Annapurna Circuit Day 5: Chame to Upper Pisang

“WOW, my eyes are not double, they’re triple” 😀 – it was day 5 and I had officially never looked more tired.

We packed up quickly and headed down for breakfast! And what a scenic breakfast that was! I was sitting with my back towards the window when Nouh excitedly said “OMG, Look out the window“. There she was … Annapurna II showing off to us for the first time since the start of the trek. This was the first day we could glimpse at the Himalayas and realise that despite the fact it was pretty well concealed by the clouds the last few days, we were right in the middle of the world’s highest most magnificent mountain range. Even the sheer thought of that was inspiring and motivating to keep going.

Chame was a busy place in the morning. The (few) bank buildings were starting to open as we were heading out and to my avid surprise, everyone was out brushing their teeth as if by the clock at 7am sharp 😀 It was a beautiful, warm, lively morning and the trek was so scenic I was stopping for a photo more frequently than ever.

We took the first trekking trail to avoid walking on the main road. It was a beautiful forest with wild mushrooms, huge pine trees, flowers and stunning views over the tallest waterfall we had seen so far. It was cold the Frozen waterfall (look out for it on maps.me) and it was simply stunning!!

The trail was the perfect spot to just reflect and enjoy the peacefulness of the trek so I walked a few hundred meters behind Nouh, enough to lose him from my sight and get the feeling that I was alone. I must admit that I loved it!! I was so present that I was noticing everything, even the huge bones lying on the trail.

Completely alone at the point, my brain quickly tried to make up some creepy stories to scare me off but luckily this time it didn’t work and I let go quickly.

Little did I know then that just half an hour later I’d be so terrified my palms would sweat and my heart would pound like never before. We took the second trail after Bhratang (you’ll recognise it by the fancy triangle-shaped cafe serving pastries and real coffee) which was showing up on maps.me. A few hundred meters into the trail, we were starting to get totally lost in huge apple gardens. Everywhere we looked, it all seemed the same. Something wasn’t quite right but we kept going anyway. We climbed over a huge pile of rocks (that should have been a big red flag) and continued on what was a slightly clearer trail.

Slippery and narrow as it was, we kept sliding and near falling down until we eventually got to a bridge. We were definitely on the maps.me trail but the trail lead us to a bridge half of which had collapsed. I could tell Nouh wanted to give it a go and go across to the other side to climb what looked like a suicidal trail after a big landslide. It looked too bloody narrow and dangerous to attempt, especially with the backpacks on. Yet, I could tell Nouh wanted the adrenaline.

I wanted the adventure too, that’s what I had come all this way for but sticking to this trail would have been not adventurous but totally stupid. I knew that even if we somehow found a way to cross over the bridge once, we wouldn’t be able to cross it back again if the trail after the bridge really turned out to be too narrow to walk all the way to the top. It was either giving it a go with a real risk of needing a helicopter rescue or turning back and continuing on the main road.

I had made up my mind to go back and luckily Nouh followed suit. At the end of the day in scary, possibly life-threatening situations like that, you gotta make your own decision and I’m glad I didn’t have to do much convincing before we could walk back together. It took us a while to find the way back but luckily after a few more moments of panic that we hadn’t remembered the way back, we were back on the main road (phew!).

Pretty scared but even more relieved at that point we continued to Dhikur Pokhari which was gonna be our lunch spot. The trek was tough, going upward for a large part of it but what made it even harder was that today we couldn’t get water as frequently as the days before so I had to manage my water pretty well which in and of itself was exhausting. Do start today with 2L of water in case you can’t refill until Dhikur Pokhari!!

Dhikur Pokhari was a gorgeous place, so colourful and at the bottom of spectacular rock formations which looked more like paintings on canvas than a real thing. We grabbed lunch at Kamala hotel whose owner greeted us with a big happy smile and even he himself cooked for us. The sun was out and we had found the perfect spot to pause for an hour and just enjoy the break. It was only when we headed off again though that we realised how much we really needed the break.

The last stretch of the trail to Upper Pisang was dusty. So damn dusty that when we eventually made it to Upper Pisang and took off my boots, my entire socks and feet were covered in dirt. My head was pounding with a headache so strong that it was making me sick. The altitude was starting to get to me and for a few brief moments, I was starting to really think that maybe I just won’t be able to make it to the top.

When we got to Upper Pisang we didn’t even have the energy to scout for a place so we rushed to the first one we saw and stayed there for the night. We were the only guests staying in the guesthouse that night, just like in all other places we had stayed before, so we got a nice room and all the attention from Sophia, the host’s cute little daughter who finally had someone to act out for 😀 ! Her and Nouh surely bonded real quickly LOL

It was a cold night and as my headache wasn’t giving me a break (despite the yoga and the entertaining messing around with Sophia), by 19:30 I was already in bed tucked away and fully ready to call it a day after a delightful indulgence in yet another yummy Dal Bhat for dinner!

Daily Costs

• Room – Free
• Boiled eggs -RS 200
• Veg curry for lunch – RS 370
• Dal Bhat – RS 550
• Black tea – RS 50

Day 5 Tips/ Takeaways

• Do not take the trekking trail after Bhratang. At the time of writing, the bridge is collapsed and it’s just super dangerous to attempt to go over and climb trail on the other side of it. So stick to the main road this one time! (FYI this is the first out of only two times when maps.me didn’t work)
• Plan your water well on this day and start off with at least 2 litres. There aren’t as many places to fill up once you head to Upper Pisang so do refill whenever you can.
• Never let your lust for adrenaline and adventure cloud your judgement because sh** can happen real quickly!
• Enjoy it and stay present! Namaste 🙂

Annapurna Circuit: Day 5 Gallery