Friday 24 November 2017

Hike to see Mount Annapurna and the Fishtail

We have a good, but distant view from our hotel room of part of the Annapurna mountain range, but as you can see from the first photo, a big hill is in the way.
Today I decided that we should hike to the viewpoint at the top of the hill so that we could get a better view of the mountains. 
The big problem is that every day they begin in full sun but then clouds gather and hide them from view. So could we hike to the top in time to see them?
Well, obviously we didn't set off early, and then the route was difficult to follow. A friendly local lady advised us to hike up a dry riverbed to get back up onto the road. The rocks in the riverbed were very big, so we ended up climbing over them until we got to a section that was impossible to scale. We looked for alternatives and then found that there was a very good path running along the riverbank! Maybe there was a misunderstanding somewhere.
We then had to skirt around cows and monkeys while the path changed into endless and steep steps. We stopped for a breather at a cafe and then passed dozens of  paragliders before we made it up to the viewing platform. 
As you may guess, the whole mountain range was covered in cloud and we could see nothing. The only other people there with us were two Scotsmen dressed in kilts, so to try to cheer myself up I said hello and we started to chat. 
Within a couple of minutes one of them said that I looked familiar, but I didn't recognise him. 
We quickly worked out that he worked for the same company as my sister and they probably met a few years ago when they both won 'best of the best' company prizes!
Well that's a small world. 
We stayed chatting for so long that the clouds actually cleared a little, so we even got a photo of the top of the mountains.
We then hiked back down the hill, and this time we found the right path and we were soon back by the lake. The final photo is of the hill that we climbed. Yes it was a long way so we headed straight to the hotel for a shower and a lie down. 

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