MANASLU TREK LHO-PHILIM 31 MARCH 1 APRIL 2015

Today we wake to the sun shining with a high wind over the north face of Manaslu.

Lho Monastery with Manaslu as a back drop.

 Spring has arrived in the mountains and the way down from Lho leads us past fields being ploughed by oxen. We thought that all the  local farmers used their own oxen to plough their fields but no, they rent the oxen each time they need them. The price per day is Rs 800 which is a lot of money for them.

A look back over Lho with the snow which still clings onto the mountain sides.

This elderly lady is preparing soup and yes the hen is sitting on her head !

Having  passed through these villages on the way up it is still a feast for our eyes , the clear blue of the sky, the mani walls , the houses nestled against the mountain side, the Tibetan flags blowing in the wind.

Even though we have already been here ' deja vu ' it just  doesn't look the same, in just 3 days the fields have become greener, these are rice fields and it comes as a surprise to see that everything has grown so fast. The scenery of this  part of our trek reminds us of Peru and the high plateau above Cotahuasi canyon.

Lokendra, Ju and Kaji with the snow clad mountains behind them. clouds are already amassing on the summits and the forecast is for snow. 

On the way up the locals were in the fields muck spreading they are now ploughing and sewing.

Paul who we found sitting like a stromph watching the Lemurien monkeys below while he waited for us to catch up with him.

These guys are protected by the Hindu religion and also by the Manaslu Coservation area. Unfortunately they are plaguing the local farmers , it is easier for them to go and eat the grain that has been sown in the fields and probably more tasty that the berries they find on the mountainside and in the forests. 

The Nepalais are very hard workers and their fields are always well kept and delimited with  beautifully made stone walls

Another view down the valley which recomforts us in our decision to turn back from Larke pass. we have heard that noone has yet gone over the pass and that it is snowing again up at Samdo.  

This local lady does nothing to chase off the monkeys maybe the field hasn't been planted yet.

Un arbre mystérieux comme dans le dessin animé de Blanche Neige quand elle est seule dans la nuit avant de trouver la maison des 7 nains, vous ne trouvez pas ?

Namrung , this is the village where the guy from Singapour is building his 5* resort. The families are still of Tibetain extraction.

Paul lifting 40kgs, He barely managed to lift it whereas the  porters carry it for 18 days !

The locals love it when you try and do something that they do everyday, after Paul's attempt a lot of smiles and  laughter  for everyone. The Nepalese people are always ready to share a joke with you and this was no exception.

We often saw deer on the mountainside . Nepal,  unlike other Asian countries that we had already visited ( Laos, Thailand , Burma) protect wild animals , it is illegal to kill deers, monkeys , mountain lions and other wild species of birds and animals. 

We spent a lot of time looking for the Yeti but had to make do with deers that's why Paul took so many photos of them.

Paul left me at the hotel ' The Highlands ' a new hotel in Ghap which had only just opened.  It had 4 double bedrooms, a good cook and cold beer !
Paul went back to the waterfall that we had passed a little earlier on , he helped one of the local women carry 20 litres of water back home, her arm was broken and she asked Paul if he could help. Unfortunately no, it was very swollen and looked as if the fracture was quite serious.

 The view over the fields from the waterfall.

The view over Highlands  hotel in Ghap

Lokendra

A rare photo of Paul

A pretty tap next to a waterfall , why someone had made this carving here we didn't know because it was a long way from a village. 

 One of the many rhododendron trees in flower

This bridge looked ok on the way up but going over it the other way showed it to be more dangerous than we had thought.

From left to right : Gorgia and Elisha, two Australian girls that we had met at Samagaon, they are also on their way down and on their way to Pokara for new adventures. 
Gorgia is an accountant while on her travels but is infact an osteopath and offered to look at Ju's knee. The 2000metres that we had come down in 2 days had taken their toll and Ju's knee was very swollen. Gorgia manipulated it and also showed me how to pump out the lymphatic vessels. The swelling went down rapidly and Ju was able to walk properly the next day.