Where We Be
The view from Bhulbule at the
start of the Annapurna Circuit
Happy at the start of our 30-day trek
Our first day's lodging was in the small agricultural village of Ngadi
Our first lodgings at Suman Hotel were extremely basic -- the most basic of
our trek -- and possibly the most basic we've ever stayed in other than a tent!
The foot bridges can sway a bit
Shower and bathroom were in separate tin shacks
We dined outdoors under this palapa
And ordered our food at this cafe on premises
In the late afternoon we walked down to the river...
...and cooled our toes in the icy water
The depressing truth: road building is going on all the way to Manang.
Sometimes this was what we were hiking on and looking at.
On the plus side, we also hiked past lovely
terraced fields, shepherds' huts,  and farmsteads
We passed quaint farms with stone walls and growing crops
We were also treated to many slice-of-life scenes
like this man pumping water for a woman at a well
And small villages located right beside the trail
Rickety bridge across the Marsyangdi River (not part of the trek route!)
We passed through the picturesque village
of Jagat on the way to Tal on our third day
Mule trains are a common sight on the early part of the trek
Scenery on the way to Tal
Domestic animals are in every village -- an aspect of the trip we really enjoyed
The excellent Tibet Guest House in Tal offered a fine room
with a waterfall window view and a rare attached bathroom
Tal's flat stone pathway is a nice change
of pace from all the steep hiking
Nepalis spin prayer wheels as they enter or
exit a village, always passing on the left side
Annapurna Circuit, Nepal (Days 1-3)
The classic Annapurna Circuit may not exist for
much longer. A dirt road already stretches up
the west side of the trek, and another road is
fast going up the east side all the way to
Manang. The extent of road building was a bit
depressing at times, but there is still a lot to
like about the Annapurna Circuit, at least for
now, as we hope these pages will show.

From Pokhara we had a bumpy 4-hour bus ride
to Besi Sahar, a dusty little road stop, followed
by an even bumpier 1-hour ride to Bhulbule.
Our last bus ride for a month! Now we rely on
foot power to get us from village to village.

We hiked an hour to Ngadi on day 1. This small
agricultural village offered very basic lodgings
counterbalanced by very friendly people. Next
day we hiked 4 hours to Ghermu past lovely
terraced fields. Our third day was a hard one as
we were still getting our hiking legs back and
sections of the trail were quite steep, both up
and down. We had to detour around several
sections of road construction and felt relieved
to finally reach Tal after 6 hours.
Day 1. Bhulbule to Ngadi
Day 2. Ngadi to Ghermu
Day 3. Ghermu to Tal
Red chili peppers drying in the sun