Day 15: Larjung to Ghasa
I hiked the Annapurna Circuit with Michelle from Full Time Explorer. She did a great write-up of our trek which she kindly let me borrow, so what you see below is Michelle's text and my photos. You can find her original article at Annapurna Circuit Itinerary.
The day starts off on the road, but our GPS directs us across a footpath on the river. After getting halfway across the large expanse, we realize we are unable to pass and have to walk all the way back and around on the road. I would ask the locals if the foot path is there before trying the shortcut. It seemed the small bridges had been washed away. We stopped for tea at Kokhethanti at the only guesthouse in town. After tea, we continued over the bridge to the woods on the other side. It’s an insanely beautiful walk through cute little towns that offer amazing views of Annapurna I. It was the first time we’d seen that peak in the entire trip.
The walk is beautiful and peaceful and not too long. Upon entering Kalopani, we see a sign for real coffee, and I pretty much sprinted to the haven known as the Annapurna Guest House. It was one of the fanciest places we’d seen. The off season price was $15 a room, but it’s pretty fancy compared to the teahouses in town. We sat down for a break to have real coffee, WiFi, and an early lunch. The shakshuka was delicious despite not having a lot of tomato sauce. It only took us two hours to get here, so we decided to continue on despite the lovely lodging option.
In Kalopani, there is a path to the left which you’ll want to take. We ended up missing it but were desperate to get off the road. In turn, we had to climb through some thorn bushes, over stone walls, and across someone’s field to get back on the footpath. Once there, it was totally worth the crazy detour. We stumble upon a goat herder with hundreds of goats all taking a nap in the shade of the pine trees. This path connected back with the main road. On the other side of the road, a path picks back up, but we missed it and ended up on the road for at least an hour in the intense sun and grueling heat until we reached Ghasa.
Ghasa is a tiny town which seems to have some construction going on on the walkways. We stopped in the Golden Inn Guest House for a pancake and tea. We did not stay in Ghasa because we had the brilliant idea to get all the way to Tatopani, which is 31km (20 miles) from Larjung. I do not recommend this. It was an insane day, and we didn’t arrive till 8pm. Most people stay in Ghasa, so I’ve split this up into two days for the sake of other people’s feet and sanity.
Dave
Normally a software engineer, recently I've been spending a bit more time in nature.
