Day 1, Lena and Ali struggling with the after effects of food poisoning on the way to Khudi
Day 2, One of the many teams of donkeys carrying goods to outlying villages
Day 2, A view from near the Brahmin village of Bahundanda
Day 2, Bal Chandra Ghimire and Dinesh Ghimire talked about the importance of reafforestation around their village and the local challenges they face with this
Day 3, Villager making a wooden plough
Day 3, En route to Chamje but didn't make it that far with Lena being ill
Day3, Stopped at the tiny village of Syanje perched between a massive rock and the Marsyangdi River
Day 3, Life in motion.
Day 4, Our first clear sky day after a thunderstorm the afternoon/evening before. An awesome early morning scene with our first glimpse of snow-capped peaks.
Day 8, Lena and Ali with the Annapurna Himal behind them. A rest day in Manang which we spent meeting with people at the local ACAP office, walking to Gangapurna lake and interviewing two local leaders.
Day 4, Trees and rocks, a constant feature of the stunning landscapes we walked through on this day. A long day with Lena determined to make up for the day before. We'd lost 3 hours and managed to make up 2 ½.
Day 4, Ali posing as we walked through fields of marijuana!
Day 4, We'd had a steep climb up beside a massive landslide and then came to this stunning view of the plain of Tal. We ended our long day when we came to another small village, Karte.
Day 5, Walking to Chame we were befriended by two young boys who were walking with their mother.
Day 6, The glorious weather, with awesome mountain views, continued as we left Chame.
Day 6, We walked down the road to the local Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP) and at very short notice met and talked with Tashi Dindu Lama, a local community leader.
Day 6, Every day we saw tree cutting activity.
Day 6, Stunning, inspiring walking. Photos barely do this justice. Can you imagine a road through here, on the other side of the river?
Day 6, Overpowering. Alice was totally overawed by this. We all were. Lena was walking with small diary and pen in hand... such inspiring landscapes.
Day 7, En route to Manang. Ever higher altitude which we were starting to feel the effects of a bit in our breathing and walking. Mountains and somewhere ahead, Thurong La Pass.
Day 8, Gangapurna glacier is melting, forming a lake that never existed 20-30 years ago.
Day 8, Wise local people talk of the mountain gods being unhappy with less snow.
Day 8, Our guide Karma Lama. No formal education, but very smart, very caring, very generous.
Day 8, Sonam Chhiring Gurung, local farmer and owner of Manang Hotel, at home with his wife. He and Sonam Chhiring Ghale talked about higher temperatures, more erratic rainfall patterns, less snow and loss of forest cover.
Day 9, Early morning, a long day ahead to reach Thorong Phedi.
Day 9, Looking back towards Manang.
Day 9, In the high mountains for sure, in Yak country (and somewhere in the snow the elusive Snow Leopard)
Day 9, The last part to Thorong Phedi was through a large, very unstable, landslide area.
Day 9, 7 hours and a 1000m climb to Thorong Phedi. We were told that we were crazy, but we trusted Karma's 20+ years of experience.
Day 9, At the end of a long day, at over 4500m I interviewed this very straight talking man, Michung Gurung.
Day 10, Up at 4.10am and then the long, slow climb to Thorong La Pass.
Nepal2 125 – Day 10, Sun shining but such a challenge walking at high altitude.
Day 10, Nearly there.
Day 10, An indescribable feeling to reach 5416m. High enough for us.
Day 10, Beginning the long, gruelling, walk down to Muktinath.
Day 11, From Muktinath to Jomsom. The relief shows, wild and windy but a tremendous sense of achievement and “we can do anything!”.
Day 12, From Jomsom to Marpha with a clear view of Nilgiri.
Day 13, Water – so important that we wisely manage this precious resource.
Day 12, The big focus for Bhakti Hirachan, local social worker, is the impact of the road that now bypasses the beautiful village of Marpha.
Day 12, This is a clear example of the impact of what my mate Dave calls “straight line thinking”
Day 13, Walking down the Kali Gandaki, one of the most stunning landscapes in the world. A road now built from Kagbeni to near Kalopani, a result of political pressure from China and India, political instability in Nepal, and poorly informed local people living a dream of prosperity in a region made rich by its stunning beauty and people coming to walk and wonder.
Day 13, How big is nature, how big does man think he is?
Day 13, Lunch break, playing cards beneath magic mountains.
Day 13, Fields of wheat en route to the Thakali village of Ghasa
Day 13, A massive erosion face tells the story of how unstable this landscape is and how futile the road is through this region, particularly with future effects of climate change in the picture.
Day 14, Look closely and you might see some human ants chipping away at this rock face to build the road through.
Day 14, A peaceful scene from one of the many teahouses that will be no more, and of a porter who will have no future once the road is completed (if it is completed and remains viable).
Day 15, Walking from Tatopani to Ghorepani. Away from the road building at last. A local villager working on a house extension in a community that is working to protect the forest.
Day 16, An early afternoon thunderstorm halted our progress, so an unplanned night in Sikha rewarded in the morning with a stunning view of Dhaulagiri.
Day 16, Firewood harvesting from Rhododendron forest.
Day 16, Mountains, forest, terraced fields, a scene that conveys a sense of harmony between man and nature.
Day 17, Early morning from Poon Hill, just to remind us of the awesome beauty and power of the Himilayas.
Day 17, A whale's tale!
Day 17, Ali, Lena and Karma at sunrise
Day 17, Machhapuchhre at sunrise, and on the other side, Manang. Did we really walk so far?
Day 17, Tenzing and Sir Ed!!
Day 17, A beautiful forest walk en route to Tadopani.
Day 17, The “human donkeys” climbing up while we were leaping down!
Day 17, More green firewood cutting.
Day 17, More beautiful forest.
Day 17, Filming some forest scenes and interesting sounds through water pipes at Tadopani (which means “long water) ... until the leeches began attacking the girls!
Day 17, More beautiful views after another afternoon downpour.
Day 18, Walking to the village of Ghandruk.
Day 18, A massive thunderstorm in the afternoon. People were saying that the monsoon rains have come a month early.
Day 18, Ali resting.
Day 19, Our last day. An excellent meeting and talk with Kisam Gurung, local community leader and lodge owner, here with his wife Ratna Gurung.
Day 19, A good keen man.
Day 19, Ghandruk is a large village of around 6000 people, wealthy from Gurkhas, smart people and working smartly with their environment but local issues and challenges.
Day 19, Harvesting wheat.
Day 19, Alisha Gurung, 10 years old, eldest child of Kisam and Ratna. A strong young tree, a potential future leader for this community. Hope for the future lies with children like Alisha.
Day 19, It's all over girls. Time to walk out to Birethanti.
Day 19, Walking down from Ghandruk. Keen to finish the trek now, but in the end very sad that is was all over.
Durbar Square in Kathmandu
