From the pass, the long descent to Muktinath, 1,600m below, brings you out of the wild and back to the relative ease of the teahouse circuit. At Muktinath we stayed at the Hotel Bob Marley, which seemed too incongruous to bypass in one of the region's holiest sites on the very edge of the Tibetan plateau. Here we were invited into a Tibetan nunnery, and on the outskirts, watched the arrival of pilgrims who visit the Muktinath temple complex that has structures sacred to both Hindus and Buddhists.
After the high pass and the closest approach to the snow-covered peaks of the Himalayas, you descend into the valley of the Kali Gandaki River, which boasts the deepest river gorge in the world and some outstanding white water rafting on its lower reaches.
The Annapurna Circuit is only a small slice of the enormous diversity that Nepal has to offer. Even the presence of the Maoists seem to offer more of a thrill to most tourists rather than a real threat. That the violence and political instability are very real seems readily hidden behind the offer of magnificent scenery and the sense of adventure. It's rather like the town of Jagat. The facade is more than adequate, and the harsh reality of poverty and dirt all but invisible unless you take a wrong turn.
RSS