Day 2: Bhulbule to Ghermu
Approximate Trek Time: 4 – 5 hrs.
Distance: 13.5k / 8.4 miles
Overnight Elevation: 1130m/3707ft.
Since we didn’t hike yesterday, today was our first official day on the trail! While we listened to raindrops clattering on the roof overnight, the foul weather was cleared out by morning and it was a bright sunny day.
Heading out of Bhulbule, most of the trek to Ngadi (~1 hr.) is along the road, though there were very few vehicles on it, so it was still a peaceful trek. We also got our first view of Himalayan peaks in the distance, including Manaslu and Ngadi Chuli. Toward the end of Ngadi, past a hydro plant, the route leaves the road for smaller trails, stone staircases, and rocky uphill sections skirting a bowl of rice-terraced hillsides. Everything was lush and green, small rivulets ran down the trails in some places, and the sounds of birds and insects filled the air.
We took a short snack break at the Manaslu Guesthouse in Lampata, its shaded picnic tables a nice respite, with a stunning view over the valley of rice fields we had just climbed beyond. Only another 15-20 minutes uphill we passed through Bahundanda, a high saddle overlooking the Marsyangdi valley to the south. Here, after stopping at a permit checkpoint, we continued northward, descending down steep rocky steps into another valley of terraced rice fields.
Crossing over small streams and through muddy trails, we climbed past the village of Lili Bahar, continuing on a wide rocky trail with a handrail along the exposed edge of the mountainside. With such a wide trail, it seemed an odd place for a handrail, with many far narrower exposed trail sections. We learned from other trekkers that, as the story goes, a guy trekking along that section of the trail several years back had slipped and fallen over the edge and, while he lived, it was several days before he was found. After the whole ordeal, he had financed a handrail to be installed along that section of trail. While definitely a thoughtful project, at this point I wouldn’t really trust the handrail – most of its bars appearing rotted and decrepit, and some missing altogether.
Further along the trail, the village of Kanigaon announced itself with a stone kani (entrance/exit gate/archway), which we would come to see many of along the circuit. Just another 10 minutes or so from this village, we entered Ghermu (1130m/3707ft.). Perched along the hillside with a thin dirt trail running the 10-minute length of the village, flanked by fence-lined fields, homes, and small lodges, Ghermu was one of my favorite villages along the entire circuit.
While we ate a small lunch at the Crystal Guesthouse near the beginning of the village, we eventually wandered to the far side of the village, staying at the Rainbow Guesthouse and Restaurant. The showers here did not have hot (or even somewhat warm) water, the spaces between some of the wood panels in the rooms were big enough for small creatures to crawl through, and I believe the roof was mostly tarp. BUT, what it lacked in structural integrity and amenities, it made up for in atmosphere, as the views of the waterfall across the valley were absolutely stunning. No picture could capture how big and close the waterfall felt. It was a beautiful setting that we could not pass up. We also met two of the funniest ‘mates along the trail (shout out to Brett and Nathan from Australia!)
