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Annapurna Circuit Photo Gallery - Jomsom and Kagbeni with excellent views of Dhaulagiri and Nilgiri.

Annapurna Circuit Photo Gallery from April-May 2008 and October 2002

101 Jomsom Airport With a jarring thump, the wheels of the plane touched down at Jomsom. Nilgiri North (7061m), Nilgiri Central (6940m) and Nilgiri South (6839m) shone in the early morning sun.

101 Jomsom Airport

102 Jomsom With Dhaulagiri Poking Above Ridge Jomsom (2760m) is the capital of the Mustang district, next to the Kali Gandaki River. The summit of Dhaulagiri pokes up above an intervening ridge from Jomsom.

102 Jomsom With Dhaulagiri Poking Above Ridge

103 Jerome Ryan At Jimi Hendrix Restaurant In Jomsom When I visited Jomsom by myself in 2002, I stopped for breakfast at the Jimi Hendrix rooftop restaurant, where Jimi stayed on his 'trip' in October 1967.

103 Jerome Ryan At Jimi Hendrix Restaurant In Jomsom

104 West Trail From Jomsom To Eklai Bhatti When I visited Jomsom by myself in 2002, the trail went up the left – west side of the Kali Gandaki Valley, with views ahead to Kagbeni and back to Nilgiri, before crossing the bridge to Eklai Bhatti.

104 West Trail From Jomsom To Eklai Bhatti

105 Road From Jomsom To Kagbeni With Dhaulagiri The road from Jomsom to Kagbeni and Muktinath is now complete as of 2008, so you can take a jeep ride instead of walking. The road also goes from Jomsom to Ghasa. I turned around to see Dhaulagiri. “There in the distance, a beautiful and moving sight was Dhaulagiri, rising solitary above the shadows and already lit up by the sun. Seen from this distance its massive grandeur stood out astonishingly” (Maurice Herzog, Annapurna).

105 Road From Jomsom To Kagbeni With Dhaulagiri

106 Dhaulagiri North Face From Road To Kagbeni Dhaulagiri North Face close up from the trek from Jomsom to Kagbeni. (Herzog)

106 Dhaulagiri North Face From Road To Kagbeni

107 Kagbeni With Upper Mustang Beyond Kagbeni (2840m) is a green oasis at the junction of the Jhong Khola and the Kali Gandaki valleys, with Upper Mustang to the north. It is an ancient town that has been involved in the salt trade for thousands of years.

107 Kagbeni With Upper Mustang Beyond

108 Kagbeni Close Up Terraced fields lead to Kagbeni (2840m) with a jumble of narrow streets and tunnels, all piled on top of each other.

108 Kagbeni Close Up

109 Entering Kagbeni With Nilgiri Behind As I walked past the terraced fields, I turned around to look at Nilgiri, dominating the view to the south.

109 Entering Kagbeni With Nilgiri Behind

201 Kagbeni Entrance Kani Chorten A large kani chorten with a low tunnel underneath greets us at the southern entrance to Kagbeni.

201 Kagbeni Entrance Kani Chorten

202 Kagbeni Entrance Kani Chorten Paintings Manjushri, Avalokiteshvara,Vajrapani The large kani chorten at the entrance to Kagbeni has paintings on the wall and ceiling. On one wall are paintings of Manjushri, Avalokiteshvara and Vajrapani.

202 Kagbeni Entrance Kani Chorten Paintings Manjushri, Avalokiteshvara,Vajrapani

203 Kagbeni Red Lodge 2002 In 2002 I stayed at the Red Lodge in Kagbeni, with my room on the roof, and a good view of the town. I went to the dining room and had some potato soup, very tired again after my hike. The dining room is all Buddhist with paintings, thangkas, photos of famous lamas, postcards of various monasteries, and of course Coke and Bounty bars.

203 Kagbeni Red Lodge 2002

204 Kagbeni New Asia Trekkers Home Room WIth Western Style Toilet And Hot Shower 2008 In 2008 I stayed at the newer New Asia Trekker’s Home just before the entrance chorten. The crew set up our kitchen in the courtyard. My room had a hot shower and even with a western style, sit down, flush toilet! Ahh luxury.

204 Kagbeni New Asia Trekkers Home Room WIth Western Style Toilet And Hot Shower 2008

205 Kagbeni Main Street Kagbeni is becoming more modern each year. No, this is not the official McDonalds, but it does have internet when the power cooperates.

205 Kagbeni Main Street

206 Kabgeni Female and Male Kheni Ghost Eater A female and male Kheni (ghost eater), remnants of the ancient Bon religion, guard Kagbeni, painted in red, white and gray of the Sakya Buddhist sect. The female Kheni guards the southern gate, and has, what looks like a Christmas ornament on her head, and a hole rather far down between her legs. The male Kheni has, eh, a large erect penis.

206 Kabgeni Female and Male Kheni Ghost Eater

207 Kagbeni Mani Stone The ancient Bon religion gave way to Buddhism, symbolized by this mani stone in Kagbeni, with the most famous mantra Om Mani Padme Hum.

207 Kagbeni Mani Stone

208 Monk Spins Prayer Wheels Near Northern End Of Kagbeni There is a long prayer wheel wall approaching the northern end of Kagbeni, with the restricted region of Upper Mustang beyond.

208 Monk Spins Prayer Wheels Near Northern End Of Kagbeni

209 Kagbeni North End Looking Towards Upper Mustang I walked to the north end of Kagbeni until I hit a sign that said that to travel further north to Upper Mustang I must possess a special (and expensive) permit and be part of an organized trek.

209 Kagbeni North End Looking Towards Upper Mustang

210 Kagbeni Keg Chode Thupten Samphel Ling Gompa The Keg Chode Thupten Samphel Ling gompa in Kagbeni was founded in 1429.

210 Kagbeni Keg Chode Thupten Samphel Ling Gompa

211 Kagbeni Gompa Main Room, North And West Guardian Kings, Wheel Of Life Painting The entrance to the Kagbeni Gompa has the traditional Wheel Of Life and the North and West of the Guardian Kings paintings. The statues inside the Kagbeni gompa statues were behind glass and hard to see. The monk turned on some lights so I could see the paintings on the wall.

211 Kagbeni Gompa Main Room, North And West Guardian Kings, Wheel Of Life Painting

212 Jerome Ryan On Kagbeni Gompa Roof With View Towards Upper Mustang I went to the roof of the Kagbeni gompa and admired the view of the entrance to upper Mustang. Although it may look serene, the afternoon wind actually bowled me over on the rood. Be careful.

212 Jerome Ryan On Kagbeni Gompa Roof With View Towards Upper Mustang

213 Kagbeni Houses And Ruined Fort From Kagbeni Gompas ROof The houses of Kagbeni and the ruins of the Kagbeni ancient fort are visible from the roof of the Kagbeni Gompa. The mountain on the far right is Yakawa Kang (6482m, also spelled Yakgawa), a rocky peak to the north of Thorung La.

213 Kagbeni Houses And Ruined Fort From Kagbeni Gompas ROof

214 Tilicho Peak At Sunset From Kagbeni Tilicho Peak blazed in the setting sun from Kagbeni.

214 Tilicho Peak At Sunset From Kagbeni

215 Nilgiri North At Sunrise From Kagbeni Nilgiri shone at sunrise from Kagbeni.

215 Nilgiri North At Sunrise From Kagbeni

216 Nilgiri North Close Up At Sunrise From Kagbeni Nilgiri close up shining at sunrise from Kagbeni.

216 Nilgiri North Close Up At Sunrise From Kagbeni


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