44 | TRAVEL HIMALAYA SPRING 2019 http://www.travelhimalayamagazine.com
MANASLU CIRCUIT & THE LARKYE LA
It was hard to keep our eyes on the trail, but one must
resist from looking up as the trail down the pass is
extremely steep and rocky. We descended slowly and
carefully, picking our way through rocks until we reached
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of the day brought us easily down the valley to Bimthang,
where we stayed two nights, with a day to recover and do a
highly recommended side trip to Pongkar Lake, with close
up views of the surrounding peaks and glaciers.
The last two days of the trek brought us down to the main
Annapurna trail. Many of my group expected a slow and
not very interesting walk back down the valley but they
were mistaken. Leaving Bimthang the panorama looking
back was one of the best of the trek and the walk down
through the forest was a welcome respite after the barren
high-altitude days and also great for bird watching. We
spent a night at a lovely lodge at Tilje and then joined the
main Annapurna trail at Dharapani. The last afternoon
we walked to Jagat where the next day we took jeeps for a
bone rattling two hours to Besisahar, where our bus met
us for the drive back to Kathmandu and the joys of a hot
shower, clean clothes and a beer!
Written by Valerie Parkinson. Valerie leads treks for
Exodus Travels UK who offer trekking and adventure
tours worldwide (www.exodus.co.uk). In 2008 Valerie
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without the use of supplementary oxygen. In 2019
Valerie will be 60 and will have spent more than half her
life leading treks and climbs in the Himalaya. During
her Summit 60 year she will be leading a whole series
of special treks, including the Manaslu Circuit on the
14 th November. For more information visit: http://www.exodus.
co.uk/valerie-parkinson
VISA AND PERMITS
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