We rose in the dark to get the bus to Besisahar. Fooled into thinking we were getting a tourist bus we soon realised our expectations were a lot lower than the reality! We all squeezed into the bus. Sitting next to the driver on a bench with Hugo's legs wrapped around me we held on for the four hour journey up into the hills of the Annapurna Region. What we thought was a tough bus journey was nothing compared with the second leg - an hour and a half 'off road' bus journey to Bhulbhule, our starting point for the Annapurna circuit. The bus wobbled its way along a dirt track jeep road that would have been difficult to walk on, as we braced ourselves at every bump. It was a horrendous journey but when we finally arrived the view of snow capped peak of Manasalu towering over us made us soon forget. We had lunch at a little refuge in the village and settled ourselves in for the night, too exhausted to even consider hiking today.

Our first day brought us from Bhulbhule to Syange. It was tough at the beginning, walking in the crisp mountain air with our heavy bags. With all our water the bag was almost 10kg. We littered along slow & steady, watching the village come alive. Cows were trampling on hay, women and men were harvesting the millet & children passed us on their way to school. The villages were quaint and peaceful.The heavy slog up to Bahundanda about halfway was worth it for the views over the gorge, with fields upon fields of millet staggered down into the valley. The track followed a narrow little path on the edge of the gorge, the gushing river powered beneath us. Syange was a little village beside a large waterfall, with winding cobbled paths & usually engineered buildings all built on top of each other!

The next day the walking trail was non existent all day, for the main reason that when we arrived at the junction to divert from the jeep trail we were stopped and told it was closed today due to a big rock fall. The road was hilarious, with huge sections blasted into the cliff creating a treacherous 'road' above 800m cliffs! The gorge below was magnificent, the biggest I've ever seen, with beautiful powerful waterfalls plummeting into the river on either side. Although the passing tractors and jeeps made it a bit frustrating on the road, the views were still pretty spectacular. We stopped at the little village of Tal, just after midday with tired feet after walking on hard ground all day. It was a sweet little lodge, painted blue and purple and covered in orange blooming flowers.

We headed for the hills at 7am & started with the steady climb up to Dhanipani. The path snaked around the gorge, up and down on a sandy path. We passed through the town and crossed over the river on a high suspension bridge into the beautiful little village of Toche. Buddhist prayer flags covered the town and prayer wheels greeted us on arrival. We got stuck in some local traffic jam aka. A herd of cows being herded up the mountain. We squeezed through them, trying not to get kicked by the bullocks! We crossed back onto the Jeep road for awhile, grateful from a break from the sunshine. The air was much cooler today and we were sweating buckets. We thought about stopping for lunch in Danaku but had a quick look at the map and the next village of Timang seemed close by & maps.me told us it was only an hour. Big mistake. The route was intense and steep, steadily climbing through a beautiful pine forest. It was almost like Ireland, with autumnal leaves on the ground and dense forest around us. What seemed like a never ending path finally brought us to the gorgeous village of Timang, with massive panoramic views overlooking Manasalu. We sat on a rooftop lodge and soaked in the views. We had a decent break and then carried on, mashing two days into one! It was another 3 hours to Chame, but thankfully the path was easy going & we had the main ascent over us. Chame was such a welcoming sight after 9 hours on the road.

The next day we headed from Chame to Upper Pisang, up to 3300m in altitude. It was a really relaxing stroll, first up to the largest Apple farm in Nepal through a pine forest and then the path skirting along by the river again, and a long path through a forest brought us to a sweet little town with loads of rooftop lodges. We sat in the sunshine, drinking tea and eating local apples before continuing on. The last hour to Upper Pisang was very easy going & we arrived just after midday. We found a brilliant lodge high up at the top, and spent the day overlooking Annapurna 2.

What started out as a casual hike, overlooking the peak of Annapurna 2 soon turned into a steep hike up to the town of Ghyaru. The effects of altitude were finally beginning to hit & it was a slow but steady climb. The views at the village were magnificent, a full panoramic view of the entire valley. The walk continued on, skirting along on the edge of the valley. It was a slow wander watching the beautiful view. We strolled into Ngawal around midday & after a scary encounter with a howling bull we found refuge in a little lodge and had lunch. It was a long slog to Braka, especially as the sun was intense and tiring.

We headed for Ice Lake the next morning, high above the valley at 4600m. It was a slow but steady slog up the steep ascent but the views were sensational from only half way. Insane views of Annapurna 2, 3, 4, Tilicho Peak & Gangapurna. We had a quick lunch then pottered down swiftly, visiting Braka Monastery on the way down. It was an ancient monastery, full of dusty holy books and scary masks. We collected our luggage at the lodge and headed up to Manang, a further 30 minutes away.

We stayed two full days there for acclimatisation. Our furthest venture from the village was to the torquise lake about a 20 minute walk away. Otherwise we spent our time reading, eating cake or watching movies in the glorified cinemas in the village. It was Dewali while we were there and fairy lights covered the town and at night groups moved from lodge to lodge singing and dancing.

We left Manang well rested and headed for Tilicho Base Camp. It was a relaxing stroll following the river, steadily climbing up as far as Shree Karka. The views of Tilicho Peak and range were outstanding. It was the first time we felt up and close with these snow capped peaks. We carried on and the route became a narrow path, sheer cliff above and below, it was like landing in Star Wars. Nothing was growing and huge cliffs towered above us. The path was almost like walking through a landslide, it was kinda scary as often the stones slipped under our feet but the incredible views were too distracting for us to notice. We landed at Base Camp and tried to find a bed, with horror stories of 70 people sleeping in the dining rooms filling our minds. The last lodge, the third one, thankfully had a room for us.

The next morning we left Tilicho Base Camp just after 6 and began the steady slog up to the lake. The sun reached the tips of the Tilicho Range about half an hour in and soon later it was on our backs. The views of the cloud covered valley behind us was beautiful. We reached the huge lake at 4977m eventually, just in awe of the Tilicho mountain range behind. A little avalanche powered down the glacier just as we arrived. We stayed at the top for over an hour soaking it all it, it was so beautiful that it actually brought tears to my eyes. We took our time on the way down, sitting half way looking out at the valley below. C'était magnifique!

The next day was short, with only a three hour hike back to Shree Karka from base camp. We feasted on a huge plate of Dal Bhat, the refillable national dish of Nepal consisting of lentil soup, rice & vegetables.

The next day brought us to Yak Karka which was about a 5 hour hike traversing the gorge and dipping down into the valley. We spotted some blue sheep and an eagle along the way. Today was cloudy and cold although we did have peaks of Kangsar mountain and Gangapurna every so often as they popped out of the clouds. Temperatures dropped rapidly and our drying clothes froze solid within a few hours of putting them on the washing line.

It was a short hike from Yak Karka to Thorong Phedi but we we're warned to hike slowly due to the big change in altitude. It was a pretty journey although all the views were behind us so we spent our time stopping and looking back at Gangapurna and the last of the Annapurna range. We dropped our bags and headed up to high camp for acclimitisation. Snow had just started to blow through, light flakes landing on our hats. The snow didn't stop all day, gently covering the valley in a blanket of snow.

We woke to cloudy skies but we decided to try for the pass none the less, everyone else seemed to be game. The entire place was covered in snow & it was bitterly cold, it was practically self inflicted torture using poles, our fingers were so cold. As we reached high camp dark clouds rolled above us and I slipped on ice. Petrified of what awaited us we decided to turn back and stay at high camp that night, it seemed too risky. We spent the day exploring around in the snow & tucked up in bed hiding from the bitter winds.

So today was the day, winds had howled all night but we gathered out stuff & packed up in the icy winds. We had a quick bowl of porridge, nauseous with anticipation and probably after 2 nights at such high altitude. It was so cold that all our water bottles had frozen but we refilled them with boiling water. We set off at around 5.30 and battled up the mountain against the raging winds. Gusts were so strong that we often had to hold our position and brace ourselves against it. It was icy cold, too cold to use our poles as the wind whipped through. We stopped briefly to put on extra layers and munch a frozen snickers then carried on pushing ourselves to the top. At one point the wind was so strong that it knocked me slightly and the sherpa behind caught me from falling. It was mental. The altitude had really caught up at this stage & we had to take a breath every second step. As we reached the pass, tears flooded both our eyes, relieved and so thankful to be at such a sacred location... The prayer flags blew about frantically. We paused in a tiny tea shop for a quick cuppa and a break from the wind, probably the most expensive tea in Nepal but still a bargain for us at about €1.80. We didn't stay long at the top, just took a few snaps then hurried down out of the gale. It was an easy going descent and we stopped often to de-layer as the sun was beating down on us. We had lunch in a little farm half way to Muktinath. The views of the dramatic desertlike Kali Gandaki Valley were spectacular. We landed at Bob Marley Hostel & had the most unbelievable hot shower, beers and cake ..

The following morning we wanded through the ancient city of Muktinath watching locals being carried up by horseback to the temple on the top of the hill. Women sat weaving scarves & cows sauntered about the streets. We walked down to Jarakot - a medieval city in the valley & then cut across the huge canyon wandering down to the river & then straight up to the village of Jhong. Autumnal colours washed the valley & leaves crunched under our feet. In Jhong we found a little cafe on the hill & sat under the sunshine drinking masala tea. We visited the Gompa on the hill, which connected with the high ridge of the canyon with huge flags jotted along the ridge. Then we began the slow & long walk to Kagpeni, the path seemed never ending but we were distracted with mesmerising views of a valley so wide. We walked past goat shepherds with their herds and across salt plains. The wind picked up for the last hour of the walk and we were never so happy to walk into the beautiful little town of Kagpeni. The town was a mysterious collection of tunnels and alleys. We found a cute little lodge to stay in & then had a bite to eat in a proper local cafe, sitting on stools in a tiny kitchen with a couple of young fellas eating momos. 

We took it easy the next day and wandered down through the village of Kagpeni, watching the village come alive. Women milked cows, men herded fully loaded ponies out of the village, and children walked to school. It was like stepping back in time, into one of those history replays that we visited as a child. We took the bus to Jomson, which was an experience alone. Off road buses, driving through rivers, at the edge of cliffs and hurtling along jeep tracks - it was mental. We landed in Jomson and tried to find mountain bikes to rent to avoid getting the bus again but no luck, there was only one available so our only option was the bus again to Tadopani. The bus from hell. It was horrific crushed into the front part of the bus, bounced so hard we lifted off the seats & going through too many near death experiences. So thankful to arrive in Tadopani we found a lodge and got ourselves some momos and a beer before spending the evening in the roasting hot hot springs!

So our time in the Himalayas has come to the end. Fourteen days of hiking, thousands of meters of ascent and descent and left with only the growing desire to return one day.