Altitude sickness exacerbates existing illnesses. My slight runny nose, under the influence of altitude, transformed into something globally oppressive. To combat the disease, I applied the treatment of Braga (a village near Manang) – I just spent the whole afternoon in bed in a hotel.Route: Lower Pisang – Humde – BragaTraveled: 13 km in 5 hours, evening radial 2 km in 1.5 hoursThe total ascent is 700 m, the total descent is 450 m.Altitude above sea level: 3468 m.Terrain: juniper light forest, birch groves, rocky wastelands.7:40. What time we got up, what we ate traditional tea from a thermos and other details, I don’t remember, maybe all this didn’t happen. Maybe I woke up right away – on the path, dressed and shod. The legs habitually carry in a northwest direction, the lungs concentratedly drink the morning air, slightly warmed by a windproof mask. So, where are my companions?
Endless valley of the beloved river
comfortable mountain chair
Last night, discussing plans for the coming day, we also touched upon the issue of choosing a path. Two main trails lead from Pisang towards Manang: lower and upper. The lower one is simple and relatively flat (without significant height differences), all caravans and most tourists go along it. The upper path is much less popular, as it does not go along the bottom of the valley, but traverses its right (northern) side. It is 300 meters higher and therefore from there, from the upper path, you can see the beauties of Annapurnochek much better.So, then, at dinner, I was rather worried about whether it would be possible to persuade my companions to go along the upper path. And if I fail (which was very likely), then how much will I lose? I tried to recall the reports I had read earlier, to compare something with something from memory. In short, toiled endlessly.
Pisang Peak
pink birches
WFP
horned souvenir
Today, everything was decided by itself. I’m sick and I’m not up to the upper paths. Nothing special – just weakness, increased pulse and moderate runny nose. But these little things make me a complete brake. I walk slowly, periodically “sticking” into space. My heart is very calm, and if it were not for the always hurrying companions, I would “plan” along the path until the evening.It was not by chance that I remembered planning – planes and helicopters were flying over the valley all morning. More precisely, one plane and one helicopter, but many times. They are in Humda, there is a tiny airstrip. Are there really so many tourists who want to get off the route that one flight is not enough? Or are they thrown the other way around?
there (for landing)
here (takeoff)
back (to Pokhara)
My companions run ahead all the time. They can’t walk slowly like me, they’re cold. If I didn’t feel so bad, I probably would have started to grumble at them for violating safety regulations. Now this (muttering) is absolutely impossible. I dream of one thing – to finally get out of the cold birch forest (cold because it is in the shadow of the mountain, and not because it is birch). Then in the sun we will arrange a halt and it will be possible to sit. Ka-a-a-y-f. In the meantime, I try to keep up the pace and only occasionally allow myself to relax with the help of a camera (like I shoot).
I'm sick
nepalese chariot
Sveta is waiting for me
8:50.That’s how we reach Humde. From the morning pass, the village seemed quite tiny – no longer than the runway. However, in practice, he found a remarkable extent. There are many places here – the houses do not huddle together, but lazily spread along the valley.
Humde village map
hammer and sickle
tree in a tub
9:15. I can’t stand it and unilaterally call a halt in the middle of the village. We fall on a bench in front of some hotel. Nearby, a small alien rides on wheels – a Nepalese baby in a walker. The child is 5 months old, already has one tooth and he gnaws everything with it (his rattle, the hotel fence, our shop). We talked with his mother (she was washing dishes nearby). Nepal was extremely surprised that Europeans have children so rarely and so late, we nodded modestly in response.The sun begins the traditional midday roast. It doesn’t so much warm as it burns. This is my first time wearing goggles. It would not hurt to take cover under an umbrella, but I’m too lazy to keep it and I just smear myself with cream.
rocks gnawed by the sun
umbrella for Buddha
umbrella for the mountain
9:45. At the checkpoint we get acquainted with the first real Russians we met on the route. It is very easy to understand that these are Russians – foreigners rarely carry 100-liter backpacks stuffed to the top. I asked if they were going to “autonomy”: to some sparsely populated area, with their own food, a burner, a tent, cats and ice axes. Everything turned out to be much simpler – alcohol, basturma and mint candies in backpacks. And the route is the same as ours – Manang, Tilicho, Thorong La pass. Only time is only a week, that’s why we jumped on the plane at once to 3400 m (without normal acclimatization). Two more Russians flew with them to Humda, a young couple with tiny backpacks. Those have long gone beyond the horizon. Everything shows that young people are not the first time in Nepal.
Halt at checkpoint
Aircraft is turning opposite
It seems that the Nepalese authorities are expanding not only the road network. Behind the airfield, a new piece of land is being cleared and fenced off – the runway will be lengthened in order to receive more spacious aircraft.A small tractor hardly bites into the rocky ground. I wonder how they brought him here? It is clear that in a disassembled state. But on what? On an airplane, porters or donkeys? There is no road yet.
tractor at the airport
half gate
10:26. Behind the village begins a zone of unbearably beautiful landscapes. Annapurna 3 takes over from Annapurna 4 and goes out of its way to dazzle us with its brilliance. In the open flat space, it is clearly seen that the tiny figures of tourists move exclusively in dashes. One hundred meters – a shot against a glacier, another hundred meters – a shot against a river, a little more – just mountains. Everyone is taking pictures.
Annapurna 3
wide road to Braga
Kirill and Taras
Annapurna glacier
glacial river
umbrella hat
Someone has already written about how strange it is to realize that the wide road under your feet is exclusively for pedestrians and horses. Wheeled vehicles are practically non-existent here. In Humda, however, there was an advertisement for walking on a tractor. But it’s hard to believe that they are especially popular.
two-level bridge
water prays
dusty rider
And here are the riders. You can’t see them because of the dust cloud, but you can hear them very well thanks to the bells on the harness. When you look at these horses, you understand why the Mongol warrior needed three interchangeable horses. In growth, they practically do not differ from mules, and therefore riding on such a flying carpet is of a very specific nature. Remember how Shurik in “Prisoner of the Caucasus” dissected on a donkey in fast-forward mode? This is how Nepalese jigits rush about – leaning back on a finely vibrating toy horse.
Pisang Peak is far behind
Russians are coming
Which is correct: yak yogurt or yak yogurt?
11:30. Only one and a half kilometers are left to the saving and healing Braga along a completely flat road. And it was these 1500 meters that for some reason decided not to end. Not only me, but also the rest of the race participants, are starting to rearrange their legs more and more thoughtfully. All hope for GPS – if you do not look around, but only at the screen of a magic box, then you can believe that we are still moving.
Impenetrable inaccessible
Old tree near the river
Finally, because of the turn, the gates of Braga and our hotel, chosen in advance, are shown – it is the first on the left side of the street.
Braga Gate
Annapurna photo puzzle
11:50. We can’t deny ourselves a slightly perverse pleasure – we arrange a halt right in front of the windows of “our” hotel. We explain to the Russians who arrived in time that we are performing a rite of spiritual purification before stepping into this temple of hospitality :)
Russians have arrived
Nature or Culture?
We decided to stop in Braga (and not in Manang) since two main acclimatization routes start from here – to the Ice Lake and to the cave Milarepa (although Wiki claims that this cave is in Tibet). The lake is higher and further, the cave is closer and lower. From the lake there is an excellent view of Annapurna, from the cave – to the Chulu massif. Culture or nature, everyone chooses for himself.
New yak hotel in Braga
dining room in new-yak hotel
We check into the New Yak hotel. Since we stayed here for two nights, we managed to bring the price down to 150 rupees for a large triple room with a toilet. There was no socket, but the hostess promised to allow us to charge our batteries for free in the dining room. There is a great hot shower on the first floor of the building with a funny translucent door. The dining room is small but very comfortable. There is a stove!
dining room window stickers
Tilicho lake route map
After a delicious dinner, a wonderful idea came to my bright head – to measure the temperature. It turned out that I was just a cucumber – the temperature was 37.9 °, the pulse at rest was 100 beats per minute. I drink Effect with hot milk and fall asleep.
Buddha and demons
sunny kitchen
old Braga
While I was sleeping, my comrades managed to escape to the upper, old part of the village of Braga. Naturally there was a tiny Buddhist monastery there. And in the monastery, of course, it was not without a kind Nepalese who painted a third eye on his forehead with a pale face.
monastery
carved window
in the monastery
I really like the interior decoration of Buddhist monasteries. They are somewhat reminiscent of a shop of antiquities (and magic), but for me this is an extremely romantic image. Somewhere among the numbered shelves with sacred books, a worn card with the autograph of the Buddha was lost, and on the back of the ritual mask, some clever man scrawled the secret of eternal life, which is complete garbage compared to the tireless prayer wheel with its rotation keeping the Earth in orbit.
[/ caption] stupa
The Fifth Eye of Taras
beam-ladder
Hey Uncle!
Upon returning from the monastery, my companions found your humble servant almost completely recovered and even a little hungry. It is quite logical that already at 17:00 we were in the dining room. There they just melted a potbelly stove and there was a free table near it.
Buddha under umbrella
black yak
We approached the choice of dishes for dinner very responsibly – we ordered half of the menu (vegetarian half). The food was excellent: wedge pizza, steamed momos, fried potatoes with vegetables, a great pancake. The cook did not stint on vegetables, especially on carrots. In short, we had a great dinner.In between eating pizza, keeping a diary, and throwing games, we contemplated the neighbors in the dining room. Taras was studying a blonde Englishwoman, whose companion was so indistinct that our friend had the idea to “recapture” the beauty. My wife and I strongly supported his aggressive plans, and even came up with ten ways to meet a girl in the Himalayas.Also attracted the attention of a mysterious couple with one hundred percent Hispanic appearance and absolutely German. Strange combination. The two amused themselves by teaching their Nepalese guides intricate German phrases. In general, there were almost more guides and porters in the dining room than tourists. This once again confirms the fact that one Western tourist can “feed” a dozen Nepalese “tourism” workers. And in Crimea, it’s the other way around – for one guide, there should be at least a dozen tourists, otherwise you won’t make ends meet.At night I put a thermos of tea under my pillow. Drinking regularly is important for both infection control and altitude sickness. I hope tomorrow I will feel fine and still be able to crawl to the Ice Lake.Report table of contents.Kirill Yasko. March 5, 2010.