Day Five Pisang to Braka

Annapurna II in the morning

Annapurna II in her glory

Swiss friends Manuela and Sabrina

Ceiling of a passageway

The trail from Upper Pisang to Manang

We convinced our guide, Bikas, to follow the high path from Lower Pisang to Manang. Though we added several hours to our trekking day, the views were stunning. We set off with Swiss friends, Manuela and Sabrina, and at first the walk was gentle through a forest with up close and personal views of Annapurna IV in the sunshine. Anna IV was reflected in the water of a small pokhari (pond) where we gathered to take photos. Quickly the trail went straight up for about an hour and a half until we reached the stupa of the village of Ghyaru. Nobody talked much...just one foot in front of the other. Words don't do justice to these Himalaya mountains....stunning, magnificent, spectacular. Silence and a sense of awe give meaning.  As we walked northwest, the terrain became drier with fewer trees. Lunch of onion garlic soup and chapati was delicious. Local lore tells that garlic soup is an antidote to altitude sickness so many of us are slurping the soup on a daily basis.