Glorious mountain views! We woke up in Banthanti to clouds below us and snow-capped peaks above. Today’s hike was a bit shorter and easier than the previous several days, even with the longer length due to our early stop yesterday. The first hour, though, included our last really big ascent of the trek. We lunched at a tiny village not even on our trekking map, Sitku, and once again sat outside to enjoy the incredible views of Machhapuchhre. We arrived earlier than usual at our guest house for the night in Ghandruk and were thrilled to find out that our room included an attached bathroom. Ghandruk is definitely the biggest village we have seen on the hike, and we took advantage of our early arrival to explore a bit. We visited a museum on Gurung culture and lifestyle, which contained all the implements Gurung men and women traditionally would use in daily life.
Mt. Fishtail View from Banthanti
Brendan has been captivated by the many waterfalls we have seen on our hike, from long strands of icicles in the frozen gorge to gushing, multi-level torrents to burbling trickles in the middle of the forest. Some we hike alongside and some we see from hand-hewn bridges, but Brendan has stopped to photograph them all. I have been similarly enamored with the local fauna, as usual. Though I was disappointed that the yaks only live in the Everest region above 9- or 10 thousand feet, we have seen some groups of monkeys in the forest. Domesticated animals are much more common along this trail, including trains of donkeys that carry supplies back and forth between the villages and the hens, goats, and cows kept by the locals. (I am still hoping to see a yak someday, though.)
the Donkey are going to Nayapul for bring Hotel foods
