The Annapurna Circuit...a taste of the Himalayas

Nepal, with several long distance hiking trails, offers us a different style of travel and different opportunity to experience the country and culture than our travels in India. So we wasted no time grabbing some additional gear (aka warm clothes) upon arrival and getting out on the trail. The Annapurna Circuit is a 140 mile trail that encircles the Annapurna range, beginning in the steamy, lush sub-tropical lowlands and climbing to get a close glimpse of the Annapurna peaks of the Himalayas. Additionally, there are several sidetrip opportunities to immerse yourself in the heart of the range. We spent 19 days arising with the sun and hiking through villages and terraced fields, passing snowy peaks and waterfalls, dense rainforest and pine forests. Cut off from roads (at least for now), we hiked along the pedestrian highways that criss crossed the steep hillsides. Strolling through modest villages gave us a taste of life in rural Nepal (however, along the trail they have come to cater to the abundant trekkers, so guesthouses and teahouses abound). As we hiked, we saw changes in the house construction, contents of the gardens (corn and rice in the lowlands giving way to hardier wheat and barley as we gained elevation), and livestock (yaks gradually replaced cows and water buffalos). Climbing up the eastern side of the range, we had perfect weather and clear skies offering beautiful views of the mountains after our first couple of days trekking. The daunting task of the trek was crossing Thorong La pass at 17,768 ft! (We started the trek at a mere 2,000ft). We had a beautiful clear day, hiking under an intense blue sky without a single cloud. We started before dawn, but the sun was blazing on us by the time we reached the pass and were greeted by the biting wind whipping across it. Dropping down into the next valley, we were greeted by the hazy skies we thought we would experience our entire trek. The mountain ranges to the west were hidden by a hazy curtain and only occasionally poked through. We began descending along the rainshadow created by the Annapurnas, through dry, dusty scrubland. We also encountered a few days of the gale force winds our guidebook warned of...through a wide desolate valley, we covered up like bandits and threw our shoulders into the wind as dust devils stirred up around us. We walked right through the rainshadow and back into the hot, humid lowlands. Our legs were weary and our backs a bit sore from days of trekking, but we couldn't pass up the opportunity to hike a few more days and cut into the heart of the Annapurnas...to the Annapurna Sanctuary. The trek is an amazing escape into the diverse landscape of the Himalayas, but also the diverse culture. From the more Hindu lowlands up into the Buddhist regions at higher elevations, we got a glimpse at the diverse local groups and their different lifestyles as we circumvented the Annapurnas and explored villages built into the hillsides. Faded and tattered prayer flags are found flying wildly in the relentless mountain wind. And village activity far exceeds the length of our hiking day. Men out with their water buffalos turning the soil, groups harvesting wheat (by the bundle) by hand, corn being planted, fodder collected and hauled in for the water buffalo, firewood collected and hauled back home to cook dinner. Our daily exertion always seemed so insignificant when you looked around at the lifestyle of the locals. However backbreaking and exhausting, there is a beauty to the simplicity of rural Nepali life and how connected people are to the land.