Manaslu Circuit - Tilje - Dharapani - Besi Sahar

Morning view from Tilije

It's our final day on the trail. An short walk to Dharapani and then a long jeep ride to Besi Sahar.

Roof tiles in Tilije

Prayer wheel

Back to the terraces again

Almost done, our porters seem happy!

Mani Stone, do they play Rugby in Nepal?

We arrived at Dharapani after a short walk, it's a small village but busy as it's the start of the Annapurna circuit.

Beans and pulses drying in the sun at Dharapani

The jeep trail from Dharapani to Besi Sahar was long and rough, with some incredibly steep drops. At some points we would rather have got off and walked.

The long and winding road, steep too

In the picture above you can just see the road as it cuts through the cliff. (It starts from the centre of the picture and goes to the top left).

Mountains from Besi Sahar

Besi Sahar is a much bigger town, we stayed in a posh hotel, cold beers, limited food (due to the Indian blockade) and nice views.

Stormy skies

It rained in the evening but by morning it had cleared to give us one final beautiful view before the drive back to Kathmandu, and then the flight home the next day.

Besi Sahar in the early morning

Manaslu Circuit - Bhimthang to Tilije

Morning view from Bhimthang

Actually, we didn't get as far as Dharapani, stopping at a small village about an hour away, saving the final hours walk for the next day.

Manaslu (backside), I think

View towards Annapurna region

Sunrise over the back of Manaslu

Forest Fern

Big tree hugger

Fruits of the forest

Final part of the descent, it's back to steep sided valleys

Local Ladder - The only way is up?

Manaslu Circuit - Dharmasala, over the Larkya La to Bhimthang

Early morning Sun

Early start today (4am) for the long climb (and descent) of the Larkya La.

More early morning sun

It was dark when we started off, but just beginning to get light, and it wasn't long before we started to see the sun on the high peaks.

Even more early morning sun

Early on there were clouds hanging about but as the sun rose these soon burned off, revealing stunning views.

Burning off the last few morning clouds

Sun has nearly risen

Reflections

Final Climb towards the Larkya La

Shallow ice lake, looking back towards Dharmasala

It was a long hard slog up the hill but eventually we made it (or so we thought) when we came to a level area festooned with many prayer flags.

Made it, well almost

We stopped here for a late breakfast/early lunch.

Porter taking a break on the Larkya La

After eating, and a rest we continued, only to find that we weren't quite at the top and had another half hour of uphill walking to reach the top proper.

Descending from the Larkya La

And then the long descent to Bhimthang.

Approaching Bhimthang

Our accommodation in Bhimthang was brightly painted. Little individual "Beach Huts", very nice!

Butlins style accomodation in Bhimthang

Manaslu Circuit, Samdo to Dharmasala

View back to Samdo

Tuesday 20th October.

Samdo

Samdo (3860m) to Dharmasala (Larkya Rest House) (4480m)

The dusty trail from Samdo

The start of the walk to Dharmasala

Same mountain from Larke Bazar

Larke Bazar, sometimes a market is held here

Larke Bazar, just one shop today!

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After shopping, we continue on up

Tandem walking. Photo by A. Walley.

Our first view of the Larkya La

Tonight, camping is an option for some

The view from our tent, not bad

The dining room, plenty of space at the Inn

Clouding over as usual in the afternoon

Our afternoon stroll was up this grassy hill

Our high point, approximately 5200m

Our guide Nirku, Looking down onto Dharmasala

A steep climb it was!