Day 7: Upper Pisang to Braka

I hiked the Annapurna Circuit with Michelle from Full Time Explorer. She did a great write-up of our trek which she kindly let me borrow, so what you see below is Michelle's text and my photos. You can find her original article at Annapurna Circuit Itinerary.

Our guesthouse owner directed us toward the path to Manang. It starts out nice and gentle with beautiful views of the mountains to the left. The path remains almost flat for an hour and then you hit a steep incline. Make sure to stay on the trekking trail (by crossing the suspension bridge) and not the road. The trail is steeper but the road is much longer. At the top of the hill is a small tea shop which is the perfect place to stop and catch your breath. The owner is a sweet little old lady who has all kinds of goodies. Just another ten minutes up the road you’ll be greeted by a woman selling fresh apple pie for 100 rupees ($1) and amazingly delicious yak cheese! We sat there for an hour by the pagoda just enjoying the views with a group of other trekkers.

After the tea break, you’ll walk through the beautiful village of Ghyaru. Most of the homes are made out of stone and the small narrow alleyways are gorgeous. After leaving town, there’s a bit more uphill and then the trail evens out and it’s a beautiful walk to Ngawal. The Ngawal Mountain House is the perfect place for lunch. It has the cleanest kitchen I’ve seen trekking and one of the nicest bathrooms I’ve seen in Nepal. We debated staying here, but in the end decided to stick to our plan. The rooms here are between $5 and $25 a night, but look very posh.

From Ngawal, it’s a gentle incline along the road with just a few hills. We decided to take the easier route on the map (to the left) since the morning was so exhausting. You’ll pass through a few small villages and then arrive in beautiful Braka. We stayed at the very nice New Yak Hotel which is one of the first ones in town. We arrived late in the afternoon and since it’s off season, we managed to get the room for free. They have beautiful clean rooms and a very hot gas shower.