Trekking the Annapurna Circuit

Katie and I had an amazing month of trekking the Annapurna Circuit in Nepal. Along with the gorgeous scenery and the extreme physical challenge of hiking to the 5416-meter Thorung Pass, the people were the highlight of our trek. Those who lived along the trail were extremely friendly, as were the other trekkers we met. And among them were today's guests, Martijn and Manon. We made some time a few days after finishing our trek to record a podcast and reminisce our month in the mountains.

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Show Notes:

• We talked about Jitterbug Perfume at the beginning of the show. Still no word about where the Bandaloop caves are, but I have a feeling they're somewhere in central Nepal.
• Upon coming to Nepal in the middle of April, I was surprised to learn that it was New Year's Eve, and we were entering the year 2075. This is because Nepal uses the Bikram Sambat calendar, which starts counting from when Indian emperor Vikramaditya won a decisive military victory over the Sakas.
• Although theories abound about the origin of the Easter Bunny, Time Magazine makes a case that the rabbit is an ancient pagan symbol for fertility.

And here are some photos from our trek:

For the first few days the landscape was dry and subtropical.

There were many waterfalls along the way.

As we walked along the bottom of the canyon, we had to cross the mighty Marsyangdi River many times. Luckily, there were plenty of suspension bridges to aid us.

The guesthouses we stayed in were able to produce a huge variety of dishes, considering their humble kitchens.

Soon we reached Chame, where we got our first look at the snowy mountains of the Annapurna range.

Ghyaru is a tiny village located just below the snowline. The locals were busy plowing their potato fields using oxen.

The journey to Ice Lake (4600 meters) was our first true test. Annapurna III is in the background.

A side trip to Tilicho lake, one of the world's highest at 4910 meters, was also quite the challenge.

Made it to the Thorung Pass (5416 meters, 17,769 feet)! Pictured here are Manon, Katie, Kasper, Martin, me, and Martijn.

We still had to walk all the way back down. One of the first places we visited was the famous Muktinath Temple.

After three weeks of walking, Katie and I made it to Poon Hill, where the mountains gave us their final curtain call.

For more of my photos from the Annapurna Circuit, click here.