Manaslu Circuit, Jagat to Deng

Typical steep sided valley

Another fine start to the day, sunshine and clear skies.

Bridge crossing, don't look down!

Once again the terrain was stunning, steep sided valleys with views to distant mountains.

Mmmm, Chilli

We passed through several small villages.

Keep up with the group

And crossed the river several times, as well as passing many waterfalls.

Sun's out, so are the flowers

Now that the weather had improved, flowers were appearing beside the path.

Time for a group photo

At one of the villages we stopped at there were many children, an Ideal photo opportunity for Adrian, I snapped this picture while their attention was on him.
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One of our porters

Amazingly, our porters were still struggling to keep up with us! apparently they were not yet fit as it was still early in the season, and there hadn't been much work available because of the earthquake.

Snowy mountains (Ganesh?) ahead

Today, we saw our first view of the high mountains, a long way off!

Long bridge

As ever there some interesting bridges to cross.

Striding out, nearly there

The final section of the walk was through a wooded valley on a very good path.

Do we have to cross that rickety bridge?

We crossed a final dodgy looking bridge before a 'sprint into Deng (1800m) to try to beat the incoming rain. Didn't quite make it and actually had to put our waterproofs on!

Manaslu Circuit, Machhakhola to Jagat

First view of the Ganesh Himal

The day started bright and clear for what was going to be a long day of walking.

Do we have to cross that?

Steep side valleys with distant views of snow covered mountains led to an area of massive landslides.

Rockfall

At the end of the rockfall area we had to cross the river on temporary bridges, no getting mules across this section!

New "bridges" over rockfall

The rocks in the river at this section all looked new, probably caused by the earthquake. After the bridges we dropped back down to the river and it appeared that we had crossed the worst and were nearly at our destination for the night.

The start of the final detour of the day

Wrong! we were on the other side of the river to the old path, which had been washed away.

looking back down to the river

Nothing for it but to climb a long way up the hill on a new path to a village before dropping back down to river level.

Some detour this, now it's back down to the river

A good hour and a half detour which meant that we arrived at Jagat (alt. 1410m) just as it got dark.

Home sweet home........for the night

The poor porters had got lost and finally arrived after another hour!

Manaslu Circuit, Sotikhola to Machhhakhola

October 12, an overcast and hazy day, but at least it was relatively cool.

Walking out from Sotikhola

Sotikhola had suffered some 'quake damage, but all around were signs of repair and rebuilding.

Part of the rebuilding work

After the village the way developed into a steep side valley with evidence of the occasional landslide but generally a good path/track suitable for horses/mules which we saw ferrying goods.

Steep path, don't look down

Sometimes the valley widened out and at these points there were terraces and small houses or villages.

Terracing

Walking through rice fields

The crops seemed to be predominantly rice or millet and made for very picturesque walking.

New bridge

Just after lunch the route would normally have crossed a suspension bridge but this was new and the route we took was down to the river and then back up.

Avoiding the bridge

After six hours of walking we arrived at our destination, Machhakhola (alt. 869m).

More earthquake damage in Machhakhola

Manaslu Circuit, getting to the start of the trek

Dried Chilli in Kathmandu

It'd been over a month since we returned to the U.K. time for a holiday!

Kathmandu wiring

We'd been planning this trip since we decided to go to Vietnam and had booked our flights early. But, as soon as we had booked the flights, Nepal was struck by the first of two devastating earthquakes, centred on the very region we were due to be trekking.

Eathquake damage to historic building

This put the trip in some doubt, particularly the planned Manaslu Circuit Trek and it was only during September that our guides at Six Friends Trekking informed us that the trek had been deemed ok.

Packed bus in quiet street

On arrival, we found out that there was a blockade at the border with India, meaning there was a food and fuel shortage, on the plus side though, the roads were quiet and travel times would be shortened.

Refuelling the bus

Because various people were arriving at different times, we had two days of relaxation in Kathmandu before a day of bus travel.

Lunch stop on the way to Aarughat

First to Aarughat and then  transferring to a four wheel drive bus for the final rough section to Sotikhola (alt. 700m).

The end of the road

The road was blocked by a landslide shortly before Sotikhola so we had a ten minute walk to get to our lodge.

The very first bit of walking

The gentle downhill stroll to Sotikhola was a welcome relief after six hours on the bus.

The discrete lodge at Sotikhola

The lodge was pretty much as expected, basic, not exactly five star but it did have beds! It was the first house in the village and bright green.