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Annapurna Circuit Photo Gallery - Lete with excellent views of Dhaulagiri and Annapurna, trek from Lete to Tatopani and then to Chitre with erxcellent sunrise views of Dhaulagiri, and on to Chomrong.

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

401 Lete Namaste Guest House It took 25 minutes to walk through Lete (2480m) to the Namaste Guest House at the end of Lete next to the Lete Khola.

401 Lete Namaste Guest House

402 Nilgiri North, Central, And South From Lete From Lete, I looked up at a broad snow covered mountain. From left to right Nilgiri North (7061m), Nilgiri Central (6940m) and Nilgiri South (6839m) shone in the early afternoon sun.

402 Nilgiri North, Central, And South From Lete

403 Annapurna Northwest Face With Thulo Bugin Below From Lete Lete is one of the few places on the Annapurna Circuit where Annapurna can actually be seen. Here is the northwest face of Annapurna above Thulo Bugin.

403 Annapurna Northwest Face With Thulo Bugin Below From Lete

404 Annapurna Northwest Face, Thulo Bugin, Fang From Lete Annapurna Northwest Face is visible from Lete, with the grassy slopes of Thulo Bugin, and then Fang poking up to the right. The trek to Annapurna North Base Camp goes via Thulo Bugin.

404 Annapurna Northwest Face, Thulo Bugin, Fang From Lete

405 Annapurna Sunrise From Lete The next morning at Lete, I watched the sun rise from behind the Annapurna Northwest Face.

405 Annapurna Sunrise From Lete

406 Dhaulagiri to Tukuche Peak Early Morning From Lete “Next morning Noyelle woke us early:

406 Dhaulagiri to Tukuche Peak Early Morning From Lete

407 Dhaulagiri South Face Early Morning From Lete “Above this stony desert Dhaulagiri rose into swirling clouds, vast and solitary. For twenty thousand feet there was nothing but the glint of riven glaciers, ridges that seemed like streamers in the wind, and somber rock buttresses higher than the Walker. The sight was so overwhelming that we sat down by the side of the trail feeling slightly numbed” (Lionel Terray, Conquistadors of the Useless).

407 Dhaulagiri South Face Early Morning From Lete

408 Dhaulagiri South Face Close Up Early Morning From Lete ’What's the south face like?’ inquired Ichac. ... Lachenal: ’monstrous slope, several miles high, and without a break, something like the north face of the Matterhorn, which as you know isn't exactly an attractive place, only this is three times as big.’ Herzog: ‘The best thing is just to write off the south face’ (Maurice Herzog, Annapurna). Here is a close up of the Dhaulagiri South face in the early morning sun from Lete.

408 Dhaulagiri South Face Close Up Early Morning From Lete

409 Dhaulaigir Icefall Close Up Early Morning From Lete ’The East glacier's a great torrent of ice.’ Rébuffat explained. ‘Even supposing we did succeed in getting up the glacier,’ continued Lachenal, ‘I don't quite see how we should get on to the north ridge. My own view is that we shouldn't try. It's a regular Walker (The north buttress of the Pointe Walker on the Grandes Jorasses is perhaps the most difficult climb in the Alps) with seracs stuck on!’ ... These mountains are unclimbable! No expedition could ever get through this way [Dhaulagiri Icefall]’“ (Maurice Herzog, Annapurna). Here is a close up view of the Dhaulagiri East Glacier from Lete.

409 Dhaulaigir Icefall Close Up Early Morning From Lete

410 Tukuche Peak Early Morning From Lete Tukuche Peak in the early morning sun from Lete. Tukuche Peak (6920m) was first climbed on May 10, 1969 via the Dambush pass and northwest face by Swiss expedition leader Georges Hartmann, Alois Strictler, and Sherpa Sonam Girmi. Three days later Ruedi Homberger and Andreas Hirsbrunner repeated the ascent of the main peak.

410 Tukuche Peak Early Morning From Lete

501 Landslide Just Past Lete We left Lete at 14:35, and soon crossed a large landslide. We could see an even larger one on the other side of the valley. This happens in the short rains at the beginning of the monsoon. We arrived at the No Name Lodge, the last one in lower Ghasa (2010m) at 15:55.

501 Landslide Just Past Lete

502 Waterfall At Rupse Chhahara We left Ghasa at 7:40 and walked down the Kali Gandaki valley. I passed a beautiful waterfall at Rupse Chhahara (1560m) at 9:30.

502 Waterfall At Rupse Chhahara

503 Dana Houses With Carved Windows We entered Dana (1450m), a long and prosperous village at 10:20, a little less than 2 hours from Ghasa. Dana was the capital of the Mustang District until Jomsom replaced it in the early 1970s. This resulted in wealth that can still be seen in the richly carved windows.

503 Dana Houses With Carved Windows

504 Miristi Khola Ends At Kali Gandaki Having seen the beginning of the Miristi Khola at Annapurna North Base Camp, I now saw the end near Tatopani - it splits in two just before it enters the Kali Gandaki. One part is used to power the hydroelectric plant that supplies power for the region, and the other remains the river.

504 Miristi Khola Ends At Kali Gandaki

505 Jerome Ryan With Marijuana Plant And Banana Plant Near Tatopani As Jerome Ryan approached Tatopani I could see marijuana plants and banana trees growing wild by the side of the trail.

505 Jerome Ryan With Marijuana Plant And Banana Plant Near Tatopani

506 Looking Towards Niligiri South From Near Tatopani As I reached Tatopani, I looked back up the valley and could see Nilgiri South in the distance.

506 Looking Towards Niligiri South From Near Tatopani

507 Tatopani With Niligiri South I reached Tatopani (1190m) at 12:00, 4:20 from Ghasa. The name Tatopani means hot water, and there are wonderful hot springs along the river. In the background is Nilgiri South.

507 Tatopani With Niligiri South

508 Jerome Ryan Trekking From Tatopani To Chitre Jerome Ryan said goodbye to the Gyan, Phuri, Dhanzing, Dhan, and Ram, my crew to Annapurna North Base Camp, at Tatopani. I continued alone on my way towards Ghorepani, crossing the Kali Gandaki and then the Ghara Khola. At 12:45 the steep climbing began again. It started off a hot 25C and I sweated steeply up the first 300m. From there on, the ascent was made on rocky steps. I rested, physically beat. I passed Ghara (1780m) at 14:15, and arrived in Sikha (1950m) at 15:30. Luckily it started to cool down a little. I reached the New Dhaulagiri Hotel in Chitre (2420m) at 17:25, just as it getting dark and starting to rain. That was 1230m of ascent in 4:40.

508 Jerome Ryan Trekking From Tatopani To Chitre

601 Dhaulagiri Sunrise From Chitre Up at 5:45. I had a great view of sunrise on Dhaulagiri from the dining room window at the New Dhaulagiri Hotel in Chitre (2420m). This view is basically the same as that from the famous Poon Hill.

601 Dhaulagiri Sunrise From Chitre

602 Dhaulagiri Sunrise Close Up From Chitre Here is a close up of Dhaulagiri South Face taken at sunrise from the dining room window at the New Dhaulagiri Hotel in Chitre (2420m).

602 Dhaulagiri Sunrise Close Up From Chitre

603 Trail From Chitre To Deurali Left Chitre at 6:45. I decided to bypass Ghorpani and go straight for Chomrong. I climbed from Chitre (2420m) on a muddy trail, gentle at first, and much steeper later. I didn't see anybody, and I felt a little claustrophobic with the tall trees all around. It was with great relief that I finally emerged at 9:10 at Deurali (3090m).

603 Trail From Chitre To Deurali

604 Machapuchare From Tadapani From Deurali it was steeply downhill first to Banthanti (2650m), arriving at 10:15, and then to Tadapani (2710m), arriving at 11:25. There was a good view of Machapuchare (6993m), but Annapurna South and Hiunchuli weren't visible.

604 Machapuchare From Tadapani

605 Looking Towards Chomrong From Chiule With Khumnu Khola Below I descended from Tadapani once again with a forest canopy to Chiule (2170m). I was pleased to finally leave the forest behind as I emerged into the open. The descent was steep again all the way to the bridge over the Khumnu Khola at 1930m, arriving at 13:00. The trail went steeply up the other side before leveling off as I passed thru Ghurjung (2010m). Once again I had to huff and puff steeply up before the trail finally leveled off all the way to Chomrong (2210m), arriving at 15:00

605 Looking Towards Chomrong From Chiule With Khumnu Khola Below


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