The Kailash Boutique hotel at Kathmandu. We stayed at Kathmandu two nights.

Colourful masks at the Kathmandu market

More masks and other colourful handicrafts

Apart from the ubiquitous prayer flags, many places could have been in Europe

A short flight took us to Pokhara

We stayed a night at Pokhara, opposite the lake

A long drive to Chame from Pokhara. Coffee stop at the Chamche waterfall

We reached Chame late in the evening and checked in to our first teahouse

The teahouse in the morning before we started

Being able to order food from a menu each day was a luxury, but the food itself was a hit or miss. Chocolate pancake and an omelette.

A shrine immediately after we crossed the bridge at Chame

Village children on the path

A roadside shrine

The dog seems to enjoying the landscape too

All day long we were walking along the river with the larger peaks of the Annapurna range coming into view

An apple farm along the route had an outlet for their produce

Fresh apple juice, cider, apple crumble and apple pie were on the menu

The beautifully hand-carved prayer stones (Mani stones) are a common sight along the route.

The path carved into a steep section of the mountain slope

Long suspension bridges are common and are a delightful way to cross the river.

The use of bright colours everywhere seem to make up for the colourless landscape. At the restaurant where we had lunch.

The tea house owner's mother at Upper Pisang.

Most tea houses, especially at the lower altitudes, look quite clean and nice with wooden walls and roofs

A view of the distant hills from Upper Pisang.

Around sunset, there was a sudden thud and we ran out to see an avalanche, progressing down the slope with seeming infinite slowness

Five minutes later, the mountain looks peaceful in the light of the setting sun

A lamp at the teahouse

at 5.40 am, the sunrise lit up the peaks in golden colors

Relatively level ground in the initial part of the walk to Ngawal

With no progress possible along the rocky cliffs on the right bank, we cross the river on another suspension bridge

A steady climb towards the village of Ghyaru

Reaching Ghyaru before 11, we were not tempted by the delicious food on offer

Welcome to Ghyaru

The narrow streets and stone houses typical of the villages in this region

Prayer wheels at Ghyaru

After the steep climb to Ghyaru, it was a level walk to Ngawal. Looking back at the cluster of houses that form Ghyaru

The highlight of this trek was how close the trail was to the majestic mountains

After reaching Ngawal, we walked through the village in the evening. Some sheep returning home after grazing, look at us with curiosity.

The sheep are herded through the narrow streets to their place in the ground floor of the homes, below the living quarters.

The local monastery ...

with its colourful facade

the beautfully decorated roof corner

A shy juvenile dog in the village

Splashes of color in the village

A map in the teahouse shows the abundance of walking trails in this region

Next morning starts with a quick descent on the road towards Manang

We saw these interesting shapes formed from erosion on the way

More of the same

A roadside shrine approaching Manang

Manag was the largest village en route and a rest and recuperation stop. An artist at his studio in Manang

A playful puppy near our teahouse

An evening stroll through the village

We climbed up a little from where we had this view of the village set on a small shelf overlooking the Manang valley against the backdrop of the Annapurna range

A Raven against the Annapurna

Another view of the Annapurna peaks

The mountains form the background for everything in the village

Children anywhere in the world are the same

Prayer walls are common

Though we didnt see the snow leopard at Manang, his smaller domestic cousin made an appearance

The special breakfast set bread, eggs, fried sausages and an apple

We spent a day at Manang for acclimatization. A statue of Guru Rinpoche on the way to the Praken Gompa.

The acclimatization climb to the Praken Gompa was a steep zig zag route up the cliff face

A Griffon Vulture against the snow covered peaks

The elderly lady monk who lives at the monastery

A grazing horse on the way back from the monastery

A distant monastery seen from Manang at sunset

Waiting for the Breakfast the next morning

A tunnel-like entrance to a house in the village

Looking back at the Manang village

The initial part of the walk out of Manang was fairly level

Another crossing on a long suspension bridge

Pani puri at 4000m was tempting, but I decided to skip the crowd and walk on

After Yak Kharka, there was a steep climb to Leddar which was tough. But we were thankful not to start the last day with this climb. Sunrise next morning from Leddar teahouse

Once the sun was out, vaporization streams from the mountain tops

The porters carrying colorful duffel bags

Even the local porters need breaks as the trail becomes a steady and steep climb

The porters cross a bridge in the barren landscape

We had a gentle climb to Phedi after which there was a steep slope to climb to reach High camp

After a 4 am start with headlamps and multiple layers for the cold, we reached the pass a little before 8 am.

After crossing the pass, the long walk down to Mukthinath starts

Glaciers frozen in time

The path descending towards Mukthinath is visible at the left. A lone trekker at the center of the frame highlights the scale of the landscape