Jacek Piwowarczyk Photography - Trekking Around Annapurna

Trekking around Annapurna

Marsyandi Valley

Trekking arond Annapurna - one of the most popular in Nepal starts in Dumre and follows one of the most beautiful Himalayan valleys - Marsyandi. With a little luck and good weather it can offer increadible mountain vistas, especially at sunset and sunrise. During my trip, for days, clouds or lower hills had obscured the highest mountains.

Marsyangdi Valley, Nepal, Jacek Piwowarczyk, 1995

Peak 29 and Himalchuli from Marsyangdi Valley below Besi Sahar

Apart from a brief opportunty during the bus journey to Besi Sahar (top), our first "real" encounter with them took place early in the morning in the small village of Bagarchap. Not far away in the distance we could admire the snow-covered ridge of Lamjung Himal (6986m ), illuminated by the light of the rising sun. A rounded shape of full moon was just over the ridge, a truly breathtaking view.

One starting point for the trekking around Annapurna is the small village of Dumre located on the main road connecting Kathmandu and Pokhara. Frequent local buses ply this route and many people disembark here, both amateurs in trekking and inhabitants of the numerous small villages scattered around the lower section of the Marsyandi Valley. There is a very bad road commencing in Dumre that allows one to skip the first, not particularly interesting, 23 miles of trekking. The road is narrow and bumpy and our very old and overcrowded bus was completely unsuitable to negotiate it. The journey was unforgettable and really hair-raising, especially for the people travelling on the roof of the vehicle. We bet on whether our bus would roll over the cliff, get stuck or just fall apart while negotiating each successive stream. Surprisingly, these scenarios did not occur and the bus persistently moved forward. The day slowly turned to dusk. By the time the vehicle came to its final stop, it was completely dark outside and we found that we were parked in the middle of a stream. The indistinct lights of a small village could be seen in the near distance. We were in Besi Sahar, altitude 820 m, and the end of the road and the real beginning of our trekking.

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