The Annapurna Circuit Day 7 - Rest Day In Manang / Gangapurna Glacier

Manang Rest Day to Gangapurna Glacier

BEST SHOWER IN NEPAL | LEMON TEA | GANGAPURNA GLACIER | SEA BUCKTHORN JUICE | FAJITAS | REST

• 26th October 2018
• 3 Miles / 5km
• 2 Hours 40 Mins (Moving Time 1 Hours 2 Mins)
• Starting Elevation 3520m
• Finish Elevation 3842m
• Average Temperature 21.7C (Low 19C - High 26C)
• Average Heart Rate 103bpm (Max 153bpm)

A Change of Hotels

After a good night’s sleep, the smell of the toilet in our room gently greeted us in the morning. A reminder (if we needed one) of our plan to find a better place to sleep for our second night in Manang. Have I mentioned Tibetan bread again yet? Well of course I tucked into another couple of slabs of Tibetan bread before we paid up and left the smells of the North Pole Hotel in search of the promised land of a new place to stay.

The night before it was the Manang Hotel & Lodge that had given us some hope of a room, but we had to check back with them later this morning to get first dibs on an available room. We were not disappointed and were able to reserve a large room with a double and single bed, private bathroom and shower. However, we had to wait for it to be cleaned so we headed to a nearby cafe for some lemon tea before returning and enjoying what can be considered the best shower in Nepal.

A Steep Walk & New Juice

After fueling up on some bread rolls we set off for the short hike towards the Gangapurna Glacier. While there was the option of slightly longer and higher hikes to acclimatise, I felt like it wasn’t a rest day if we took on anything too strenuous. After feeling worse for wear the day before it seemed like this steep climb and the chance to get a look at the glacier and route ahead would be the best bet. We could then be back in Manang for some lunch and a chance to catch up with people we’d met along the way.

We weaved through the buildings towards the top of Manang and emerged on its western edge before dropping down towards the river. Towering over the other side of the bridge was the Annapurna range and we would be climbing just a teeny tiny one of its foothills. After crossing the bridge we were on a narrow path that ran along the edge of Gangapurna Lake. Standing several hundred meters up above the lake it was a steep drop to the pale blue waters. In front of us, we could now see the grey chaos at the end of the glacier which clung to the side of the Annapurnas.

As the path turned sharply left the real steep climb began but we were soon in the shade of trees on what was another hot day of endless sunshine and blue skies. Despite being free of our heavy packs it was still fairly slow going for me on the way up. We weren’t in a rush and I was still feeling the effects of the day before. It wasn’t long before we reached a small shack with a sign for Sea Buckthorn Juice. We hadn’t tried this local juice yet, but seeing the signs all around Manang we figured where better to try it than this shack seemingly in the middle of nowhere.

‘TROPICAL & NICE’

The two words I wrote in my notebook about the Sea Buckthorn Juice. It was refreshing and in fact so good that we ordered more later in the day when we were having lunch back in Manang.

After a short rest stop, we explored pathways that spread around this small level area on the side of the mountains. It was from here that we could take in views in most directions. Above us, the Annapurna massif blocked views to the West but we could see further south to the mountains we walked past a few days earlier. To the north, we were getting our first view of Thorong La and the valleys we would soon be walking in the days ahead.

Rejuvenated

Heading back down towards Manang the thought of lunch and a lazy afternoon lingered. I felt more relaxed having completed some more climbing without any effects of the day before. I stopped to take in more of the views and the patterns of the glacial water and sediment that was directly below us before we made our way back across the river to Manang.

Let The Rest Begin

We spent the early afternoon catching up with Max, Amelia & Kalina over a lunch of Fajitas and Sea Buckthorn Juice at Tilicho Hotel. After a couple of hours there, we enjoyed another visit to the Nilgiri Guesthouse for a second round of the cake we enjoyed the day before. The evening was spent in the guest house enjoying dal bhat and deciding our plans for the next few days on the approach to Thorong La.

That’s it for today, tomorrow we would be continuing along the circuit towards Yak Kharka. We had talked early on about going to Tilicho Lakes as a 2-day side trek from Manang, but as we were here during a period of holidays in Nepal & India we hear plenty of stories about the teahouses at Tilicho being pretty full and so we decided we were probably best to give it a miss. It’s a difficult decision as you may never get the chance again but it’s not like we would really be without plenty to see and do along the circuit.