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Annapurna Photo Gallery - Marpha To Lete

Marpha To Lete with excellent views of Dhaulagiri and Nilgiri, passing through Tukuche, Khobang, and Larjung

101 Marpha View Towards North After lunch in Jomsom, it took us only an hour to trek along the river bank much of the way to Marpha. Marpha (2680m) is situated in a little in a side valley and is protected from the strong winds, which blow in the middle of the river valley. The rooftops are bordered by neat stacks of firewood and provide a place where the women can work in the sun, drying and processing their produce. Everything in Marpha is clean and neat.

101 Marpha View Towards North

102 Marpha Neeru Guest House In 2002 In 2002 I checked in to the Neeru Guest House with my room overlooking a tiny, sunny courtyard full of marigolds and a couple of fruit trees. I had my meals in their restaurant/sunroom that was always warm and cozy.

102 Marpha Neeru Guest House In 2002

103 Marpha Hotel 2008 View Of Toilet And Shower Near Cow Pen In 2008 I stayed in a different hotel. The toilet and shower in our lodge in Marpha was next to the cow pen. Cozy.

103 Marpha Hotel 2008 View Of Toilet And Shower Near Cow Pen

104 Marpha Busy Main Street Marpha’s main street is paved with slabs of stone covering an extensive drainage system. The flat-roofed houses are all neatly whitewashed along the busy narrow street, hectic with people, horses, and donkey trains.

104 Marpha Busy Main Street

105 Marpha Tashi Lhakhang Gompa I visited Marpha's large impressive gompa, Tashi Lhakhang, which was renovated and enlarged in 1996. The gompa, as are all the buildings in Marpha, is painted with a whitewash that is produced from a special local stone

105 Marpha Tashi Lhakhang Gompa

106 Marpha Gompa - Jerome Ryan Spins Prayer Wheel, Prayer Wheels, Main Temple, Young Monk Inside Gompa UL: At the entrance to the Marpha Gompa, Jerome Ryan spun a big prayer wheel, which was a present from the Dalai Lama over 100 years ago. UR: Prayer wheels outside the gompa. LL: Outside the main temple. LR: A young monk let me in the Marpha Gompa, and told me the gompa was about 400 years old. He said there are 225 books of the Tenjur (the canonical commentary), which were hand-written in Tibet.

106 Marpha Gompa - Jerome Ryan Spins Prayer Wheel, Prayer Wheels, Main Temple, Young Monk Inside Gompa

107 Marpha Gompa - Amitabha And Padmasambhava Statues, Guitar Playing Buddha Painting There were three statues behind the glass at the Marpha Gompa: on the left Avalokiteshvara (not shown), in the centre red Amitabha, on the right Padmasambhava. There are many paintings on the wall, including a guitar playing Buddha.

107 Marpha Gompa - Amitabha And Padmasambhava Statues, Guitar Playing Buddha Painting

108 Marpha Gompa Padmasambhava Painting The young monk told me the paintings on the walls of the Marpha Gompa were over 300 years old, including one of Padmasambhava (Tib. Guru Rinpoche).

108 Marpha Gompa Padmasambhava Painting

109 Marpha Gompa Paintings - 6-Armed Mahakala With Consort, 1000-armed 11-headed Avalokiteshvara The Marpha Gompa has a paintings of the fierce 6-armed Mahakala, embracing his consort. The monk pointed out his wings, his tiger skin, and his necklace of skulls. Fierce indeed! On the other wall of the Marpha Gompa, I spotted a 1000-armed 11-headed Avalokiteshvara.

109 Marpha Gompa Paintings - 6-Armed Mahakala With Consort, 1000-armed 11-headed Avalokiteshvara

110 Marpha Gompa - Young Monks Play Soccer, Young Monks On Gompa Roof I went up to the roof of the Marpha Gompa courtyard and watched saw some young monks. I went down to the courtyard again and sat down for a few minutes. The young monks came down with a small ball and started a game of soccer. They kicked the ball with all their might and laughed heartily when it went to the upper floor of the courtyard. Soon, a proper soccer ball was produced and they played with both balls at once, doubling their pleasure, and tripling my chances of being hit.

110 Marpha Gompa - Young Monks Play Soccer, Young Monks On Gompa Roof

201 End Of Dhaulagiri Ridge From After Marpha I got up in Marpha at 5:30 to a cloudless sky, and after a breakfast Coke, Fanta and Snickers, I was on the trail to Lete at 6:30. I could see the end of the Dhaulagiri Ridge directly ahead in the early morning sun.

201 End Of Dhaulagiri Ridge From After Marpha

202 Dhaulagiri Ridge From before Tukuche After 50 minutes from Marpha, I rounded a bend in the trail, and ahead was the long white ridge leading to Dhaulagiri resplendent in the early morning sun. (Couzy)

202 Dhaulagiri Ridge From before Tukuche

203 Dhaulagiri Ridge Closer From before Tukuche “The south-east ridge of Dhaulagiri ... gave us some slight encouragement ... Lachenal: ‘To begin with, it's incredibly long, it's all very high up, and above all it's technically very difficult: great walls and towers of ice, some rock, broken ground, gendarmes - there's no end to it’

203 Dhaulagiri Ridge Closer From before Tukuche

204 Dhaulagiri Northeast Face From Before Tukuche Here is a close up view of the Dhaulagiri east and north east faces, taken from just before Tukuche.

204 Dhaulagiri Northeast Face From Before Tukuche

205 Dhaulagiri Northeast Face Close Up From Before Tukuche “Then there was the north ridge; it was undoubtedly ice, but, judging from the moderate angle and slight rise in height would make it very suitable for an attempt” (Maurice Herzog, Annapurna). How right he was. The normal climbing route used on the first ascent goes from right to left up the northeast ridge to the summit ridge and then across to the summit.

205 Dhaulagiri Northeast Face Close Up From Before Tukuche

301 Tukuche French Meadow I stopped briefly at a large meadow before Tukuche. “We were through the village in a few minutes, and before us lay an open stretch. On a Buddhist temple with rose-colored walls, flags flapped in the wind. Although it was not a very attractive spot, with its naked gray cliff rising gloomy above us, it was the only suitable place for our camp” (Maurice Herzog, Annapurna).

301 Tukuche French Meadow

302 Tukuche Entrance, Mani Wall, Carved Wooden Balcony, Jerome Ryan Drinking A Coke UL Tukuche (2580m) was for many years one of the richest villages in the Kali Gandaki valley. “The village of Tukucha is a maze of alleys, and the houses, regular little fortresses, are mostly caravanserais where passing travelers can find lodging for the night” (Maurice Herzog, Annapurna). UR “The majority of the five hundred inhabitants are Buddhists whose piety can be judged by the number of prayer wheels on the fifty-yard-long wall” (Maurice Herzog, Annapurna). LL Tukuche has finely carved wooden balconies looking exactly as they did in 1950. LR Jerome Ryan stopped in Tukuche and enjoyed a coke in the sunny warm weather

302 Tukuche Entrance, Mani Wall, Carved Wooden Balcony, Jerome Ryan Drinking A Coke

303 Jerome Ryan Trekking On Kali Gandaki Riverbed After Tukuche After passing through Tukuche, Jerome Ryan walked along the broad Kali Gandaki riverbed until I noticed the other trekkers were using the trail on the cliff side. Luckily I crossed a few streams and scrambled back to the trail without getting my boots wet.

303 Jerome Ryan Trekking On Kali Gandaki Riverbed After Tukuche

304 Dhaulagiri From Just Before Khobang “A little farther on we saw the upper slopes of Dhaulagiri, streaked with blue ice. The south-east ridge running down towards us, of which we had some hope, extended endlessly, as sharp as a blade of a knife and bristling with ice pinnacles and snow cornices - absolutely impregnable

304 Dhaulagiri From Just Before Khobang

305 Dhaulagiri Close Up From Just Before Khobang Here is a close up view of Dhaulagiri Southeast Face from just before Khobang (2580m).

305 Dhaulagiri Close Up From Just Before Khobang

306 Khobang Entrance “We came upon a number of prayer walls adorned with slabs of rock upon which we read the classic inscription:

306 Khobang Entrance

307 Nilgiri Central and Nilgiri South Close Up From Larjung Across the valley from Larjung I had a bright sun-in-your-face view of the west face of the Nilgiri peaks, with Nilgiri Central (6940m) and Nilgiri South (6839m) visible.

307 Nilgiri Central and Nilgiri South Close Up From Larjung

308 Nilgiri From Larjung, Prayer Wheels At Larjung And After Larjung, Donkey Train Near Kalopani UL Nilgiri Central (6940m) and Nilgiri South (6839m) across from Larjung. UR By the time I got to Khobang's twin-village of Larjung (2560m) the clouds totally covered Dhaulagiri. “The Sherpas took us by way of Larjung, no doubt so that they could spin the prayer-wheels” (Maurice Herzog, Annapurna). LL At the bend in the river between Larjung (2560m) and Kalopani (2530m) is the deepest gorge in the world. Annapurna I (8091m) and Dhaulagiri (8167m) are 35km apart on either side of the valley, while the bottom of the valley is at 2540m. LR: Donkey trains are a common feature on the west side of the Annapurna region and are used to ferry goods between the remote mountain villages.

308 Nilgiri From Larjung, Prayer Wheels At Larjung And After Larjung, Donkey Train Near Kalopani


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