Nepal Journal — Wednesday, 11/27/96

Day 6: From Tatopani (1180m) to Rupse Chahara (1550m)

In the end, we decide to give it a go without porters. Our progress up the side of the Kali Gandaki river is somewhat slow (Chris describes it as "glacial"), but we eventually make it to a tiny hamlet called Rupse Chahara. The lodge is a little too rustic for our tastes: to get to the only outhouse, you have to walk around to the back of the lodge and through a vegetable garden.

Lodge in Rupse Chahara

During dinner, one of the locals points out a fiery glow on the opposite hillside, saying that the shepherds have lit a fire to keep away wildcats or something. If he's just trying to scare us, it's working. Chris and I carefully monitor our fluid intake over dinner, to avoid the necessity of a late-night trip in the dark to the outhouse past the garden.