Day 3-5 Chele to Syanboche
Day 3 Chele
Tonight we are staying at Chele (or Tsele). The village is perched on a cliff high above the Kali Gandaki. My room has a panorama of the surrounding mountains. On our walk we crossed the Kali Gandaki River. In the cliffs above the river were meditation caves, unreachable now. Later in the day I took a walk with Pramod to an incredible Canyon overlook. Sitting on the edge made my stomach turn. Far below a sheppard was bringing in a herd of goats. Later, when he got to the village, I saw that he was carrying a dead one on his back. I was told that a snow leopard killed it. After dinner I learned a little of the Nepali language. I learned to ask their name, "Tapaiko nam ke ho?" I was practicing with one of the cooks. His name was Santos. He said, "Mero nam Santos ho."
Day 4 Samar
On this day we had another short trek, to Samar at 12,000 feet. Today we left the road for a while and climbed a spectacular cliffside trail. We arrived by lunchtime at Samar. The views along the way are spectacular, but the best part is meeting and getting to know the people.
Day 5 Syanboche (lunch stop)
Today was a fun day. We parted with our gracious hosts at Samar. Pramod and I took a trail 1500 feet or so to the bottom of a deep canyon to visit a monastery built into a cave. The monastery was interesting, but the canyon was more amazing. It made me think of the Grand Canyon, with towering cliffs. Then we climbed up 1500 feet on the other side to rejoin Sylvia and Chandra for lunch in Samboche, 6 hours later. We had a great time again with our hosts.
Read MoreTonight we are staying at Chele (or Tsele). The village is perched on a cliff high above the Kali Gandaki. My room has a panorama of the surrounding mountains. On our walk we crossed the Kali Gandaki River. In the cliffs above the river were meditation caves, unreachable now. Later in the day I took a walk with Pramod to an incredible Canyon overlook. Sitting on the edge made my stomach turn. Far below a sheppard was bringing in a herd of goats. Later, when he got to the village, I saw that he was carrying a dead one on his back. I was told that a snow leopard killed it. After dinner I learned a little of the Nepali language. I learned to ask their name, "Tapaiko nam ke ho?" I was practicing with one of the cooks. His name was Santos. He said, "Mero nam Santos ho."
Day 4 Samar
On this day we had another short trek, to Samar at 12,000 feet. Today we left the road for a while and climbed a spectacular cliffside trail. We arrived by lunchtime at Samar. The views along the way are spectacular, but the best part is meeting and getting to know the people.
Day 5 Syanboche (lunch stop)
Today was a fun day. We parted with our gracious hosts at Samar. Pramod and I took a trail 1500 feet or so to the bottom of a deep canyon to visit a monastery built into a cave. The monastery was interesting, but the canyon was more amazing. It made me think of the Grand Canyon, with towering cliffs. Then we climbed up 1500 feet on the other side to rejoin Sylvia and Chandra for lunch in Samboche, 6 hours later. We had a great time again with our hosts.