My two Nepali brothers who would watch and protect me every step of the way on the Manaslu path. Prakash my porter, and Prem my guide.
They both carried up to 25kgs on their back. I had nothing more than my camera bag. Without the help and selflessness of these two, it would have been impossible to document this journey.
The valley of Sotikhola offered up beautiful vistas of greenery, butterflies of numerous colors and its people who went about their day living and working off the land.
I awoke early to do yoga on a bridge crossing the swirling waters of the Budhighandaki river. I thought I would be alone to do my thing, but this was my first lesson of life to the Himalaya people. They arise early and start their day when the sun rises.
Buses, school children and farmers past me as I did my asanas. The immense power of thew river flooded out all noise and I could feel the energy of this water source make an impact on my practice. I was then treated to a breakfast of local grown banana in my porridge and a mynt tea, before Prem, Prakash and I set forth on a glorious sunny day.
Typical village located on the Sotikhola valley. Bananas, coffee, rice, wheat and various other grains were tendered to as well as farmers tending to their goats, cows and sheep.
It was a nice and easy start taking just four hours to walk up the valley to reach Matcha Khola. Along the way we were watched cautiously by Langhur monkey’s as they crossed over a landslide in a group of twenty. We traversed over swinging bridges and enjoyed meeting the local children who greeted us enthusiastically with Namaste.
I walked this part of the trek in my sandals. Warm temperatures made it comfortable to walk in just shorts and a T-shirt. Occasionally butterflies would flutter right in front of my face before flying off to find a plant to feed off on the side of the path. It wasn’t long before we crossed our first waterfall. One of many that I would enjoy standing under on my journey up the valley.
Reaching Machha Khola at lunchtime gave us time to rest, eat lunch and explore the surrounding area. The devastating earthquake back in 2015, had caused cracks to appear along the Bhudighandaki river where Thermal pools appeared. These pools were over 50 degrees celcius. Way too hot to enjoy a warm bath. Instead, I chose to take a chilly dip in a tributary coming off one of the mountains. I was joined by Jack and Rosie who were also experiencing their first time in Nepal.
I loved the colors and design of the houses along this valley. However, not all families enjoyed such homes. I witnessed many families who had little to protect them from the elements and were certainly vulnerable to the threat of landslides, that would be a common occurrence along the way.
