Nar Phu Valley 2011

Grading - Moderate

As we leave behind the crowds of the Annapurna Circuit, and wander up the Nar Khola, we start to get a sense of what Tilman experienced in the late 1940's and the 1950's.

This area was closed to trekkers until late 2002, so it remains fairly unspoilt. It is still a restricted area, so special permits and additional fees apply.

We walk through forests, past small yak karkas and gompas, into the narrowing canyons and finally the gate that protected Phu from its enemies. Marvel at the ability of the people of these areas to create paths and tracks, where none seemed possible.

The villages of both Phu and Nar provide amazing camping places for us to take in the history and the relatively unchanged life of the villages. It almost seems that time has left these villages behind, so to visit these areas is a truly special experience.

A visit to the Phu monastery is a must, and possibly an audience and blessing from the Rimpoche. You can even trek to Himlung Base Camp, near the Tibetan border.

After Nar, we climb the Kanga La (5306m), where we stop to take in a magnificent panorama of the Annapurnas and surrounding peaks. This is truly a highlight, and it sustains us as we walk and slide through the moraine down to Ngawal. 

From there we join the Annapurna Circuit procession into Manang, which is the regional centre, and is a welcome respite after our walking of the past few days.

There is an option to fly out of the nearby mountain airfield at Humde (which can lead you find religion quickly, if you didn't already have it), and you are back at Pokhara drinking coffee at Lakeside in just over 20 minutes. A work of caution though...flights out of Humde are notoriously unreliable due to the weather, and because of the altitude they only take a limited number of passengers on the small planes.

The other options are to:

1. Walk back to Besisahar, which can take 3-5 days, dependent of your fitness.

2. Cross the Throng La and go through Muktinath to Jomson (3 days), and fly from there, or walk out to Beni (about 7 days). As you will be acclimitised from the Kanga La, assuming the weather is OK, this is reasonably straightforward, and you get to see some amazing panoramas. You will be walking in far greater numbers (usually 100's) than when you were on the Nar Phu trek though.

3. For those still with some fire in the belly,  a desire to keep away from the crowds as much as possible, and take the road far less travelled, you can trek to Jomson via Tilicho Tal (the highest and biggets lake in Nepal) and the Nama Phug caves near Kaisang. As with option 2, you can fly from Jomson, or walk the rest of the circuit.

Whatever option you take, if you have been to Nar and Phu will be the ones that stand out.

Dont put it off. Contact us so that we can work out an itinery that gets you into this incredible area.

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