Pisang Peak Climbing

We will begin our trip with a bus ride to Besisahar, the headquarter of Lamjung, a district located in the western part of Nepal. The bus ride takes us six hours through the picturesque green hills of the mid Nepal. The Lamjung district is mainly inhabited by the Gurung people, who have a unique culture and display impeccable hospitality. The Trishuli river flows outside our window screen as we slide across the valleys. We will leave the highway from Dumre and head northwards.

We will reach Besi Shahar after two and a half an hours drive from Dumre. Besi Sahar is a major trade center and tourist hotspot of the region. We will stay at a guest house in Besi Shahar for the night.

We will take part in a mixture of bus ride and trek today. We will drive up to the village of Chyamje in local transport. The road is dusty and graveled but the ride is thrilling and memorable. We will get off the bus near the village of Chyamje.

After getting off the bus we will cross a suspension bridge and head towards the village of Chyamje. Chortens, stupas, mani walls and prayer flags are abundant as we approach the village. The village of Tal lies between Chyamje and Dharapani. There is a beautiful waterfall near Tal. We will walk slightly uphill from Tal and reach a small but beautiful village of Dharapani which will provide us with the night’s stay.

Our trek starts along the beaten path of the Marsyangdi river following breakfast where you have the option of enjoying Tibetan bread, Himalayan tea, local lentils and beans. Our road is sandwiched between mountains on both sides. Sometimes the trail goes down towards the river but moves swiftly up towards the mountain ridges. Beautiful villages like Bagarchap, Danaque and Timang of the local Gurung, Magar and Sherpa people lie on our way to Chame from Dharapani.

Chame is the main town and headquarters of the Manang district. It is the largest village north of Besi Shahar in Nepal. We will get a wonderful view of Dhaulagiri, Himchuli and Ganesh Himal from Chame which constitutes a large cluster of houses sprawled over flatlands.

We will start our trek following breakfast and venture towards the upper north part of the Manang district. We will be followed by mules and traders coming in and out of Chame during the first part of the trek. Deep forests of rhododendron, pine, fir and cedars welcome us as we stroll along the pleasant surrounding of the Marsyangdi river.

After walking along the forest for some time, we will be welcomed with hot tea in the village of Barthang. The village is a typical Buddhist settlement with relics like mani walls and prayer flags all around it. The climb gets a little difficult as we move towards Pisang. The view of Pisang Peak as we approach the village is stunning as we will start to see the full pyramid shape of the southern face.

We will head towards the Pisang peak today with its Base Camp being our target. The village of Pisang is divided into upper and lower Pisang. Once we cross upper Pisang, we will walk through grasslands and forests with sparse trees. If we are lucky then we can spot the Himalayan Blue Sheep, Himalayan Tahr and the Danphe – which is the national bird of Nepal.

We will see the Pisang, Gangapurna, Tilicho and Annapurna I glistening before us in full glory as we move closer and closer to the base camp. We will reach the base camp during the latter half of the day when the setting sun makes the surrounding peaks look like jewels glistening in astral light.

We will stay at the Pisang Base Camp today to take rest, acclimatize for the journey ahead and prepare for the difficult mountain exercise to take place in the following two days. We will learn how to use tools like ropes, axes and harnesses that are required in the upper slopes of the peak. We will also learn how to communicate effectively with each other and how to coordinate while moving in single file.

After taking part in the training exercise we will get back to our base and explore the surrounding with a light stroll along the base camp. We will enjoy the spectacular view of the sunrise from the Base Camp and slide into our beds before the chill evening wind starts to blow.

The trek from Pisang Base Camp to the Pisang High Camp takes us along the ridge of the mountain which goes upwards in our foreground towards the peak of Pisang mountain. The ground is mostly covered in snow with a few bare portions visible in the snow from where moss, lichens and light grass sprout.

The last part of the trek is especially challenging as the ridge starts to get more and more vertical. We will set our camps upon reaching the Pisang Base Camp. We will also continue our basic training for a short while so as to reinforce our practice with the equipment yesterday. Since the air is very thin at this point, we will not take part in heavy ordeals at the Base Camp and acclimatize ourselves by taking an early rest.

We will wake up a few hours before sunbreak today because it is ideal to reach the top of the peak before the regular heady midday wind starts to blow at the mountain top. We might not need to make use of ropes during the first part of the climb. However, the last two hundred meters of the climb is almost vertical and we need to lay ropes to conquer this part of the ridge. Our trek team leader and other experienced staff will first lay the rope on the slope and test it for strength.

Once the rope has been laid, then we will begin a slow walk along the ridge of the mountain by holding the rope. We will also need to make use of harnesses and ice axes during the climb. The view from the top of Pisang peak is spectacular with mountains like Tilicho, Annapurna, Gangapurna, Himchuli etc. surrounding the Pisang peak in all directions. We will get back to the High Camp after spending some time at the peak. The climb down is much easier compared to the ascent. We will reach Pisang in the evening and stay there for the night.

We will leave the village of Pisang behind and head towards Manang today. After walking a short while from Pisang we will enter deep and silent woods in the way. Many waterfalls and streams which flow into the Marsyangdi river are our companions. We will take the first stop at the village of Ghyaru, which is a small village of the Gurung people.

Many beautiful monasteries like the Braga monastery and the Bodzo monastery lie on our way. We will reach the village of Mungji during the last quarter of our trek and take another short break there. We will cross the Marsyangdi river via a suspension bridge after walking for a short while from Mungji. The large and beautiful Manag village lies at the end of today’s journey. It is the largest settlement in north Manang. We will stay at  a guest house in Manang for the night.

We will begin our trek following breakfasts. We will see beautiful terraced fields above Manang after getting out of the village. The Jarshing river flows in our path after a short walk and we will cross it and climb to the slopes of the opposite mountain. The forest gets thin as we move up and we are welcomed by swathes of wide vegetation less valleys that are gorges between mountain walls on the left and right.

We will reach the village of Kharsang during the middle of our trek. We will rest there for a while and continue our journey into the area where there are several green pastures. We will see herds of yaks grazing in these pastures as we move closer to the village of Yak Kharka. In fact the meaning of the village Yak Kharka is yak grazing pasture. We will stay in Yak Kharka for the night.

We will begin a trek towards Thorong Phedi following breakfast. The road now leads us much above the river valleys below and towards the foot of the pass itself. We will cross the Jarshang river once again after going past the village of Ledar. Ledar is a small village which is perched on the mountain side. We will rest for a while at the village and resume our trek.

The road just before reaching the Thorong Phedi, the literal meaning of which is the base of the Thorong La Pass, is quite steep and we will have to walk slowly acclimatizing ourselves with the thin air. Himchuli, Dhaulagiri and Annapurna look majestic from their northern face, which is a rare view reserved only to those who make their way to this part of Manang. We will rest for the night at Thorong Phedi.

This part of the trek is the second most difficult one after the ascent to the top of Pisang peak. In fact, we will be gaining more altitude today than we did when we climbed the Pisang peak from its high camp. The road just before reaching Thorong La Pass goes through glacial moraine so is slippery. It is also significantly uphill. However, we will forget all our pain and hardships after we reach the top of Thorong La Pass. We will see mountains on all sides covered in glaciers and sheets of snow. If the weather is clear we can also catch a glimpse of far flung icy blue lakes.

Thorong La Pass connects the district of Manang with the district of Mustang. On the other side of the pass is located the Kali Gandaki Valley, which looks like a valley from the dreams of a painter. The arid valley is carved open by Kali Gandaki river in its middle with tall mountains standing guard on either side. We will descend towards the valley after spending some time at the Thorong La Pass. Our destination for today is the pilgrimage town of Muktinath, where lies the famous temple of the Hindus – the Muktinath Temple and the Jwala Mai Temple.

We will drive along the outskirts of the dusty Kali Gandaki Valley and head southeast towards the village of Tatopani, the literal translation of the name being hot water. The drive takes us along gravelled roads on edgy mountain slopes that meet with a deep ravine at its foot. It’s a thrilling ride with occasional waterfalls directly crossing our path.

We will reach Tatopani after six hours of drive and we start to see green valleys of the Annapurna Sanctuary to the east. There is a natural hot water spring in Tatopani. We will soak our body there and relieve ourselves. We will stay at a guest house for the night.

We will enter the dense forests of the Annapurna Sanctuary today. We are about to go full circle around Annapurna by now and are at the last part of the trek. The trek along the beautiful forest of Rhododendron is a pleasant affair mixed with frequent rendezvous with animals like deer, foxes, langur and mountain goat.

The last part of the trek is a climb to the beautiful village of Ghorepani. The paved road starts to get wider as we move closer to Ghorepani. Ghorepani is famous for its homestay, where you can spend the night at the houses of the local Gurung people, experiencing first hand their way of life and culture. We will either stay at a guest house or a homestay, depending upon your choice, for the night.

We will hike for half an hour before sunrise and reach the viewpoint of Poon Hill, which is famous for its wonderful view of the mountains. You will see the complete set of mountains in the central part of Nepal from Poon Hill with the Ganesh, Manaslu, Annapurna, Dhaulagiri and Machhapuchhre being the standout ones on sight. The sight of the sun breaking into these mountains is also spectacular from Poon Hill.

We will climb down to our guesthouse/homestay and then begin a trek towards Nayapul. The trek along stone paved path takes us through beautiful villages, green terraced fields and pleasant forests. We will reach Nayapul after six hours of trek and catch a bus to the tourist city of Pokhara, which is famous for its beautiful lakes.

Our trek ends with a drive to Kathmandu by tourist bus. The drive is also one of the highlights of the tour as we will see the beautiful countryside of the mid Nepali hills. We will be followed by the Trishuli river for about half of our drive. Trishuli river, including the other ones we met on the trek – Kali Gandaki, Marsyangdi, Jarshang etc. – are all tributaries of the Narayani (or the Gandaki) river which drains towards India from the middle of the Chitwan National Park in the southern plains of Nepal.

We will enter Kathmandu at around 3 pm. After we get off near the tourist town of Thamel, we will drop you at your hotel. Our trek officially ends after you check into your hotel.