Annapurna Circuit Day 2: Ngadi Lamjung to “Mishouh”

– “DAMN! Humidity is real … nothing’s dried out!” – I was stunt when I woke up and rushed to pick up my laundry just to realise it was all wet. It wasn’t rained on, it was just totally damp. I quickly figured what people meant when they were saying that we’ll be walking around with our locks and underwear hanging out from the bags to dry 😀 ! Thought it was funny back then but God, that’s totally the circuit reality haha! A few minutes later you could see us strapping all the wet clothes to the bags hoping that the sun will dry them out during the day.

It was a cold but clear first morning. All that I could hear was the river bustling down the valley and birds singing somewhat unfamiliar songs. I loved it! I had been looking forward to the quietness of the mountains for so long and I already had it, so early into the trek.

My trekking buddies (Nouh and the “Frenchies” 😀 Garance and Charly) had a quick breakfast whilst I packed a couple of boiled eggs for the road which hilariously would become one of my many little circuit traditions 😀 . We hugged our hosts Goodbye and at around 7:30 am we headed off … with no clear goal for where we’d get to that day. We were just gonna see how we get on.

After the peaceful fresh morning, I wasn’t thrilled when we realised we’d have to walk most of the day on the main road. It wasn’t that the traffic was crazy, it’s just that the Nepali jeeps and buses are so damn old they spit out such terrible fumes that the smells travelled behind them for a few long seconds filling up my lungs with exhaust! I was getting impatient to get to a higher altitude to run away from the road. Most of the morning trekking was somewhat flat and uneventful until a group of local kiddos saw us approaching and started running towards us. They were excitedly jumping around us and yelling something in Nepalese until they all lined up ready to pose for a photo 😀 Couldn’t have remained indifferent to this avid enthusiasm so we paused for a minute, took the cameras out and gave them the moment of fame they were evidently seeking out for 😀

It wasn’t long after that that two divergent paths were gonna test the unity of our little group. We were following Maps.me pretty much 100% of the time until we got to a point where we saw a sign for a trail to Manang going on the main road and an actual trekking trail that was showing up on Maps.me as the right way to go. I think rather exhausted at this point, the guys all wanted to take the main road and just get it over with whilst I was still needing the escape.

– “Are we here to trek afterall or march after the buses?” – I tried to convince them but they were determined. The locals nearby were also pushing for the main road because evidently it was quicker (which it always is) but the point wasn’t to get to the final village. The point (for me at least) was to enjoy the trek whilst eventually getting to a decent enough place to lay down for the night …

This is where I quickly got reminded of why I had decided to do this trek on my own in the first place … I wanted to make my own decisions and choose whichever path I wanted to take, get lost if I had to but I liked the guys so I sucked it up this one time and joined them onto the main road. Luckily, it wasn’t a long stretch of road until it merged with the path and we were back walking up some stairs until we reached Bahundanda where we stopped for a quick break and a little wander around the village. This seemed to be a popular place to take a pause as we finally saw some other trekkers who were stocking up on cookies and snickers from the local tiny shops. As it turned out we could find basic snacks and supplies in quite a few spots along the way.

With slightly more charged batteries after the break, we moved on towards Ghermu. The views that were starting to open up were truly mind-blowing. Everywhere we turned to we got rewarded with lush views of green paddies, waterfalls bustling down the valley and the notorious Kali Gandaki, forming beautiful eye-popping canyons, which we even had to literally cross by jumping from one stone onto the next and the next to make it to the other side of the trail.

Frankly, I questioned then if we were still on the right path but a very friendly local guy with surprisingly good English had told us earlier that a few meters down we’d have to cross the river … and that was it. That was the first of many times we’d have to cross Kali Gandaki. The river was going so fast that if I were to drop bottom down into it, it’d sweep me down in seconds. But there’s no time to give such thoughts the freedom to grow and panic me haha so I hugged my camera, worried more about it than my feet that were about to get soaking wet 😀 , and jumping from stone to stone I proudly joined my trekking buddies.

I was walking at the back of our happy group of 4 to take photos and I gotta admit that it’s’ exactly in slightly questionable situations like this that having a buddy actually really helps. The rest had crossed the river already by the time I got to it and the fact they had done it without an unexpected bath in the river, left no room for hesitation whether I could do it or not.

– “They did it so I can do it as well” – this was exactly what went through my head just as I hopped on the first stone and then the second until I rejoined with the guys.

Starved from all the walking, a few sets of stairs brought us to a place called Sunrise hotel & restaurant where we stopped for lunch. It was the ideal moment to attend to the wet clothes crisis which at that point had not dried even an inch. Completely oblivious, I unstrapped my clothes from the backpack and laid them all out to dry on the rocks just by the table we had picked. The other guys followed suit and a couple of minutes later we had a whole display going on of different kinds of trekking pants, shirts, locks and guys’ boxers 😀

This village, if we can even call it that since it was literally just three buildings, seemed to have a lot more life going on than the others we had passed through. Here people were actually keeping busy. An older looking man, maybe in his 70s was crafting something from wood, the local ladies were either handwashing, sifting through whatever crops they were growing in their little gardens or swaying a baby from side to side. For a change, it was nice to see that people were not just sat by the side of the path doing nothing and hoping time would pass quicker.

As we were flipping through the menu (yes, they actually had a menu 😀 ), we got joined by an Irish guy called Jordan who had just left his English teaching job in Vietnam to travel Nepal solo. We ordered the Dal Bhat (as we would most days 😀 ) and had a lovely chat getting to know each other while the ladies at the place were chopping up fresh veggies and steaming up the rice. After about an hour of waiting for the food to get ready and another speedy 30 min of devouring the food, we set off again in the slightly drizzling rain. Swiftly put on the raincoats, picked up the washing 😀 and the troop was on its way.

Not long after lunch, we got to the charming village of Ghermu. Significantly larger than the lunch spot, colourfully painted guesthouses and beautifully arranged gardens were begging us to quit the trek for the day and stay overnight in Ghermu. The very first guesthouse even had a massive sign saying ‘Espresso, americano, cappucino’.

– “Whaaaaat? They’ve brought an actual espresso machine up here?” – I was pretty shocked. I’m such an espresso lover and I’d usually have a coffee every day so the slight headache I’ve been having for the past couple days from the lack of caffeine was really making my eyes pop from the sheer thought of a nice espresso after a whole day of trekking. But no way I was letting gratification make me end the trek for the day, especially not this early …

– “Come on, it’s just 2 pm, we can go on for at least another hour” – but the ‘Frenchies’ and Jordan were sold on the unexpected amenities, nicer rooms and the thought of calling it a day so we had to say our Goodbyes and split ways. This time I wasn’t making a compromise, sorryyyyy 😀

I must admit that it’s exactly when I travel solo that I realise how normal and natural it is for people to come and go. One day I’m hiking with someone, the next we’re hugging and saying Goodbyes sometimes never to see each other ever again. And that’s ok! Gladly, in my case with the “Frenchies” we did meet up again (a few times) after the trek. Turned out we had bonded a lot more than I thought that day <3

I and Nouh kept on going for another hour or so until we got to a place called Boomerang hotel which was literally in the middle of nowhere.

– “What’s this village called?” – Nouh asked me, already used to the idea of 3-4 buildings forming a village but this place was nameless.

– “Mishouh! That’s how we’re gonna call it … after us 😀 ” – Nouh clearly got way too excited haha

A friendly man waved at us from the Boomerang hotel, welcoming us to check out their rooms and stay with him, his wife and their cute little baby. After doing the rounds to a couple more places up the road which were totally deserted, we stayed at the Boomerang, particularly sold by the man’s offer to make me a pumpkin soup with a pumpkin right from his very own organic garden. My Bulgarian scepticism immediately got switched on and I questionably asked the man:

– “Do you mind if I see your garden?” – questioning where the garden could be since from the road we couldn’t see a thing.

-“OMG, you’ve got a huge garden” – I got shut up after the man proudly showed me his perfectly arranged back garden full of all sorts of veggies. I was so touched when I saw him later going into the garden and coming out hugging a massive green pumpkin for my soup. I genuinely didn’t expect him to pick up a whole fresh pumpkin just for my soup but he did and I was touched.

The place was peaceful! It had a large rooftop terrace with mountain views from all its sides. It was the perfect spot for my predinner yoga and it was exactly in that moment as I was slowly doing my poses that I realised that despite the sweaty, exhausting, wet day there was nowhere else I much rather be but right there in that very spot enjoying my practice and the views that were making me look up every few seconds with admiration and respect for nature’s insane beauty.

We had dinner, even got refills despite not ordering the Dal Bhat (the family seemed to really love us), and at 7 pm we were already in bed, Nouh completely knocked out 😀 and I cuddled up in my sleeping bag liner with my Kindle.

Daily Costs

Room – Free
Breakfast (my 2 boiled eggs to break my 16 hour fast which became a bit of a tradition during most of the trip) – RS 200
Lunch (Dal Bhat) – RS 400
Dinner (pumpkin soup & veg curry) – RS 450

Day 2 Tips

Try to follow Maps.me on this day as much as you can. You will see a lot of signs for a trail to Manang but I don’t suggest that you follow them because they’re not consistent. Maps.me really is wonderful so just stick to it.

If you’re gonna have lunch at a local teahouse/ restaurant budget at least an hour for the food to be prepared. Usually, it’s only one lady cooking everything from scratch so it does take time. Be patient or pack up lunch so you don’t spend that much time on lunch. I was certainly appreciating the nice break though!!

This day you can easily push through to Jagat if you take a little stairs shortcut shortly after the Boomerang hotel. From there it takes about 45min to Jagat even though Maps.me would tell you it takes hours and hours … luckily it doesn’t.