (!!!) when climbing up from the base camp to the lake. They said there were strong winds therefore a big rock almost hit them when rolling down!

I didn’t want to take ANY risks I don’t have to take. I agreed to walk a few more hours on the longer and more difficult trail (Although everybody said the lower one is just fine). I was managing my risks…..

In addition I decided that there would be strong wind we won’t going to climb up to the lake from the base camp…another risk is solved. One risk I couldn’t solve was Sonams’ leg. He claimed to be fine…

I was afraid to walk on the lower trail and too lazy to walk the upper harder one. I solved this by saying to myself that because of Sonams leg we should just return and walk back to Manang.

That’s what we did eventually….

I was very disappointed on the way back for not coping with my fear of the way (which everybody said it’s just fine and walkable). On the other hand I choose the more human option and took care of my porter. What would have happened if something happened to him on the mountain?! Then would have been to deeper trouble. We then had needed to rescue him somehow and would have got stuck without a porter for the next few days.

If someone of my readers who walked this lower trail from Kangsar to Tilicho Base Camp can comment on this trail situation? Is there a way to do this way without risking yourself?

I’m thinking when will be my next chance of visiting there. That place is amazing from the pictures I saw!

I have a plan of taking a flight to Jomson on my next trip to that area then walk through Tilicho Lake and Tilicho pass, going again through Kangsahar, Manang and finally Homde. Homde, as I mentioned on previous post has an airport. So flying back to Pokhara is certainly an option.

This trip suppose to take 5-6 days and requires camping gear, since at the 1st 3-4 days of the trek, there are no guest houses to stay in,.

What do you suggest? How do you cope with these kinds of fears? When I came back I was angry at myself that I’m a just cowered.

After arriving back at Manang, I knew we made the right decision. I went with Sonam to the HRA (Himalayan rescue association) clinic. The doctor gave him some pills and put a bandage on his leg. He told him to rest as much a he can. On the other hand he said: “I know it’s your job and you don’t have any other choice, so if you are back to work then just don’t push it too much or else it will get worse.

On the next few days we took short and easy walks. Sonam’s leg was just fine afterwards…

“There are some things in life that are frightening and you just have to try them, but sometimes it’s hard to find some courage for that deep down inside you….”

Acclimatizing yourself is very important and one of the most useful ways is going up the heights for the day and come down for sleeping. Because of that Manang offers several day trips around it to higher sights in order to get used to the heights.

The highest option is going up to the “Ice Lake”. It’s a great day trip with amazing views (in my opinion it has the best views on the whole trip).

From Manang there are 2 ways going up to the Ice Lake. The 1st one goes out of Manang itself. It’s steeper and takes less time. The 2nd trail which is easier to walk goes out of Braga (Braka). This is the previous village on the trail and it takes around half and hour to walk back.

We choose the 2nd option. We left Manang at 7:55 AM and headed back to Braga. The trail goes right inside the village so you have to cross it. The general direction is up, so just keep going straight.

After passing the last few houses of the village the narrow goat trail turns to the right and goes along the mountain. Then it turns again to the left and climb up in a very steep climb, this will be your hardest and steepest climb of the day. It’s not too long though relatively.

The trail keeps going up but it’s not so steep any more and it has a few parts of going pretty straight.

When reaching the height of 4600 M, you suppose to see the lake. In order to see it, cross the hill on your right or go around the hill for a few minutes. Right afterwards you’ll see a lake; this is NOT the “Ice Lake”. The Ice Lake is lying another 10 minutes walk after the 1st lake.

Along the way there are signs of ACAP showing the way to the Ice Lake. At this time of the year it’s no very icy though. We reached it around 12:30 PM.

My personal opinion is that the lakes are not as beautiful as I expected, on the other hand the way going there is absolutely amazing! You get to see the opposite ridge and great views of the Annapurna range, Braga and Mananag.

On top near the lake we met a young guy which was a reporter of a local newspaper. He took some video shots of the place. We decided we want to go down the steeper way, the one going straight to Mananag. We really didn’t know where this way is. A

sking that reporter, didn’t also give us the wanted answer. Therefore we just walked back on the way we came. The reporter came with us although he said he already walked once on the steeper trail, but I guess he couldn’t find it either.

We left the lake at around 13:00 and reached Braga at 15:55 then it’s and easy walk to Mananag. We were exhausted, and reached Mananag at 16:30.

Summing it up, It’s a long and hard day of climbing (although from the signs in Manang it doesn’t’ seems so.) 1000 M. The views worth it all! Adding the importance of the good acclimatization you get from this trip, it’s just a must!

So, as I promised….

Manang is a special village along the way when trekking the Annapurna Circuit. It’s the last village before people going up to the highest place on trek - Throng La or Throng Pass which is 5416 M high up. This is high!

volunteer doctors from the HRA (Himalayan Rescue Association)
come every season and stay at Manang and other villages around to help the trekkers. When going into the heights above 2500- 3000 M many people suffer from a Problem called mountain sickness, Which can be leth?l if you are not aware of the symptoms and how to handle them.

When reaching Manang you are advised ( or more like…YOU HAVE TO) stay there for at least one day to acclimatize yourself to the heights. It’s just get higher and higher from there on until the pass and you want to survive that on perfect shape.

The clinic In Manang helps travelers and the local community in a few ways….Every day at 15:00 there is a lecture about mountain sickness. Many of the deaths from mountain sickness are caused because people were not aware what they should do when getting any symptoms of this illness and how to deal with it. It’s very important to reach this lecture and learn about mountain sickness. IT CAN SAVE YOUR LIFE!

The Clinic also helps the local people for free and is funded by the medical treatment being given to the tourists coming there.

It’s possible to buy medicine or other medical stuff you need and missing at the clinic or just donate by buying a T-shirt.

The HRA also operates a few more clinics around the Everest base camp for the same reasons.

I hope this small post would save many many lives. All you need to do is be aware of this mountain sickness. read about it, go to the lecture there and enjoy your trip!

Leaving Out Chame in the morning let’s you enjoy a pleasant walk, except of one climb before reaching Bhratang. We left Chame at 7:25 in the morning and reached Bhartang at 9:05, total of one hour and a half. The road goes along and reaches Dhukur Pokhari, we were there two hours and 10 minutes later, the walk was still nice and easy.

At this day you reach a dryer part of the Annapurna range. The vegetation is thinner and less trees are around.

Sometime later we reached Lower pisang ( Acap map show that you 1st reach Upper Pisang and then Lower Pisang, but on the way we took which was shorter it goes the other way around ).

the trails inside lower Pisang are a little big confusing. There is one split on the way that goes to Upper Pisang, from there the road continues to Ghyaru.

A shorter way would be to keep go straight on the road until you see a big prayer wheels wall. From there you get 2 choices. The harder and nicer one would be to turn right towards the end of the well and cross the bridge. If you want the easier ,less scenic way just keep walk straight. This is a pretty straight road with no ups and downs going all the way to Manang. We chose the harder one and turned right.

When you cross the bridge after turning right you will see Upper Pisang on your right (even when you are in Lower Pisang, you always see Upper pisang on the other side of the river). Take a left turn right after the bridge. This is the way to Ghyaru.

The way now is very easy with short climbs up. You will walk by a small clear lake and right after it there is another bigger lake (The clearest one I’ve seen in my life!Beautiful!). In order to enjoy it’s view, leave the trail and go along the shore. If you keep go along the lake shore you’ll bump again to the trail so don’t be afraid loosing it.

Again…walking is fairly easy now…until you reach a bridge. Cross it…and look up…Ghyaru is up there. The Climb is long and took us almost an hour ( I think it was around 50 minutes). But I must say after almost a week of walking I felt this climb was easier for me to climb than I thought it will be. Your body will get use to these kind of climbs and walks.

The view is more beautiful from each moment to another. When you reach Ghyaru you see a few of the annapurna range tops. From left to right you are able to see: Annapurna II, Annapurna IV, Annapurna III, Gangapurna and Tilicho Peak on the far right.

It’s truly amazing!

The “Annapurna circuit” AKA “around Annapurna” is one of the most popular treks here in Nepal. Being around here in Nepal, everybody are talking about the “around”. It’s a pretty hard trek, but more because of it’s length and not because of the climbing skills you are required for (no climbing skills required!).

It can be done in 15-17 days, depends on your pace. I heard of people doing it in 10 days (nowadays, it’s possible to get a jeep and drive some of the way and save a couple of days) and older groups of people doing it in 24 days.

Views in the trek are magnificent, it’s surrounding one of the Himalaya beautiful ridges.

The starting point of the trek is in a town called Basisahar (can be spelled in some other ways, depends on the map you are using) and ends in either one of 2 places, Beni or Nayapool. It’s all depends on how much walking strength you have

Basisahar is in the middle way between Kathmandu and Pokhara, so you can begin your ride from either of the two cities.

These 2 places are where it’s possible to take a bas back to Pokhara after finishing the trek.

In each and every day of the trek you have the possibility to sleep in a guest house, so camping is really not necessary and there is no need to carry a tent with you. If you do want to do some camping, you are most welcome. Tent, stove and all other additional equipment is then required , of course.

Many people say that living costs on the trek are very expensive. well, if you did stay in the Thamel for a couple of days, costs would be around the same.

Room charges are relatively low and gets to their pick almost at the pick which is high camp guest house at high camp after throng phedi. it’s the same price you will pay for a a guest house in the Thamel area in Kathmandu (320 rupees). The deal is that you pay almost nothing to the guest house for sleeping but in exchange you buy your food and meals from them. If you decide to eat your own food, room charge will be higher and sometimes double.

Get ready because this trek is going to be one of your major life experiences! not every day you get a chance to be out of civilization for 2.5 weeks.

One very important thing, these days a road is being built to most of those villages around the trek. In 4-5 year most of the circuit could be done buy driving and not walking. I’ve been told that the trekking committee or other Nepali organization are looking for new trekking routes in order to overcome this problem.

So…go now!

If you have some more questions on this trek, just add the questions on the comments, I’ll add it up to this post. I might be forgetting some points you are pondering about.