More sunrises

Back to the trip…the next morning we got to sleep in – not planning on getting up until 7:30 – seemed like a really great treat. Well, Mother Nature, having a perverse nature, woke me up at my typical 5:30 time and, since the bathroom upstairs was less than desirable, I traipsed downstairs to the outside accommodations. Since I wasn’t the only one with an early morning bladder, I was forced to stand and wait, looking out over the mountains, realizing it was just about sunrise and the sky was clear and the sun was cresting and it was the picture perfect moment. I dashed upstairs, woke up Jeff, grabbed my camera and headed back downstairs. I think everyone in the hotel came out to get the pictures – we had all been up on Poon Hill the day before and while it was great, the clarity this morning was fabulous.

At one time, the path was 3 feet up

This time our trek led us through a more jungle like environment – moss hanging from the trees, ferns growing all along the way, rolling hills, level and downhill, lots more of the steps, shaded waterfalls and streams. It was really a very pleasant walk to the village of Ghandrung. Take note of the picture on the left. The trail here has been around for MANY years. At one time it would have been flat across the mounds on either side - just like rivers cut out valleys over time, so has the footsteps of countless wanderers. 

Ghandrung by far is the wealthiest village we have been to on this trek. It is, I believe, the last major village before the Annapurna base camp, making it a prime jumping off point for groups planning on climbing any of the mountains in the region. This village welcomes you with a wonderful rock path starting high up on the hill – actually at one of the many rock resting points you find across Nepal. One other resource that is available here is Nepal is rocks – you can find as many rocks as you would like for any project you want.  They used quartzite, common to the area, to create walkways down, into and throughout the entire village. The homes, tea houses, and farms all showed the care and dedicated work to make this village stand out.