The In Between

The next segment of my trek around Annapurna dropped down into the Kali Gandaki river canyon which is reportedly the deepest canyon in the world. This is due to the fact that Annapurna lies on one side of the canyon and Dhaulagiri on the other; both are 8,000 meter peaks. I had heard or read about the awesome depth of this canyon prior to doing the hike so I hiked down into the canyon expecting some sort of record-breaking grandiosity. Instead I found something in between the cool stuff I saw both before and after; an airport, a road, and a vacation from trekkers.

Now when looking back I realize that this segment of the trek from Muktinath to Tatopani has changed from what it once was and probably could never have lived up to my expectations. Now it is somewhere between a trek and a jeep excursion. The wealth is somewhere between third world and developing. And the mountains on the sides of the canyon are just a bit too far apart for me to feel like it truly is the deepest canyon in the world.

The canyon was still spectacular notably for the width of it's free-flowing river and floodplain, the shear size of it's landslides, and it's history. I don't believe I have ever seen such a large un-dammed river. The floodplain for the river was at least 1/2 mile wide and it was easy to see since no one in Nepal is dumb enough to build in the gravelly floodplain. At home of course, people always seem to build in floodplains, but the land has been so modified that identifying the floodplain can be difficult.

One related side-effect of such a free-flowing river is landslides. I saw several very large landslides as I walked down the canyon, some which may have been initiated by river channeling and some which appeared to be primarily a function of the relative youth of the Himalaya. It is these very landslides which seem to be the only thing which is holding up the advance of roads. From Muktinath to Tatopani there was a two-wheel jeep track / road but it was far from being a thru-road since I saw a few impassable sections where huge landslides had taken out the road.

Even though the road does not go thru I was surprised at how many tourist/trekkers I saw who took up positions inside the ubiquitous Land Rovers. Below Jomsom, where there is a small airport, I saw almost no hiking trekkers. It seems many of my previous trail compatriots from before the Thorung La either escaped the wilderness via the airport or gave up on hoofing it down canyon.

Although the jeep road/trail left a very noticeable scar along the side of the canyon it was still easy to see how cool the Kali Gandaki canyon was before the road. People have been travelling through this canyon for centuries. I understand that for many centuries this canyon was the locus of the salt trade between Tibet and Nepal. Food, including grains grown in the lower portions of the Kali Gandaki, were traded with the Tibetans who harvested salt on the high plains.

The Thakalis who live in this area have built up some good, clean and well-run guesthouses. I was particularly impressed by The High Plains Inn in Tukche. Another treat was the always available apple pastries. There is a significant apple industry near the town of Chame and every eating establishment seems to offer great apple pie or apple crisp.

I ended this segment of the trip staying overnight in Tatopani, ate a great Mexican meal, and took a dip in the famous Tatopani hot springs. Then I started hiking back uphill . . .