Altitude: 2,650m
Climb: Descent: 130m
Time: 6hr
Daily Cost: 4,380 rupees ($45/£27)

We left Marpha on the road, but after about 10 minutes we crossed a bridge onto the other side of the river. From here we skirted the edge of a pine forest. Sometimes the path would be down in the riverbed, then we’d go up the hillside a little into the forest, then back down by the river. The riverbed around here is probably half a mile wide and the loose stone riverbed is famous for ammonites. As we walked across the riverbed we hunted for ammonites but with little luck. Then, just as I was about to give up I found a decent sized ammonite. Yay!

On the east bank of the river there were no lodges, so we’d have to cross the river to eat. There were only a few channels of water in the riverbed so it wasn’t difficult to cross, but it was quite painful. Walking across those stones was very damaging to our shoes and really hurting our feet. A bridge spanned the widest section of the river. It was the most rickety wooden bridge we’ve ever crossed, held up only by counter weights (rocks) on each side. It took us 20 minutes to cross the river valley!

On the other side was a small village. Totally deserted! Just like the start of the trek. I guess this is for the same reason, many people start their trek in Chame and they finish their trek in Jomsom. We went into one of the lodges and ordered food. I had sweet and sour and Annemarie has egg fried rice. The food was OK but we could’ve done without the flies.

After lunch we decided not to cross the river again. It was just slow and painful. So we decided to walk down the road to the next bridge over the river. After been on the road for about 20 minutes we reached a section where the road followed the riverbank into a huge detour as the river merged with another river valley. The path went straight across the valley. Typical. Just can’t stay out of the riverbed! We had to find the stepping stones (just large stones) for good crossing points over the streams.

After crossing the valley we decided it was best to stay on the road as Kalopani was on this side of the river. Lete was on the other side but we’d read that Kalopani had the better lodges. It was another hour before we reached Kalopani. It looked like it was going to rain. This would be the first rain we’d had since day 7 walking to Bragha. Annemarie sat by the road waiting for Harry to catch up while I went and looked for a good lodge.

As I walked into the village I saw a huge building by the road. It consisted of three large brick buildings and looked very smart. I thought that someone had made a lot of money and built a mansion here. Then I saw a sign Kalopani Gusset Guest House. Wow, this was the place I was looking for! A woman was sat outside. I said hello and she led me into the dining room. It was huge and looked like a hotel. Someone took me up to the room. It was just like a hotel. Marble tiled bathroom, towels in the room and best of all there was a plug in the sink! I didn’t even care about the price, I wanted this room! I stood on the balcony and waited for Annemarie and Harry to join me. The view of the mountain range behind the lodge was also good.

The rest of the afternoon was uneventful again. We had the occasional WiFi, we read, we ate, then we slept.

Day 13 • Photos •